Hilton Head High girls basketball coach Sean Rochester resigned from his position Monday after 12 years coaching at Hilton Head Island schools and five as the head girls coach.
Rochester said the decision to explore coaching opportunities outside the Lowcountry has been weighing on his mind for more than a year, but he returned for one more season “to be loyal to Miley (Ray) and Morgan (Wright),” the Seahawks’ two seniors. He plans to relocate to Philadelphia after the school year, which will open up numerous avenues to advance his coaching career.
“I told the girls, I just don’t feel like I can achieve what I want to achieve here, and it has nothing to do with them,” Rochester said. “There just isn’t really an opportunity here.”
After spending seven years coaching at various levels, including two years leading the Hilton Head Middle boys, three as the junior varsity boys coach and varsity assistant, and two as the associate head coach under former girls coach Dave Greenberg, Rochester took over a rebuilding program in 2015-16 and went 0-23 in his first season.
The next year, the Seahawks went 15-10 and captured the Region 8-4A title. Although the team did not achieve another winning record under his tenure, the Seahawks did win another region crown in 2018-19, and Rochester takes pride in the Seahawks’ accomplishments during that time.
He also is proud of what he built in other areas, including expanding the Seahawk Classic to 32 teams; expanding the Junior Seahawks program, which has produced varsity players who started in the program in third grade; and building the Lowcountry Heat AAU program to further develop the girls basketball talent in the area. He will remain in an advisory and organizational role with the Heat.
More than anything, though, Rochester says he will remember the positive interactions with his players.
“The trips and experiences and relationships you build with the kids are what you remember,” he said.
Story by Justin Jarrett / Photo by Brooke Simons
They should build a statue for Coach Rochester