7-Time Champion WHS Basketball Coach Resigns

Ed Beattie, who has taken the Winnacunnet High School girls' basketball team to seven state championships during his 31 seasons with the Warriors, resigned Tuesday without providing a reason to school officials, according to the Hampton Union.

Beattie, who coached the team to five straight state championships from 2007 to 2011, reportedly has hinted in recent years "that the end was coming" because coaching the team, running a Hampton Falls farm, working as an auctioneer and teaching social studies at WHS was "becoming harder to juggle," according to the Hampton Union. Beattie declined to explain his rationale when reached by the paper Wednesday night, stating he would wait until after the Winnacunnet School Board — which met Wednesday — accepted his resignation.

"There is a process to these things and I think it's important to respect the process and let it play out before I talk about it," Beattie — who has a career record of 519-173, including a 119-3 mark in the past six seasons — reportedly told the Hampton Union.