Staff report
Assistant superintendent for human resources Delores Morris confirmed Monday that Salisbury High girls basketball coach Jennifer Shoaf was relieved of her coaching duties Aug. 1.
Shoaf coached 11 seasons and led the Hornets to the 2A state championship and a 31-0 record in 2003-04.
Morris gave “personnel issues” as the reason for Shoaf’s removal and said “she will still be employed as a teacher.”
Contacted by the Post news staff, Shoaf said she hasn’t yet finalized her plans.
“I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” she said. “I’m still talking with people and counseling with people about this and I don’t know where we are in this process.”
Shoaf was named to head the Salisbury program prior to the 1996-97 season. Her first six seasons the Hornets posted a 40-101 record.
The arrival of superstar Shayla Fields, now at N.C. State, marked a turnaround in Salisbury’s fortunes, and Fields was joined the following year by standouts Saybah Sammy and Ashley Watkins.
The Hornets were 127-23 in Shoaf’s last five seasons to lift her career mark to 167-124. Only three individuals have coached more girls basketball wins in Rowan County.
Shoaf’s teams won or shared four consecutive Central Carolina Conference championships, twice posting 16-0 conference records.
The Hornets also won an unprecedented four straight Moir Christmas tournament titles from 2003-06 and qualified for the Western Regional five straight seasons.
Shoaf’s 2005-06 team was state runner-up, losing to Farmville Central in overtime.