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Prep Roundup
Columnists Brian Meadows Brad NormanMembersLocal Connection› Iredell County Young Athletes Association› South Iredell Athletics Association › SHS athletics › WIHS athletics › NIHS athletics › SIHS athletics › LNHS athletics Syndicate RSSAP NASCAR NASCAR Features A look at this year's schedule A look at this year's drivers Differences between stock car and open-wheel racing NASCAR Research & Development Petty Enterprises splitter testing Aerodynamic testing in Concord's wind tunnel Top 10 moments in Daytona history Site StatisticsThis page has been viewed 801407 timesPage rendered in 0.2105 seconds Total Stories: 2136 Total Comments: 34 Most Recent Entry: 08/15/2008 01:53 pm Most Recent Comment on: 04/17/2008 11:54 pm Most Recent Visitor on: 05/23/2012 08:55 am |
• Public Schools • North Iredell High School • top story
2008 Mar-31
Raiders pick Ashley as new coachBy Brad Norman North Iredell administrators moved quickly in the search for a new football coach. They didn’t have to look very far, either. North principal Penny Hedrick announced Shannon Ashley as the new football coach Monday afternoon, less than a month after former coach Lee Linville resigned. Ashley, the school’s athletic director, inherits the program after serving as defensive coordinator for three seasons under Linville. “It’s one of the best days of my life,” Ashley said. “It feels great. I’m excited, to say the least. I’m looking forward to working with these kids and the community. I’m ready to go to work.” Familiarity with the program and its returning players was an important factor in Ashley’s selection. So, too, was the fact that Ashley is a product of Iredell County. This is the first head coaching job for Ashley, 38, who has begun to schedule offseason workouts and conditioning programs. Ashley will continue his duties as athletic director throughout the spring, although Hedrick said she hopes to hire a new athletic director to allow Ashley to focus solely on his football responsibilities. “Our goal is for him not to be AD,” Hedrick said. “Shannon and I are going to put the word out and then we’re going to see who’s interested on our staff and see if we feel someone on our staff is a good fit for our AD.” Ashley was one of five finalists for the coaching position and interviewed for a second time early Monday afternoon. He was offered the job later in the day and met with the football team immediately after school. “It went really well,” Ashley said. “The kids were very excited, they showed a lot of emotion when they found out it was me, and they’re excited about going to work. They know my level of commitment and my level of enthusiasm for them and how much I care about them. They know they can expect that from me.” Hiring a replacement promptly was important for the program, Hedrick said, given how abruptly the position became open. “I think for young people, there’s always the fear of the unknown,” Hedrick said. “When they knew that their head coach was somebody they already knew and a coach they were already comfortable working with, it gave them some sense of security.” North Iredell went 1-10 last season after being hit by a rash of injuries. It snapped a modest two-year streak of making the playoffs. Sophomore running back Chris Knox said he thinks the Raiders, with Ashley at the helm, can make a return to the postseason next year. “We have a lot of returning seniors, so we should be really good,” Knox said. “(Ashley) knows the team real well. He’s best for us as a head coach because he’s going to put us in the right position. “It made me so much happier finding out I knew the coach. I was glad it wasn’t a random guy that came in and put everybody in the wrong position. He knows what we can do.” Bookmarkz |
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