Basketball: Huntsville coaches enjoy longtime success

HUNTSVILLE -- The sun glinted off the steel lettering affixed to the gymnasium on a chilly January afternoon.

Just inside the main entrance with its checkerboard tile floor, trophies of past conquests, tournament championships and individual accomplishments jam glass cases. Huge photos of teams that earned the ultimate prize -- a state championship -- line the walls.

The two men who built a basketball dynasty in the Ozarks over more than a quarter-century sat in the coaches office, getting ready for practice.

Charles Berry, the girls coach with more than 1,300 career victories, and boys coach Jim Stafford, with more than 1,200 senior high wins, prepared for their next game as they have for the more than 4,300 games they have coached in their careers.

Many achievements link the two. Each has reached the pinnacle of high school coaching with state championships. Each is ranked among the top five coaches for wins in Arkansas high school basketball history. And each legacy will live on even after they hang up their whistles with the gymnasium bearing Berry's name and the court named in Stafford's honor.

Just don't expect either to call their last time out soon.

"I don't look at this much like a job," Stafford, 70, said. "I still like to coach, and I still like coming to the gym every day. I enjoy the practices, and I love the competition."

Berry, 81, echoed the sentiment, albeit with his typical dry humor.

"I still love to coach," he said. "I love golf and play a lot in the summer. I'm not sure I could play golf every day, though."

Always a contender

Stafford's boys are once again the team to beat in the 4A-1 Conference despite losing several key players off last year's conference champion, including top scorer and rebounder Caleb Kirk, who is redshirting at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith.

The Eagles have no player taller than a pair of 6-foot-1 guards in River Gosvener and Jack Eaton, yet Huntsville is 15-1 overall and undefeated in the 4A-1 at 5-0 after it drubbed Gravette on Tuesday night. Huntsville has a key conference home game against Pea Ridge on Friday night.

Berry's Lady Eagles are also in the thick of the conference race despite a large loss of experience off last year's team. Huntsville is 4-1 in the conference, one game behind Prairie Grove, which narrowly defeated Huntsville before the holiday break.

"We have a great tradition here," Berry said. "We lost seven seniors from last year, all five starters. But the team is coming along well, and that's because of the tradition here."

Both coaches point to their state championship wins as the highlight of their careers, although Berry recalls a more special moment.

"My daughter Liz played for me in 1984," Berry said. "She hit the winning basket against Wynne, Arkansas. Actually it was a last-second shot of the game for us to beat them by one point. That was one of the greatest wins for me, and it put us in the finals of the state tournament."

Berry has won two state championships and made two other finals appearances. He ranks second in Arkansas high school basketball history in career coaching victories with 1,346 wins and 511 losses. No. 3 on the list is Stafford with 1,257 wins and one state title.

Berry adamantly opposed the change in the late 1970s when Arkansas girls basketball went from 3-on-3 halfcourt to 5-on-5 full court.

"I thought it would ruin girls basketball," Berry said. "But I was wrong about that."

Both men also spent many years coaching both girls and boys teams before focusing on one.

Huntsville athletic director Tom Tice played for Berry when he was a student at Huntsville. Tice is one of the state's most respected and successful high school football coaches with 288 career wins, which ranks No. 2 on the all-time Arkansas win list.

"I'm the reason coach Berry only coaches girls now," he said with a laugh.

Lasting legacies

Huntsville embraces its basketball teams, packing Charles Berry Gymnasium for every game during the winter season and following the team in the postseason.

"I guess of all the awards that I have, I'd say naming the gym after me was the highlight of my career," he said. "I really appreciate that because I feel like the school gave me a great honor that I deeply appreciate."

That community spirit is a big reason the basketball teams have enjoyed so much success, Stafford said.

"We've got really good kids who are really dedicated to basketball," he said. "We get great parent support, great community support. The years we have really good teams, we fill the gym every night."

The Huntsville School Board surprised Stafford last season after the coach won his 1,000th career senior boys game. He also has more than 700 additional wins as a senior girls, junior boys and junior girls coach over his lengthy career.

The board announced at a small ceremony following a home win that the court inside the gymnasium would be named in Stafford's honor. The board had somehow kept the honor a secret from Stafford -- no small feat in a small community.

"That was a big highlight for me," Stafford said. "The administration took notice and was kind to me. It was a big deal, and it was a tremendous honor for me. I had no idea it was happening, but it's something I'm very proud of."

Stafford's Huntsville team won the state title in 2007, earning him Arkansas High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. Berry was the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Coach of the Year after leading Huntsville's girls to the 2008 state title.

Homegrown kids

Berry takes pride that his program is built on girls who are Madison County natives. Rarely do players transfer into the Lady Eagles' program, he said.

"We always play Madison County kids," he said. "I can never remember a new girl coming into the program that has really contributed.

"But by the same token, we have never lost a player to another program. We play with Madison County kids, and once they start with us, they finish with us."

Stafford, like his peer across the room, plans to stay on the sideline for now.

"I've never considered quitting," he said. "I'm sure one of these days I'm going to have to, but I've never considered it. And I've never looked for a job since I've been here, because this has been a real special place for me and the community has been a real special place for me."

Sports on 01/14/2016