CCS adds staff for transition towards AAA competition

Chuck Speer, Conway Christian School's head football coach and athletic director, accelerated the school's transition to Arkansas Activities Association membership Friday by showing off some new and old faces on his staff and announcing a major financial boost and a corporate apparel sponsorship that will add fuel to the journey.

CCS, which has competed in the private Arkansas Christian Conference for two to six years in various sports, will become an official AAA member July 1 and will compete next season in 5 2A-North, which has different members according to sport and includes Faulkner County rival St. Joseph and nearby Bigelow. The move to AAA has prompted an expansion of staff and facilities, which Speer provided updates for students, faculty, supporters and the media at a news conference in the school's new gymnasium.

"We're gonna compete just fine right away," he said. "There's some doubters out there who are picking us last. That's fine. We've built a foundation of character through Christ and we're building athletic skills on top of that."

Speer said a $250,000 loan has recently been approved to complete the construction on an on-campus football/soccer stadium. He said the soccer teams have used the facility this spring and that it should be ready for football in August.

He also announced a contract with Nike that will provide, equipment and apparel for all CCS teams on a gradual basis over the next few years. "That company believes in our school and sees, as we do, its potential for growth," Speer said.

In announcing most of the staff that will lead CCS into AAA competition, Speer has added several coaches with experience in AAA competition at various high schools and has taken some administrative duties off himself.

"Getting some experience people will help me as much off the field as on the field," said Speer, a Kansas native. "I will rely a lot of their experience and knowledge of the AAA and the various rules and regulations that I'm not as familiar with. I know my family will appreciate that I may not have to spend as many hours up here away from them."

The major administrative addition will be the promotion of Kim Powell, a former star basketball player at South Side of Bee Branch and an All-AIC basketball player for the University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, to assistant athletic director, women's athletic director and volleyball coach. Powell has taught for six years in elementary school at CCS, has two children enrolled there and has served as middle school basketball coach.

A new addition to the CCS football staff as assistant coach and offensive coordinator will be John Flaherty, who has 36 years of high school coaching experience with stops at Bentonville, Dardanelle and Hot Springs Lakeside Horatio. Most recently, he started the Rose Bud football program from scratch.

Another new football staff member, as defensive coordinator, will be Helm Cooper, who has 35 years of experience in coaching at Conway, Mayflower and Jacksonville.

Shane Davis, who has degrees from Central Baptist College and UCA, will be the new boys basketball coach. He has coached basketball and softball at Quitman and served as assistant coach in helping start the Quitman high school football program.

Tom Cantwell, who will continue as director of Ortho Arkansas, will become the school's first athletic trainer. A graduate of Texas State, he is a founding member and past president of the Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association and member of the organization's Hall of Fame.

Continuing their roles on the CCS staff will be Brian Narretto, assistant football and basketball coach; Justin Hawkins, who coaches soccer at both CBC and Conway High (which have different seasons and is also CCS' soccer technical director and director of soccer development; Nate Billings, boys soccer coach; Ancil Lea, girls soccer coach; and Victor Werley, head baseball coach.

Speer said he is still working on hiring a new girls basketball coach and has been impressed with the applicants.

"We put out a basic advertisement and we have been bombarded with applicants, and I was really surprised at some of the people who applied, several whom I would describe as big names in coaching circles in the state," Speer said. "Some of them we can't afford, but I'm confident we will end up as an outstanding coach. This may stun some people, but we're attractive to coaches. We don't pay as much as some places, but many like what we are trying to do, with the emphasis on character, and to work in a Christian environment."

Speer said CCS, a dominant athletic force among private Christian schools the last few years, may surprise some AAA members with its experience in several sports.

"Some of the schools in our volleyball conference are in the first or second year of volleyball," Speer said. "We've played volleyball for six years. A lot of people don't know that we've been playing eight-man football, which is not terribly different from 11-man football. Our goal is to be competitive in everything, I think we have the staff to do that and our opponents will discover that we will compete and do it the right way."