The coming baseball season at White Hall High School will be the seventh under Shane Harp and his last as the Bulldogs' head coach.
Harp has turned in his letter of retirement, which the White Hall School Board accepted Tuesday and will take effect June 1. Harp has spent the past 20 years in White Hall.
"First and foremost, I want to thank God and Jesus Christ for allowing me to have had this opportunity to be in the education field and coaching profession for 29 years. Secondly, I want to thank my past administrators, school board members, and students for allowing me to serve in their school districts," Harp said in a letter to The Commercial.
"White Hall is where my wife and I settled and laid the foundation for our family, which includes two sons, Wes and Cade. I am very thankful for the educators who taught my boys. We have made many lifelong friends in this special community and I want to thank White Hall for accepting us throughout this journey. A special thanks to the White Hall School Administration and board members who believed in me on my final ride as a coach and educator. Thank you to all of the secretaries that always unselfishly helped and guided me on my journey. Principals and coaches and my assistant coaches, a big thanks to you for trusting in me with duties that would help the future of our White Hall students.
"Last but not least, I have enjoyed all the past and present teachers that I was fortunate enough to work with all of these years."
Harp is a Watson Chapel High graduate who played on the school's 1988 state championship team. He also graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and began his career in the Dollarway School District, working as a physical education teacher, and football, track and baseball coach.
Harp added to his duties health and history teacher and girls basketball coach in Fort Smith before becoming football and head baseball coach in Gillett. He returned to Jefferson County and worked as a history teacher and eighth-grade head football, assistant high school and assistant baseball coach under Skip Carr at White Hall. Harp won two 5A state championships as an assistant (2012 and 2014), reached the title game in 2015 and became head coach in 2017, helping the Bulldogs make the semifinal round in 2019.
"Education and coaching is different from many jobs, as you know," Harp said. "We as educators choose to do this profession hoping to instill a positive influence in students'/players' lives that will help them succeed in life! Retirement was a hard decision based on that, but sometimes, people need to move on to their next chapter in their life."
Harp thanked his wife Courtney for supporting him through "ups and downs" that go along with coaching, his parents for believing in him from the beginning and all of his assistants for their hard work in making the teams successful.
"Coaching football and baseball takes away from quality family time, and it has always been tough being away from my wife and kids," Harp said. "I give credit to my two sons and my wife for always being right by my side throughout these years of coaching and my parents believing in me from the beginning! FYI, it isn't easy being a coach's wife!"
Harp's future plan is to open a power wash and mobile car wash business.
"It is time for a new chapter for the Harps," he said.