FAYETTEVILLE — Jared McBride is probably like most high school football coaches in the state this time of year. With the start of fall practice and two-a-days looming in the first week of the August, coaches are enjoying one final weekend to sit back and relax.
AT A GLANCE
Fayetteville Country Club 4-Ball Invitational
WHEN: Today
WHERE: Fayetteville Country Club
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Michael Chaney and Brett Grenata
FORMAT: Two-man team vs. team tournament. Match play used on the first two days and players will switch to stroke play on the final day.
NOTABLE: Total of 256 participants. .. Tournament began in 2006 and has grown into the most popular and largest annual event at Fayetteville Country Club.
For McBride, a former Arkansas quarterback from 1997-2000, sitting back and taking it easy meant a return to Northwest Arkansas to play in the Fayetteville Country Club 4-Ball Invitational. McBride, who said he is able to get on the golf course mostly in the months of June and July, teamed with Brandon Hurlbut in the FCC 4-Ball, a friend from college.
“This is a good way to end the summer every year,” McBride said. “This is about five years in a row for us here and it’s good for us before we have to get back to work.
“Brandon, we got to know each other in college and through intramurals. He lived with Clint Stoerner and we just formed a good relationship.”
While McBride’s trip to Fayetteville is golf-related, it also allowed him to return to where his own coaching career first took off. Now the head coach at Hot Springs Lakeside, where he’s compiled a 22-11 record in three seasons, McBride previously spent one season in 2006 as offensive coordinator at Springdale High, followed by a three-year run from 2007 to 2009 as offensive coordinator at Fayetteville.
During his time with the Purple Bulldogs, McBride was part of a state championship team in 2007. Then in 2008 and 2009, he helped develop and young Bulldogs offense led by current Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen.
“Before I even hired Jared, I knew he would be a home run hire,” Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton said. “From talking to other coaches, you just knew. There’s nobody in the state that probably knows more about the passing game than Jared.”
Even though McBride wasn’t around for Fayetteville’s back-to-back state championships the last two seasons, he enjoyed watching from afar. And McBride takes pride in knowing he was there to help kickstart the championship success.
“It’s been good process there at Fayetteville,” McBride said. “Daryl has done a good job of bringing in good coaches and they’ve done what they’ve needed to do to win, and I’ve been very proud of them.
“We kind of built that foundation when I was there and Daryl put in the work before that. It’s been exciting to watch them play and I cheer for them every week.”
McBride is one of several former Fayetteville assistants who have moved onto have their own success as head coaches. Bill Harrellson (Gravette), Doug Loughridge (Charleston, Alma) and Tony Travis (Pea Ridge) all coached under Patton at Fayetteville. “I’ve worked with some outstanding coaches,” Patton said. “It’s just a very proud feeling when one of your assistants like Jared moves on and does a great job.”