Waccamaw football coach Shane Fidler leaving for larger school after turnaround season

After improving the Waccamaw High football team’s record by six wins in 2019, head coach Shane Fidler has accepted the head football coaching position at Ashley Ridge High in Summerville.

Fidler has coached the Warriors for the past three seasons after being hired from Colleton County High, where he was offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and head boys soccer coach.

It’s a move up for Fidler. Ashley Ridge plays in Class 5A, the state’s highest classification, while Waccamaw plays in Class 3A.

It’s bittersweet,” he said. “They made me an offer too good to refuse. We’ve been talking for the past few weeks and when a school like Ashley Ridge calls you and courts you, you have to listen. I went down there to interview and after a lot of prayer with my wife, Emilee; we knew it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Fidler took over a Waccamaw program that had go ne 1-9 in Tyronne Davis’ final year as head coach in 2016, and the Warriors went a combined 1-18 in his first two seasons in 2017 and ’18.

But they rebounded this past season with a 7-4 record that included a loss in the first round of the 3A playoffs to eventual state runner-up Dillon.

“I was not looking to leave Waccamaw, that wasn’t something that crossed my mind,” Fidler said. “This team is going to be really good for the next two years and there is a lot of young talent coming up. Whoever (inherits) this program is going to be able to take off and compete immediately.”

Upon his hiring in 2017, Fidler made a promise to the Waccamaw community that he would restore the program, build up the feeder programs, and have success on the field.

“We came in here and did everything we said we were going to when I signed,” he said. “This program is ready to take off; the kids have bought into the practice schedule, the weight room, and really enjoy the process that it takes to get to a Friday night. My goal as a coach was to win a banner, be that a region championship, Lower State or a state title. We didn’t get that done, but I don’t think this program is far off.”

Fidler also guided the team through a pair of tragedies, as two members of the football team committed suicide on separate occasions late in the 2018-19 school year.

“Those were the two most difficult times to address the team,” Fidler said. “This was third, right after those.”

Taking over for Kenny Walker as the coach of Ashely Ridge, Fidler is excited to hit the ground running.

“This is an area and a program that I know well,” Fidler said. “This is one of the 10 biggest schools in the state (2,300-plus enrollment) and they have great facilities and fan support. My wife and I lived in that area before, so it’s not an entirely new beginning for us.”

As for his style, which the Waccamaw area knows well, Fidler expects to easily assimilate to the Summerville area.

“They’re getting a coach that holds his players accountable, who works all hours of the night like his hair is on fire to be successful, and someone who holds his coaches to a high standard,” Fidler said. “This is a great opportunity; it had to be for me to leave Waccamaw.”

Waccamaw is also losing a talented educator with Fidler’s departure, as his wife was named the school’s Teacher of the Year in February.

Fidler’s Ashley Ridge program will compete in Region 8-5A, where he will face West Ashley and former Green Sea Floyds football coach Donnie Kiefer.

Waccamaw is left as one of two area schools with a head football coach opening, the other being GSF, the two-time defending Class A state champions.