Jason Shields named Snead State women’s basketball coach

It’s tough to leave a job you love.

That’s what Jason Shields is currently going through, but a big opportunity popped up for him.

Shields has accepted the job as head coach of the Snead State Community College women’s basketball program.

The longtime high school girls basketball coach met with his Hokes Bluff players this past weekend to let them know of his decision. With the coronavirus pandemic, he had to do it virtually through Zoom.

“That was difficult,” Shields said of meeting with his girls online. “… It’s hard telling people that you’re choosing something else to do. I’ve always told them that they are important to me. So that’s hard. They understood it was a dream of mine and the opportunity may not be there (later).”

Snead State Athletic Director Mark Richard is eager to add Shields as the leader of the women’s basketball program.

“Snead State is excited to welcome coach Shields to the Parson family,” Richard said. “We know his work ethic, coaching knowledge and experience will be a great asset to our program.”

What kind of effort can the Snead State program expect?

“I’ve acted like and treated (my teams) like the top of the (mountain) no matter what,” Shields said. “I don’t think I’ll give any more or less effort because I’ve always taken it like, hey, this is their NBA championship. This is their college championship. I try to coach them that way.”

With this being Shields' first college gig, he’ll be jumping into the recruiting game quickly.

“That’ll be fun and difficult,” he said. “… It’ll be different and that’s always something I’ve wanted to try.”

Snead is getting a coach with a hefty resume.

Shields was 495-196 in his 23 seasons as a varsity head coach at Cherokee County and Hokes Bluff.

The 1988 Hokes Bluff graduate was 258-103 at his alma mater from 2008-2020. At Cherokee County from 1993-2004, he compiled a 237-93 record.

He won 12 county championships (six consecutive in Etowah and six total in Cherokee), 11 area championships (six at Cherokee County, five at Hokes Bluff), two regional championships (Both with Cherokee County) and one state championship (1998 at Cherokee County).

Shields was the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 4A Coach of the Year in 2017 and was most recently named The Gadsden Times Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 season. Hokes Bluff finished 25-9 this past season, one year after finishing 14-16. The Eagles made it to the Northeast Regional semifinals before falling to Oneonta.

“I’ve been put in communities that love the game,” Shields said. “They’ve all pretty much been dream jobs for me. This one is too. It’s got a community and good tradition. Coach (John) Kitchens did a good job up there for years and the community supports it. The administration and faculty support it. I’ve been blessed to be put in places doing something I’ve always dreamed of doing. They’ve all been great places to be.”