WISE COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) – According to family social media posts, a prominent member of the Norton, Virginia sports community has passed away.

On Monday night, Tra Adams announced that his father James Adams had passed that afternoon. James Adams was a former football coach at J.I. Burton High School for several years.

“Many of you got to know him as Coach, but I was lucky enough to know him as Dad,” Tra Adams said. “He was the best dad a son could possibly ask for.”

Tra also said his father encouraged him to enter the academic and athletic fields and was the main reason he now serves as a teacher and coach in Lee County.

“The Norton City School Board and administration are saddened to hear of Mr. Adams’ passing,” Norton City Schools superintendent Dr. Gina Wohlford said in a statement prepared for News Channel 11. “Mr. Adams was a long-serving member of our school staff and athletic program. Our sympathies are with his family at this time and in the coming days.”