Hilton Head High to start sifting through coaching applicants this week

Hilton Head Island High School athletics director Lew Kent said Wednesday he hopes to hire a new head boys basketball coach by the end of next week.

The school has been accepting applications for the spot vacated by 13-year coach Greg Elliott since June 10 and will continue to do so through Friday afternoon.

Kent has named a five-person hiring committee that will begin interviewing candidates for the position early next week -- himself, outgoing Parent-Teacher-Student Organization president Carole Korner, outgoing Student Improvement Council president Barb Willett, All-Sports Booster Club president Mike Manesiotis and community member LJ Bush, who is also an assistant coach for the high school's football and baseball team. Principal Amanda O'Nan will have to approve the committee's selection.

Kent said the committee will meet Friday afternoon and shuffle through the applicants' resumes before deciding on exactly how many candidates to bring in for interviews, but added that he already has received interest from several interesting candidates.

"It could be three (finalists). Or it might 10 or 15," he said. "I hope we can narrow it down to a workable number to where we're serious about every candidate. We're not going to waste people's time and money, but we're still being diligent in our search."

Kent said he is hopeful one candidate will stand out after the interviews. If not, another round of interviews will be conducted.

In their meeting Friday, the hiring committee will whittle down a list of qualifications it will be looking for in a coach to take over a Seahawks basketball program that has compiled just 10 wins over the last two seasons. The team finished 5-20 overall a year ago.

Kent said he already has "thought about it at great lengths" when deciding whether it would be best for the school to hire from within or look for a replacement from outside the school and the Beaufort County School District.

If the committee elects to go outside for its hire, the candidate will have to teach at the high school, which doesn't have teaching openings in every department.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks basketball team has continued its schedule of summer practices. Ken Updike, an assistant for the boys team last season, has been running those practices, Kent said.