Amy Ray was a 1975 graduate of Bedford High School who returned to her alma mater and had a very successful coaching career.
She was fortunate to have started ninth grade right after Title IX was approved, giving female athletes many of the same opportunities as males.
Ray, whose mother was a physical education teacher, took advantage of that to play 4 different sports as Bedford.
The first sport to become available for girls at Bedford was girls’ basketball, and Ray was a letterwinner as she played all 4 seasons. She was part of 3 undefeated teams in the Bedford County League and 2 District 5 championships in 1973 and 1974, all under the tutelage of Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame coach Jo Baker.
In softball, the first year was in 1974 Ray played in 1974, 1975, and 1976. The first 2 years were slow pitch, and even though the Lady Bisons went 10-0 in 1974, there were no playoffs in place. They won the BCL and District 5 championships in 1975.
The first year for volleyball was 1975, and Ray helped the Lady Bisons to the BCL championship and a berth in states at Shippensburg that season.
Ray was also a tennis player in her senior year, and she advanced to the state
tournament, where she lost in the first round to the eventual state runner-up, Mount Lebanon’s Joy McManus.
Upon graduating from Bedford, she went to Slippery Rock State College, where she earned her degree in Health and Physical Education along with a minor is Parks and Recreation.
In 1979, she was hired as a health and physical education teacher at Bedford, which she did for 35 years.
She made a big mark in the coaching ranks while at Bedford. She coached girls’ basketball for 7 years. Her 1983-84 team won the BCL title, as well as the District 5-3A championship. The Lady Bisons fell in the opening game to the eventual state champion, North Catholic.
Ray coached the 1984-85 team to a 21-3 record and won the PIAA playoff game over Swissvale. They fell to Bishop Guilfoyle in the next round.
Ray coached softball for 24 years from 1980-2003, recording over 300 wins. Her teams won 10 BCL championships and 8 District 5 titles. Her 1989 and 1996 teams both advanced to the state quarterfinals.
As a teacher, she helped the school get a Highmark Grant and a Highmark Health High 5 School Challenge Grant to get health and exercise equipment for Bedford students.
Ray continued her athletic career after high school in several different capacities.
Throughout her life, Ray has been a part of the Bedford Parks & Recreation Association with softball, swimming, and tennis. She was also part of the Bedford Elks Bowling League, church softball and volleyball, and did family outings in water and snow skiing, as well as biking. Ray was part of 2 state championship softball teams: Hall’s Hauling and K’s Vending in 1984.
Her golf team won the Chili Open 2 times, and she won the longest drive.
She ran in the Bedford Fall Foliage Runs, as well as the triathlons at Rocky Gap State Park.
Ray continues to bike (mountain and road), play tennis, hike, ski, pickleball, kayak, walk, and do various fitness classes.

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