Damon Ayers approved as new Cape boys’ basketball coach

Editor’s note: Ayers did not accept the job. The job was later offered to and accepted by former Cape basketball star Shemik Thompson. 

Damon D. Ayers was approved by the Cape Henlopen school board May 23 as the head coach of boys’ basketball. Ayers has yet to sit down with Cape to discuss teaching assignment and salary.

Ayers is poised to replace Steve Re, who resigned after eight years at the helm. Re will continue as a physical education teacher at Beacon Middle School.

Ayers is a 1990 graduate of Cape Henlopen, where he played football and basketball, and represented Cape in the Blue-Gold game in each sport.

He was the head coach of boys’ basketball the last two years at Sussex Tech High School, where he inherited a program that was 5-35 over two seasons and turned it around to 32-12 over two years with two straight state tournament berths.

Ayers was head coach at Woodbridge from 2005 to 2009, compiling four straight winning seasons and four berths in state tournament. The Blue Raiders made it to the final four of the state tournament.

Ayers has a bachelor’s degree from Wilmington College, graduating in 2003.