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Bears seek coach

Bunker Hill girls’ hoop job is open

By Chris Hobbs | Hickory Daily Record

Published: June 12, 2009

CLAREMONT - Bunker Hill High will have a new girls' varsity basketball coach next season, only the school's fourth in more than three decades.

Shane Compton, who guided the Bears to a 24-6 record last season and was HDR Sports' Unifour Girls' Coach of the Year, has resigned his teaching position effective June 15.

The resignation of Compton and his wife, Aprille, who also teaches at Bunker Hill, was on a list released Thursday by the Catawba County Schools.

Shane Compton was not available for comment on Thursday.

Bunker Hill athletic director Jim Woodruff said the Comptons have decided to move back to Eastern North Carolina.

Shane Compton has been hired as an assistant football coach at Hoke County High in Raeford, Woodruff said.

Compton left Scotland County High in Laurinburg, where he had been boys' varsity basketball coach for three years, to coach the Bunker Hill girls.

Compton replaced Tommy Edwards, who retired after coaching 20 state playoff teams at Bunker Hill. The head coach before Edwards was Terry Sipe.

Who the fourth girls' head coach is may take a while to determine, Woodruff said.

"We're not necessarily actively looking right now," Woodruff said, noting a school system hiring freeze is in place until at least July 1. "We don't know our situation.

"It (Compton's resignation) was a family decision.

"We'll start a search as soon as we possibly can and have some options and things in mind that I'm not at the liberty to discuss.

"We hope to act as quickly as possible. We don't know exactly what route we'll go."

While Bunker Hill waits for a clearer picture of teaching positions available and other factors, Randy Laws will coordinate girls' basketball, Woodruff said.

Laws is girls' junior varsity coach at Bunker Hill and was Shane Compton's varsity assistant.

"He'll make sure things go as planned," Woodruff said of summer camp for the Bears' players.

Woodruff said the Bears are disappointed to lose the Comptons but understand their decision.

Compton, who also coached girls' basketball at Flora McDonald Academy in Red Springs and junior varsity boys' basketball at Red Springs High, made an immediate impact as an assistant football coach and in girls' basketball for the Bears.

"Oh yeah, he was perfect," said Woodruff of being the right choice to succeed Edwards. "He did a great job – he was as good as we can get.

"The transition from Tommy… Shane did a beautiful job, not missing a lick."

Edwards, who will coach the first women's team at Catawba Valley Community College this winter, had a record of 418-199 at Bunker Hill. He and Sipe combined for 512 wins at Bunker Hill and took 26 teams to the state playoffs in 29 seasons.

Last season, Compton took a nine-player roster that included five seniors, three juniors and a sophomore and coached the Bears to a second place finish in the Catawba Valley Athletic 2A-3A Conference. Half of Bunker Hill's six losses were against CVAC power Hickory.