Shane Smith was officially named the new athletic director for Turlock Christian High School this week.

He replaces Randy Hopkins, who served eight years as Turlock Christian’s athletic director, and will return full time to the elementary classroom. Hopkins will serve as athletic director of the elementary and junior high school programs.

Smith came to Turlock Christian out of Texas Christian University. A native Texan, he was hired as a junior high/high school history teacher and an assistant football coach. Mid-season he was promoted to interim head coach when the head coach resigned. After the season’s end he was promoted to head varsity football coach. During the school year, he also coached junior high boys basketball.

 Smith also has seven years of previous experience as a varsity swim coach and football coach in Texas that included a Division II State Football Championship. He worked under one of the most successful athletic directors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Aaron Beck from All Saints High School.

Though this is Smith’s first position as an athletic director, he brings a master’s degree in sports management from Liberty University. Such education will be invaluable as he seeks to rebuild many of the programs at Turlock Christian and find financial support for many other programs that have been a source of pride for the school for years.