SPENCER — Trish Hester poked her head inside North Rowan guidance counselor Mike White’s office earlier this week and told him co-athletic directors Kelly Everhart and Ron Corriher needed to have a word with him.

“I go down there and I’m sitting in their office trying to think what it was I did wrong,” said White. “I’m thinking what was it I said that I shouldn’t have said. I mean, I was a little nervous.”

But then Corriher told White to relax.

“Ron said I wasn’t in any trouble,” remembers the towering White, who stands a few millimeters shy of 6-foot-7.

The message North’s athletic directors had for White was a positive. They wanted him to consider taking the job of head girls basketball coach.

White’s final answer? I’ll do it.

“I admit it was a big surprise,” said White, who had been gearing up for another term as North’s jayvee boys coach. “At first, I said, ‘Hey, you guys are joking, right?’ But then I started feeling good that they wanted to stay in-house and that they were asking me to do the job.”

White, a North guy through and through, was the natural choice. As Corriher puts it, “Mike is one of us.”

Now it’s White, not Hester, who has the tough task of rebuilding the Cavalier girls this fall. It’s White who must fill the sneakers of departed Gary Atwell, who had guided North since 1986 until he resigned in July.

Hester, Atwell’s long-time assistant, had been all set to replace her mentor. But she recently found out there’s a little Hester due in seven months. That’s why she felt it would be wise for the Cavs to pursue an alternative course.

“I could have done basketball OK his year, but we’re thinking about the season after this one,” said Hester. “That one would be tough for me. Rather than have to change coaches all over again, it’s best to have Mike take it now. It’ll give the girls and the program some consistency. I know Mike will do great.”

Everhart recently experienced his own baby boom. With a 5-month-old in the house, he understands where Hester’s coming from and why she’s concerned about maintaining the delicate balance between family and coaching.

“Trish would have to go straight from this volleyball season to basketball and the most important thing right now is for her to take care of herself,” said Everhart.

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White’s not coming into girls basketball completely cold. He assisted Jennifer Shoaf at Salisbury for two years and says he learned quite a bit about leading females from the fiery Hornet boss.

White’s also sought out experts for advice. He started at the top with Livingstone women’s coach Andrew Mitchell, who’s built a solid program from scratch.

“I talked to Andrew this week for two hours,” said White. “He said the biggest thing was not to let up on the girls. He said don’t accept excuses. He said the things I did with guys will work with girls, too. He really helped me sort things out.”

White can also draw on his own considerable athletic success. He scored 886 points prior to graduating from North in 1991 and is still No. 10 on the Cavs’ all-time scoring list. He was also a fine football player, earning 1990 All-Rowan County team honors at both tight end and defensive line.

White went on to Hampton University, played tight end for a year, then switched to hoops.

In ’93, he made two comebacks. He came back home to Livingstone College and also returned to football.

“I went back to football, because I missed the contact,” laughs White. “I hated all the running we did for basketball. The other thing is that in basketball, they’ll only give you five fouls. In football, I could hit people all day long.”

By ’95, White had outgrown tight end and was toiling as a senior tackle on the Bears’ offensive line. Scouts came around to see the big fellow, but White didn’t chase his pro dreams past the borders of Rowan County. Family took precedence.

“My mom was real sick with cancer then,” he said. “I figured I’d rather stay right here.”

Happily, White’s presence made a difference. His mom, Mary, beat her illness.

After his Livingstone playing days, White went to work at Salisbury High, helping out with basketball, football and softball.

Later, he would coach a football season at Livingstone, but quickly learned he was better suited for high school coaching.

“I always thought all college coaches did was sit around and talk on the phone,” laughs White. “Then I found myself watching film and breaking it down at like 3 a.m. College coaching’s not an easy job.”

Finally, the North grad found himself back at the scene of his glory days. He assisted Everhart with boys varsity basketball one year and has handled the jayvee boys for two.

“Honestly, my old school is the last place I thought I’d ever end up,” he said. “This experience has definitely taught me never to say never. But I’m liking it. I know the kids and I know the surroundings.”

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It doesn’t figure to be an easy debut for White, as the Cavs lost three all-county players — Joyce Hipps, Courtney Hill and Amber Hill.

Still, White’s confident his girls can be a factor in a 2A Central Carolina Conference that figures to be ruled by Ledford.

“It’s gonna be a challenge,” says White. “But I like challenges. That’s one reason I took it.”

White says his girls will emulate the high-octane style of his jayvee boys. He says they’ll run, run, run and then run some more. And they’ll use their considerable quickness to apply fullcourt man-to-man pressure.

“It’s a bunch of real young girls I’ve inherited,” said White. “You might see me laugh and you might see me cry. All I promise is that we’ll compete.”

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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com