BEARVILLE — “It has been a life-long dream to be the head coach of the boys’ basketball program at Pierce County High School.”
Shannon Batten, a 1993 PCHS graduate, was recently named to lead the Bears’ fortunes. He is the seventh head coach since 2000 and joins a long list prior to the turn of the century.
Batten, who played for Wayne Sasser from 1989-93, takes over the vacant spot of Jamison Williams, who returned to his alma mater Brantley County High School.
Batten is the first Pierce County High School alum in 45 years to lead the basketball program joining former Lady Bear player and coach Mandy (Holland) Ligenfelter (current Ware County Lady Gators head coach) with the distinction.
“No pressure there,” responded Batten of the information. “I just want to thank the Board of Education and the high school administration for giving me this opportunity.”
Batten is no stranger to the players he will be coaching having taught and coached fulltime at Pierce County Middle School since 2010. That followed a three-year stint as a substitute teacher and paraprofessional in the school system.
He has had success in each sport coached at PCMS capturing 12 conference titles and four runner-up finishes.
Batten’s Bears’ golf teams won the last five titles with the Lady Bears having won the last three after he took over. PCMS won the last two weightlifting titles after finishing second three consecutive years. He won a conference title in football a year after finishing second.
Batten led the Lady Bears’ soccer team to a title in his lone season on the sideline. He also finished second in his one season of coaching 8th-grade boys’ basketball.
At PCHS, Batten worked as an assistant coach to both Rusty Smith (2014-15, 2015-16) and Shan Garner (2016-17 through 2018-19). He served as the Bears’ jayvee head coach during his time under Garner.
Batten believes the key is meeting with former middle school players who may have opted not to play and gauge their interest into returning to the hardwood.
“Once the word started circulating I might be the head coach I started hearing from some players who were thinking of coming back out,” said Batten. “A lot of the guys I’ve coached over the years stopped playing basketball. Maybe it was because there wasn’t a lot of extended success or they opted to concentrate on football and baseball.”
The second obstacle is changing the culture inside the locker room and outside with community support.
Batten
“I’ve got to get the players to believe in themselves, which is huge, and understand hard work is the key to success,” said Batten. “I’m going to be stressing the basics of fundamentals and hard work. It’s going to take some time and patience because those two things seem to have been lost.
“The goal is to show success so we can get the crowds back. We haven’t had big crowds in a while.”
As is the case with all smaller programs, the sharing of athletes helps build better programs.
“That is huge,” Batten said of sharing athletes. “It’s imperative because without the athletic kids who are in the football and baseball programs, you lose a huge nucleus of knowledgeable players with athletic abilities.
“I’ve talked with (football) coach (Ryan) Herring and (baseball) coach (Andrew) Evans so we can all be on the same page of working together and sharing. We need their players to help strengthen the basketball program.”
As for his first varsity head coaching gig, Batten plans to lean on former head coaches he’s played against or called games for as a Georgia High School Association (GHSA) referee.
“As a first-year coach taking over a program, there are going to be a lot of bumps in the road,” said Batten. “We’ve got to build on the basics, and me leaning on veteran coaches is huge this year while getting my feet wet and learning the ropes.”
As far as coaching philosophy, he wants to see his players in action during practice and summer scrimmages which will dictate the style of play.
“If we can’t play manto- man defensively then we’ll play zone,” said Batten. “If we play zone then we’ll utilize a 2-3, 1-3-1, 22-1 and 1-2-2. You have to be able to put the proper players in the correct positions to be successful.
“Offensively, today’s game is much faster-paced with shot clocks involved than it was when I played. With (opposing) defenses picking up full court, you’ve got to have ball handlers and big men who can handle the ball to get the ball up the floor, get you into your sets and get a good shot in under 30 seconds.
“Todays game is more outside of the three-point line. It’s almost like there’s no inside game anymore. High school basketball is turning more into an NBAstyle game.”
Batten will gather players Monday, June 2 for the first practice from approximately 1:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m. He said it’s his slot between morning football practices and afternoon baseball practices.
“Everything’s got to be implemented from day one back to the basics, ball handling, passing, defensive positions, communication, offensive sets, man-to-man sets, zone sets, slobs (sideline out of bounds plays) and blobs (baseline out of bounds plays),” said Batten.
He will have three days of practice before a threeteam scrimmage June 5. Batten will use the summer scrimmages to play everyone who dresses to see how they react in game conditions.
“There are going to be days where I don’t have the football players or maybe the baseball players or a combination of both,” Batten said. “I’ve got to play who’s there. And, I’ve got to get them caught up on their basketball IQ, ability and confidence, and build on what I’ve got inside the program.”
