Amy Shearer steps down after 16 seasons at Columbia City

Amy Shearer did not just coach Columbia City girls basketball for 16 seasons. She built it into a program that expected to contend, year after year, with a 237-150 record, five 20-win seasons and Northeast 8 Conference titles in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Shearer is stepping down after a run that also included sectional and regional championships in 2024-25, a season in which Columbia City finished 16-8 and again leaned on Indiana All-Star Addison Baxter to lead the way. Columbia City athletic director Khelli Leitch confirmed the move and thanked Shearer for her leadership and dedication, signaling the change as a clean break at the top of one of northeast Indiana’s most established programs.

What the next coach inherits is not a rebuild so much as a standard. Columbia City has spent more than a decade and a half under Shearer with a defined identity, one measured in conference titles, postseason wins and steady expectations. That matters in a place where continuity often separates programs that are simply good from those that become household names in the region. The new coach will be judged quickly on whether Columbia City can keep its edge in player development, stay competitive in the Northeast 8 and avoid a drop-off after so much success under one leader.

Shearer’s connection to Columbia City runs deeper than the sideline. She played for the Eagles in 1988, a reminder that her career came full circle at her alma mater. Before her tenure is fully complete, she will serve as an assistant coach for the 2026 Indiana Girls All-Stars, which are scheduled to play three games in June, including an exhibition against the Indiana Junior All-Stars and home-and-home matchups against Kentucky.

That summer role gives Shearer one more high-profile assignment before Columbia City turns the page. For the Eagles, the challenge is now about succession: preserving the culture Shearer built, keeping the roster pipeline strong and proving the program’s success was not tied to one coach alone.