North Myrtle Beach girls hoops coach Jude Hunt resigns. What prompted his decision?

Jude Hunt’s love for basketball will never fade.

But after more a decade on the job he is stepping aside, believing the demands of the job are now more than he can commit to.

The longtime North Myrtle Beach girls basketball coach resigned from his post on Thursday, doing so via an e-mail statement. Hunt met with team members shortly before delivering his resignation to school administrators.

“As a husband, father, and teacher, it has become harder and harder over the years to justify the extra time that a head basketball coach must put in to meet the expectations, ‘keep up with the Joneses,’ and outperform all of the other programs in the area that are being pushed to meet these expectations,” he said. “As the demands seem to increase every year, the pay for the position has remained the same. For this reason, I have determined that it is in the best interest of me and my family that I explore other avenues in which to spend my time.

“I truly love every one of my players at North Myrtle Beach, and I would like to think that they know that in their hearts. While I am more than willing to give myself unselfishly to them, it has become very difficult to keep the proverbial ledger balanced in terms of the time spent trying to be the best coach that I can possibly be.”

During his career at North Myrtle Beach, the Chiefs won more than 140 games and qualified for the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons. Hunt was once voted league Coach of the Year (2013) and was twice selected a coach for the North-South All-Star game.

“Eleven years ago, I took over the girls’ basketball program at North Myrtle Beach High School. At that time, we had three basketballs, half of a set of tattered practice uniforms, and a program that was struggling to stay afloat. In my first season, we won seven games, none of them in region play.,” he said. “As a young, motivated coach, I vowed at that time that it was the worst our program would ever be. In the years since, I have managed to grow the program into what I think most would consider a widely respected program. We have qualified for post-season play every season since then. We have been ranked in the top ten in state polls multiple times.”

However, as the work of running a program increased, Hunt said the pay involved has remained the same.

“At the start of my career, coaches were paid supplements by the school district. These supplements were given for the work that coaches had to do from the start of the season in November until the season ended in February,” he said. “Any work that coaches did with their players beyond that was considered ‘extra’ and few coaches even did that work.

“Since then, it has become the expectation of all basketball coaches to work with their players year-round. … The expectation is that we would conduct offseason practices and workouts until the next season begins in November, with just a week or so off in July.

“Unfortunately, in that time the district has not increased compensation to basketball coaches, despite the increased compensation to basketball coaches, despite the increased expectations to work practically year-round.”

He also cited a 2015 decision by the Horry County School Board to give county football coaches 90 days of pay for summer weightlifting and passing leagues.

“To draw a parallel, in the summer of 2016, our girls’ basketball program held just as many weight workouts in the summer as the football team, and we held scrimmages on more dates than our football team participated in passing leagues,” Hunt said.

The former North Myrtle Beach head man said the stance became somewhat clear during his time at the North-South All-Star games earlier this month.

“I got to spend some time with some wonderful young ladies, all of whom were great players, all having coaches that had put in an extensive amount of time to help them be the best they could be,” Hunt said. “The game of girls basketball is growing by leaps and bounds in South Carolina, and it is all because so many coaches are putting in this extra time. Sadly, none of us are getting the compensation for this extra work.”

Though not the terms he wanted to leave on, the former North Myrtle Beach girls coach said he is leaving on “a high note,” leaving the bench with a win in the North-South All-Star game — one of his career goals.

“I truly love every one of my players at North Myrtle Beach, and I would like to think that they know that in their hearts. While I am more than willing to give myself unselfishly to them, it has become very difficult to keep the proverbial ledger balanced in terms of the time spent trying to be the best coach that I can possibly be,” he said. “I truly am grateful for all of the relationships that I have been able to grow with and be a part of over the past several years of my coaching career. My only hope is that my players have grown and learned from me as much as I have from working with them. I hope that they will continue to grow as young ladies and give their all for everything that they believe in.”

According to North Myrtle Beach athletic director Joe Quigley, the plan is to get a jumpstart on filling the position, though no timetable has been established.

This story was originally published March 30, 2017 at 4:22 PM with the headline "North Myrtle Beach girls hoops coach Jude Hunt resigns. What prompted his decision?."