In his recent tenure as assistant principal and athletic director at St. Clair High School, one thing has remained a constant for Shannon Jeffrey.
No matter how far he’s gotten away from coaching or what he’s done in his career, the games of softball and basketball have always remained near and dear to him.
“I am a coach at heart, I love coaching and I wanted to get back into it,” Jeffrey said. “I’ve been on the administrative side of things but I felt like now it was time to get back into coaching.”
So it would seem like the perfect fit for Jeffrey, the former softball and boys basketball coach at Silex, to jump at the chance to coach those two sports again.
As luck would have it, the athletic program at Warrenton was in need of filling just those two positions in advance of next school year.
“It worked out great,” Jeffrey said. “One reason I applied for that job — I live in Marthasville (which is just 15 miles south of Warrenton) — it had both of the positions that I feel I can do a pretty good job at. It was a good fit and I am extremely excited to get the opportunity. I am also grateful to the administration for giving me the opportunity.”
In his tenure at Silex, Jeffrey took one boys basketball team to the final four and he has also taken four Owls’ softball teams to the state semifinals.
The Owls took third in the Class 1 in 2006 in boys basketball, defeating Tuscumbia 61-60 and Jeffrey guided Owls’ softball teams to state in 2004-2007. The high water mark of his softball tenure at Silex was the 2006 season in which the Owls finished 24-2 and defeated Miller 4-2 for the Class 1 state title.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to go to the final four a few times,” Jeffrey said. “I’ve already had meetings with the players and the parents already and that (return trips to the state level) is exactly my goal. I’ve got 15 years before I retire and I told them that I want to stay 15 years in one school, which is Warrenton, and I am going to do everything I possibly can to get there more than once. I also don’t want to get there 15 years from now. I want to get there next year. There’s no need to wait 15 years. Let’s do it now. That’s our goal and that’s what we are going to shoot for even though it’s going to be tough.”
On the basketball side of things, Jeffrey replaces Eric Burle, who was in his third year with the Warrenton boys basketball program and second as head coach. Burle resigned from his post in late January for personal reasons, leaving the team in the hands of interim coach Joe Klostermann.
In his one full season with the Warriors, Burle’s team posted a mark of 11-15.
This past softball season, Warrenton was guided by Andrea Hawkins and the Warriors finished the season 7-17.
“We are very excited to have coach Jeffery come on board as our head boys basketball (and girls softball) coach,” Warrenton athletic director Craig Frazier said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and a prestigious basketball background to Warrenton as well as a strong work ethic.”
