SPRINGDALE -- A shanked punt kicked Jacob Skinner's life into another gear. It was a wake-up call that eventually lead to Skinner becoming head coach of Shiloh Christian's boys basketball team.
To set the scene, it was midway through the third quarter of Arkansas' 38-20 loss at Auburn in 2004 when Skinner jogged on to the field for a punt from the Razorbacks' 20.
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"I'll never forget it," Skinner said during a Jan. 12 interview. "It was a 2:30 p.m. CBS game, and half of Jordan-Hare stadium was shaded and the other half is in the sun. Brett Goode snaps it out of the shade and into the sun and ... it went right, shanked off the side of my foot and out of bounds for 14 yards."
Head down as he headed for the sidelines, Skinner was met by a disgruntled Houston Nutt, the Razorbacks head coach, who said "he had enough." Skinner never saw the field again that sophomore season and lost his scholarship.
Skinner blames himself, not the snap from the shade into the sunshine, for the shank. He admits being blinded by his own ego after a successful freshman campaign.
"I had some of that 'big-man-on-campus' syndrome, thinking I was better than I was," Skinner said. "I didn't take practices as seriously, and off the field, I started compromising some stuff that I stood for.
"But that 14-yard failure changed my life."
The actual "defining moment" of his life came that summer when Skinner spent eight weeks "cleaning pee-stained sheets" while working with 7- and 8 year-olds at Kanakuk, a Christian camp in Branson, Mo. Although he was raised with a "church background," Skinner said needed the time away from the college life to rediscover his faith.
"Now, here I am teaching elementary [Physical Education] at a Christian school, and working again with 7- and 8-year-olds," Skinner said.
Skinner returned to college after Kanakuk to reclaim his starting job -- and his scholarship. He averaged 41.8 yards per punt as a junior and landed on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which honors the nation's top collegiate punter. After college, Skinner hoped for a shot at the NFL, but none of the three teams showing interest in Skinner before the draft came calling. In 2008, he was drafted by a semi-professional team in Georgia, but the league folded before any games were played.
That's when he returned to his hometown of Texarkana, Texas. After an internship at the local First Baptist Church, Skinner landed a job as an assistant coach at Texas High, his alma mater. By 26, Skinner had became head coach of Texas High's varsity boys basketball team, where he quickly turned the program around by instituting an up-tempo brand of basketball that excited fans and players alike. The Tigers made the state playoffs in his second season, but lost in the first round. In Skinner's third season, they won the district title and "went farther than Texas High had ever been" in the playoffs.
Skinner hopes for similar results at Shiloh Christian. The Saints lost their first eight games of the season, but rebounded by winning a holiday tournament in Heber Springs. Just as he did at Texas High, Skinner is increasing tempo by "creating controlled chaos" in what he calls, "Bogey Ball."
"It's not the bad, golf term for 'bogey,'" Skinner said. "It's the unidentified flying object that shows up on a radar [display] ... We are going to put a lot of pressure on you and you never know where we're coming from.
"In three years, it hopefully will look more like it's supposed to look. But now, you'll see glimpses of what we're trying to do."
Sports on 01/21/2016