PEA RIDGE — What is your job title?
Senior English teacher, publications director, senior boys basketball head coach and senior girls track coach.
What does all that entail? Well, it keeps me busy year round. In the fall, basketball picks up and classroom work continues throughout the year. Yearbook is a lot of work then track gets rolling after basketball ends.
Where are you from?
Hartford, Ark.
Where did you go to college? Hendrix.
What is your degree?
English, with a minor in P.E.
Do you have a favorite book? “The Nine, Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court”
What was your first job ever? When I was 16, I was living in Kansas City for the summer. My job was to go over (to the house of a friend of the family) everyday to do maintenance work.
What was your first job out of college? My first real job was at Decatur High School for two years, I taught eighth and 11th grade English and was the senior boys basketball coach.
How long have you been in Pea Ridge? This is my sixth year at Pea Ridge, I spent two years as the junior boys basketball coach and teaching seventh grade English.
How has Pea Ridge changed since you have been here? I’ve just been here the six years, it’s grown a little but not as much as Walker and King and those old guys have seen. There’s all the new buildings, the new elementary school is fantastic. I have a 2 1/2-year-old daughter and it’s great to know she will go to a new school.
What sports did you play in high school and/or college? I played basketball in high school and college and I ran track in high school.
What is one of the most memorable moments about coaching in Pea Ridge? A few years ago we were playing in the regional tournament in Charleston.
We were down two with four seconds left and we got the ball back. Dustin Baker hit a 3 at the buzzer to win the game and it set off a wild celebration. That was as happy as I have been as a coach.
What are your hobbies outside of work? Same as anybody with two kids, they are 2 1/2 and 6 months. I have a bunch of friends that work here at the school, we get together and play golf or the Wii.
What is the most challenging thing about teaching/coaching kids this age?
Keeping their attention and focus, things move so quick and there’s so much going on all the time, if it’s an hour class or a two hour practice, they can lose interest.
What’s playing on your iPod right now? Outkast.
Sports, Pages 7 on 02/03/2010