The approaching basketball season is on the minds of many at Buffalo Island Central.  This year,our high school basketball teams hope to tip-off a great season with new coaches for both the boys and girls teams.

Coach Terry Codwell is taking over as the girl’s head coach after several years of previous experience in other districts.

Coach  Codwell had originally coached football in Springfield, Missouri, but then moved to Hope, Arkansas to be an assistant basketball coach at Garrett Memorial High School.  After the first game of the season, the head coach resigned, leaving Codwell to take the helm. He has also coached for Russellville Jr. High, and Arsel Christian Academy in Bryant, Arkansas.

“When I walked out of this gym, I called my wife on the phone and said, ‘I found my job.’ I loved the work ethic here.  There was a hunger and desire here that really drew me in,” said Codwell.

His most memorable moment as a coach was when his team won the 2018 State Championship and they were ranked the highest in the 2A classification. However, he hopes to achieve new heights as BIC’s new Lady Mustangs coach.

Something the players can learn from coach Codwell is that culture is everything. It’s something he’s picked up through his journey of coaching. Positively influencing the people and “promoting the brand,” are his intentions for the upcoming school year.

Returning for his second consecutive year at BIC, Mike Kinard (or “Coach K”) will be in leading the Jr. and Sr. High boys basketball teams. Coach Kinard previously coached in the district from 2000-2006, although he was responsible for the girls team in the 2018-2019 school year.

 Basketball has always been something he’s loved, even as a kid. “I just kind of fell in love with the game. From then on I played a ton, and knew I wanted to be a coach,” Kinard said.

When asked about how his own skills have developed over the years, he explains that, “The biggest change of skill isn’t just about learning about a game, but learning how to deal with different personalities, different age groups, and skill sets.”

He decided to transition into coaching  boys basketball this year because it was a chance for him to take up something new and challenging. Coach Kinard stated that If there is anything you can gain from coaching basketball, it is “time management, social skills, persistence of the game, winning and losing, and goal setting. It’s a good teacher of life skills. Basketball is basketball… you’re coaching for them and not yourself.”