Since graduating from Apollo High School in 2017, Tabor Shadowen has always dreamed of climbing the coaching ladder. Eight years later, Shadowen has emerged from a graduate assistant and later an assistant coach to being named the new head coach of Owensboro Catholic’s boys’ basketball team.
“I am a little overwhelmed but full of gratitude,” Shadowen. “You look back on your journey and coaching, and it’s always special to see people show up for you who have been with you through the highs and lows. You would never imagine you are living your dreams of becoming a head coach.”
Shadowen replaces Tim Riley, who, after 10 years at the helm, stepped down to accept the same position at Christian Academy of Louisville. An assistant under Riley for the past two years, the Apollo alum is familiar with the current roster and is already planning on how to add his own flavor to the mix.
”It is tough shoes to fill, but he has put this program in a really, really good spot,” Shadowen said. “Our intensity in everything that we do, and our competitiveness, are what is going to separate us moving forward. We are to continue with the same intensity and sense of urgency, whether it is film or practice.”
Shadowen’s coaching career started in 2018 when he became a graduate assistant at Lee University. A year later, he left to move closer to home, relocating to Richmond, Kentucky. While there, he spent two seasons at Model Laboratory in the 11th Region. After leaving, he became a grad assistant at Palm Beach Atlantic University before being promoted to assistant coach.
“That kind of checked off the dream of being a college coach,” Shadowen said. “I found out that wasn’t really what I wanted to do.”
After leaving the college ranks, he returned to Kentucky and spent a season under Nathan West at Trinity (Whitesville) before joining Riley’s staff at Owensboro Catholic.
Throughout the process and since accepting the position, Shadowen has continuously stayed in contact with his mentor.
“I talked to Tim a lot throughout the process and just leaned on him a lot,” Shadowen said. “He called me after the interview and said he had heard it went well. He called me last Sunday night and we had a really good conversation. He was excited for me and is excited to go out on his new journey as well. We were able to go back and forth, but that won’t be the last phone call I have with Tim Riley. That is a guy that I will lean on for a long time, and he’s been instrumental in me getting here.”
