Published: May 19, 2008 08:23 pm      

Thacker headed to Rowan County

Somerset — After nine seasons as Somerset High School’s boys basketball head coach, Shawn Thacker was named the new boys basketball coach at Rowan County High School on Monday.

“I called Rowan County School Superintendent Marvin Moore today (Monday) and informed him that I accepted the position as their new boys basketball coach,” Thacker said on Monday afternoon. “My decision to go to Rowan County was for the right reason — family. Coaching and raising three kids, with two of them active in extracurricular activities almost year-round, we had very little, if any, time to visit with my mother and other family members that reside in Rowan County.”

Thacker stated that he had not applied for the position, nor had he ever applied for another coaching position while at Somerset High School over the past nine years. A few weeks ago, Rowan County School officials were granted permission from Somerset Superintendent Wilson Sears to contact Thacker about the possibility of becoming the Vikings’ new basketball coach.

“Up until last week, I had no plans of leaving Somerset High School,” Thacker stated. “I had put a lot of work in finalizing next year’s basketball schedule and I was excited about coaching the group of kids returning to the Jumper program for next season.

“I feel like the good Lord took care of everything and this move was meant to be and everything just fell into place,” Thacker said. “Bottom line, being close to my family was the deciding factor in why I chose to accept the Rowan County position.”

Thacker leaves Somerset as the program’s second all-time winningest coach with 160 wins during his nine seasons. Only Coach William Clark has more wins, with 212, and more seasons coached than Thacker.

Amongst his peers, Thacker has the third highest winning percentage in the 12th Region during his nine years at Somerset.

“The 12th Region is losing a class act in the loss of Coach Thacker,” South-western head coach Dave Schulz said. “In my opinion, Coach Thacker has done a fantastic job at Somerset and I am certain he will do a fantastic job at Rowan County. Win or lose, I always enjoyed coaching against Coach Thacker, and we will all miss him.”

Besides his .604 career win percentage at Somerset High School, Thacker’s most notable accomplishments came in his teams’ three All “A” state runner-up finishes, plus eight consecutive All “A” regional titles. Thacker won one district title and made four 12th Region Tournament appearances.

The nine years prior to Thacker’s arrival to Somerset High School, the Jumpers had been through five different coaches and had an overall losing record. Thacker had three losing seasons at Somerset and had five seasons with 20-plus wins.

“Having to leave this school, and this community, is one of the toughest things I have ever had to do,” Thacker stated. “It was tough having to tell the kids I would no longer be their basketball coach. Corey Price (a graduating senior) told me I was the only Somerset coach he could ever remember coaching here.”

“I am proud of what I accomplished at Somerset High School and feel that I have left behind a solid program that we built from the ground up,” Thacker said. “I was looking forward to working with the kids we had for next year’s team.”

“I think the youth programs that have been put in place in the county are going to produce quality teams for all three high schools in the future and I think that regional championships and state tournament appearances are going to be the norm for all three schools,” Thacker added.

Thacker gave thanks to his coaching staff for all their help during his nine years at Somerset and to former Somerset principal Tommy Floyd for hiring him and taking a chance on a then-freshman coach.

“I have a lot of great memories during my nine years in the Somerset community,” Thacker remarked. “Not only have we (my family) made lasting friendships with the players and the people at Somerset High School, but we have made friends with people all over the county. There will always be a special place in our hearts for this community.”

“Mr. (Wilson) Sears and Mr. (Jeff) Perkins have always been supportive of me and wanted me, and my wife (Kate), to continue to teach on at Somerset High School,” Thacker said. “They both felt that we were a part of this school and the community.”

Thacker will take on added responsibilities at his new school, which includes coaching the girls cross country team. Thacker will replace Don Daniel, who had coached at Rowan County for 13 years prior to his resignation. Daniel led the Vikings to a 16th Region Championship in 2005.

As of Monday evening, Somerset Superintendent Wilson Sears had not received a letter of resignation from Thacker. Sears stated that he could not make any comments about a possible coaching replacement until Thacker’s resignation from Somerset High School was official.