SPENCER — Trish Hester’s known for years that she’d eventually take over for Gary Atwell as head coach of the North Rowan girls basketball team.
She just didn’t expect it to be right here, right now.
“I’m ready, but honestly, I didn’t think it would be this year,” said Hester. “Gary’s talked about leaving, doing something different, but I was still surprised when he really did it.”
Hester’s emotions are mixed as she takes over a program that’s generated an 86-47 record the last five seasons.
“I’m excited about being head coach, but it’s sad in some ways. Gary was a great guy and we always worked well together. He was a great coach, a great friend and he’s really missed around here as a teacher. But everyone understands. We just want him to be happy.”
Atwell resigned from North in July after 16 years as head coach. He’s working now at Kannapolis Middle School and will be an assistant for what’s expected to be an A.L. Brown High juggernaut this fall.
Hester’s been on the bench with Atwell the last six seasons and has also been an assistant at R.J. Reynolds and Western Guilford before that, so it’s not like she’s being thrown to the wolves.
“Gary’s been mentoring me all along,” she said. “He’s always allowed me to try a lot of things on my own and then he’d talk to me about why this worked out or why this didn’t.”
Hester’s other mentor was her Hickory High Red Tornado coach, Dave Elder, a legendary figure in North Carolina prep circles.
“I learned a lot from Coach Elder,” said Hester, who graduated high school in 1990. “I played on some really good teams at Hickory.”
An all-round athlete, Hester went on to play basketball, volleyball and tennis at Guilford College in Greensboro.
She came to Rowan County prior to the 1995-96 school year when her husband, Chip, a former Guilford wide receiver, joined David Bennett’s staff at Catawba College.
Hester’s just started her sixth season as North volleyball coach and also has coached tennis. There was one autumn in which she actually juggled girls tennis and volleyball duties simultaneously, so coaching just one sport — even a considerably higher profile one — has to be a little easier ride.
One thing’s for sure, Hester, still has tons of energy. It’s too bad she’s not eligible for duty, because she was the MVP at North’s volleyball practice on Tuesday, spiking and digging and trash-talking like a teen-ager.
Hester would probably like to insert herself in the starting lineup for this year’s basketball team, too.
Last season, North boasted three of the county’s top players in Joyce Hipps, Courtney Hill and Amber Hill. Hipps and Courtney Hill graduated, so their losses were anticipated, but Amber Hill, a talented, aggressive guard who made all-county as a sophomore, was expected to be the cornerstone of Cav teams for the next two seasons.
But now Amber’s missing as well. Her mom remarried and the family has moved.
That means Hester’s leading returning scorer is Crystal Craige, who averaged a modest 4.6 ppg last season.
And that means Hester’s debut is going to be a major challenge. The Cavs will be quick as always, but they’ll also be very small, very inexperienced.
“Everyone on the team is going to be my size or smaller,” said Hester. “I’m walking the halls every day looking for tall people. The guidance counselors are looking. Everyone’s looking.”
Hester says if she had her choice the Cavs would run and apply pressure defense, but this year’s style will depend on the personnel she has available.
“Right now,” she said, “I’m not sure exactly who we’ll have.”
One person who is a lock to be on the Cavs’ bench is Morgan Hester, Trish’s 4-year-old daughter.
“Morgan was on the bench for her first North game when she was 3 weeks old,” said Hester with a laugh. “Sitting in her car seat.”
While the new coach will derive plenty of moral support from her daughter, adult aid will come from Norma Wiedenhoft, who will either guide the jayvees or assist with the varsity. Wiedenenhoft’s precise role is a loose end that hasn’t been finalized.
The early schedule might cause Hester some sleepless nights. In non-conference games, North takes on South Rowan and A.L. Brown, both of whom return loads of experienced players, and West Rowan and East Rowan, both of whom are young, but extremely talented.
“I just hope our kids don’t get frustrated and the parents don’t lose patience with us early in the season,” said Hester. “It’s a transition year, but we can still be very competitive.”
And on the bright side, state champ High Point Central has moved out of North’s 2A Central Carolina Conference after four years of dominance. Highly respected Ledford, though, is still around.
When Hester looks ahead, she figures at least one opponent on the 2001-02 schedule will make for even tougher nights than HPC or Ledford. That’s A.L. Brown — which will have Atwell sitting on its bench.
“I’m just not going to look over there,” said Hester. “It’s going to be so hard. But I know it’s going to be even harder for Gary.”
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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