PEA RIDGE — Charley Clark has resigned as the boys basketball coach at Pea Ridge but the seven-year Blackhawks coach isn’t moving far.
After coaching in the district for nine years after a two-year stint at Decatur, Clark said he resigned to pursue his goal of getting into administration. Clark will begin work on his masters degree and will teach at another campus in the district while helping out with some administrative duties.
Pea Ridge shared the 4A-1 Conference championship this past season before being eliminated in the regional tournament. Clark was 140-69 in his seven seasons at Pea Ridge.
It is expected that Blackhawks assistant coach Trent Loyd will be named as Clark’s successor at the next Pea Ridge School Board meeting. Loyd is a graduate of Van Buren, where he played for his father, Randy.
“It’s a chance to take a different career path and stay in Pea Ridge,” Clark said. “We love living here and I love working for the school district. It was time to move on and try something a little different. It was time to try something new.
“The basketball part of it, there will be times that I miss it and times that I don’t miss it.”
Clark said what he will remember most about his time as coach was the relationships he built with the players over the years.
“We were very fortunate here at Pea Ridge to have very good players,” Clark said. “We had a lot of good guys, and we won a lot of ball games. The biggest part I will miss is being around all these good guys.”
Pea Ridge athletic director Tony Travis said that Loyd will be a good fit for the Blackhawks.
“Trent is highly though of by the kids he has coached,” Travis said. “Coach Clark won 20 games a year and that is impressive. Trent has a strong background and we are excited.”