When Habersham County Coach Shane Dover suddenly passed away Tuesday, the community felt shockwaves of pain as they lost a beloved father, husband, teacher and coach.
Shane Dover dedicated his life to helping Habersham’s youth develop a love for learning and grow their potential as athletes. His dedication to Habersham County students set him apart, making him a beloved member of the Habersham County School System, a great coach and a pillar in the Habersham County Community.
“When I think about Shane Dover I think of a teacher and coach that truly loved his job,” Habersham County Schools Superintendent Matthew Cooper said. “He told me on a number of occasions how much he enjoyed being a teacher. He was always grateful for the opportunity to be in the education profession. He was living his dream job.”
Dover leaves behind a school board that admired him, students who adored him and a team of coaches who loved him like family, as well as his wife, Kristie, and three sons, Sawyer, Sutton and Slade.
“As I’ve thought about Shane over the last few days, the word that keeps coming to my mind is ‘love,'” Habersham Central High School Head Baseball Coach Chris Akridge said. “Through coaching both football and baseball with him, I saw that Shane loved coaching and truly loved our players. I also witnessed the love that he had for his sons and his wife. It was evident that he loved his family with every fiber of his being.”
He was dedicated to Habersham’s athletics, serving as a coach for the Habersham Central Raiders football team and Wilbanks Middle School girls’ basketball.
“Coach Dover was a total team player,” says Habersham County Schools Athletic Director Geep Cunningham. “He loved his job and he loved the Raiders.”
Cunningham says that Dover’s commitment to athletics and coaching of multiple sports is “unheard of in today’s times.”
“He did things the right way,” Cunningham says. “It makes me extremely proud to work with Coach [Dover] and know that we will always be members together in the Raider Family.”
Dover is remembered not only as a friend, teacher and coach, but as someone dedicated to his faith and his community.
“From the standpoint of being his friend and co-worker, Shane was a guy who was easy to love,” Akridge said. “He always had a positive attitude and a servant’s heart which made him lovable to everyone that he came in contact with. As a man of faith, it was noticeable that he loved his Savior. To me, that is the legacy that he left on our community and on the students and athletes that he worked with—a legacy of loving life and loving others.”
A love for students
Dover’s passion was working with youth, whether it was on the field, in the classroom or at church. His family says that out of everything he did, including a 29-year career with the Georgia Department of Transportation, working with youth was his true calling.
“Coach Dover was the kind of teacher that our students just loved,” Superintendent Cooper said. “His students knew that he cared about them deeply and that he was willing to do whatever was necessary to make class fun.”
He taught at Wilbanks Middle School, where his students looked forward to class with him.
“Coach Dover was a great teacher, coach, husband and father, and a great friend,” said Wilbanks Middle School Assistant Principal Chris Chitwood and Principal MaryBeth Thomas in a statement to Now Habersham. “He will be missed by our staff and our students.”
WMS says that his impact on students as both a teacher and coach left a mark on the school and its students, building a place where students wanted to be.
“In the classroom, he created an environment where students wanted to come to school and be in his class,” WMS administration says. “On the field, he was more than a coach – he was a mentor. For Coach Dover, teaching and coaching was not a job but something he wanted to do, and he enjoyed it. His students absolutely loved him. He was excited about teaching and coaching and was devoted to it.”
Habersham County Schools students, faculty, administration and staff all agree that Dover was one-of-a-kind, and will be deeply missed.
“He simply cannot be replaced,” Cooper said. “There is no doubt in my mind that his legacy will live on in his three sons and in the many students that he impacted in the classroom and in athletics.”
