By Phil Terrigno
(Photo Credit/Seth Harrison – The Journal News)
After five state titles in 10 seasons as Hackley’s varsity girls basketball coach, Shelagh Amann (shown above, right) has resigned.
“I got the opportunity to coach some amazing young ladies,” said Amann, whose Hornets recently won their second straight independent schools state title. “I got to know some great families. It’s a bittersweet ending. Sometimes you have to recognize your time is up.”
When contacted by The Journal News, Amann chose not to give a reason for her resignation but said that it was unexpected.
“It was a personal decision on her part,” Hackley athletic director Jason Edwards said. “We respect her decision, but from my perspective as the AD, she’s a huge loss for Hackley School.
“I’ve loved the compassion and how much she cares for the kids. She did an exceptional job at her job. But you’ve got to respect her decision and, unfortunately, we have to move forward.”
Plans for her replacement were not announced.
“We haven’t even had the conversation about that yet,” Edwards said.
Amann, a Hartsdale resident, previously spent nine seasons as the coach of Maria Regina and has 353 career victories. She posted a 202-43 record at Hackley.
“My daughter is 10 and my son is 6,” Amann said. “I’ve been coaching every year of their lives. My daughter was an infant when I started coaching at Hackley. They never knew anything but me coaching and being with babysitters.”
Amann has coached five 1,000-point scorers, including Bates-bound forward Allie Coppola.
“She taught us a lot about hard work and coming to practice,” Coppola said. “We’re there for an hour-and-a-half but we’re focusing. She knows how to teach players to see things and knows how to get them to be part of a team.”
Hackley had a 47-2 record over the past two seasons, falling only to Hamilton and Clarkstown South.
