Hurricane's girls basketball team is coming off its most successful season since the late 1980s.
The Redskins were a game away last season from qualifying for the Class AAAA state tournament in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, which would've been their first time there since 1989.
Hurricane will have to try to build upon its 17-7 2024-25 campaign without coach Jeremy Young. Young announced on social media Thursday night that he is stepping down.
Young spent three seasons as Hurricane's leader. Young helped lead the Redskins to an unblemished 13-0 start last season,
"It was a tough decision for me to make," Young said. "Every year, I look to see where I'm at mentally with coaching the game. I'm really proud of the foundation we built here at Hurricane. We've got the program heading in the right direction. But, I have to look at it from a family perspective. My family comes first and then my career, which is a close second, then coaching.
"I love coaching. It's probably my favorite hobby that I've ever had. I slept, ate and breathed basketball as a kid. Coaching girls basketball has been dear to me."
Hurricane's search for a new coach begins with the first day for practice set for Nov. 10.
"Coach Young was definitely the right man for the job when we brought him on board three years ago," Hurricane athletic director Jeff Null said. "He has turned our girls basketball program around during his tenure and there is a new level of success and enthusiasm within the program. His demeanor and coaching style seemed to be an excellent fit with our girls. I am extremely disappointed to see him go, but we understand his circumstances and wish him all the best."
Young's first season came in 2022-23 after coaching youth league basketball before that.
Hurricane went 9-14 in his first year and 10-13 in 2023-24.
"The growth of the program ... couldn't be built overnight," Young said. "The first year, when I came in, I think the girls' expectations were just really low. The girls we had on the team that year, including my daughter, were invested. But, they just didn't believe that we could win here at Hurricane. Early on, we surprised some people. It didn't always translate to wins and losses necessarily, but we did compete with just about everybody on our schedule.
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"We knocked off a couple of those teams that they had never been able to beat. That momentum from the first year carried over; then they started believing they could do it."
Young found that the tough love aspect of coaching resonated with his players early on, which led to success down the line.
"The girls really have to respect you as a coach," Young said. "Sometimes that means giving them tough love. But, they know, whether I come down on them or not, that I'm always going to build them back up. Those relationships got stronger and stronger, and it translated to how hard they played on the court."
Hurricane's early success last season saw wins against Parkersburg South, Tucker County, Huntington and St. Albans.
Alex Anderson led Hurricane in scoring last season, averaging 15.4 points per game.
"What I'll remember is that it was nothing but fun memories," Young said. "It was amazing. The senior class that I had last year I had coached since their sophomore year. I had some of them my last year when I was coaching middle school. It was great to see the excitement that they had throughout the process with a couple of big wins we had last season. It was the first time we'd ever beaten Parkersburg South.
"The fact that we were in that environment for the regional final was awesome. We had a packed house. It was an amazing experience, even though we didn't come out on top."
The Redskins' future figures to be bright. They welcome back Kendall Anderson and Brooklyn Jones.
"I told the administration that I would help them in whatever capacity to make sure that they make the right hire," Young said. "That's going to be a hard process because there is going to be a lot of interest in that job. I know all three of my assistant coaches are interested in sticking around and, hopefully, they have an opportunity to continue that momentum that we started.
"I hope the girls get a coach that can create the same culture of what we started. They have the talent to do so. If they get the right coach, get the kids to buy in, along with the parents and community, then the sky is the limit."
