Keeping it simple

South Side Bee Branch coach comes from long line of small schools

By Eric Moore

LITTLE ROCK — When it comes to coaching, some people prefer the atmosphere of a small school over that of a larger one.

That’s the case for Steve Powell, the new coach at South Side Bee Branch. Since before high school, he fell in love with small schools.

“I’m more familiar with smaller schools,” Powell said. “You get to know the students personally.”

Since his coaching career began, he has tended to keep himself in the small-school life. After graduating from a B classification high school in the early 1990s, he went to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia and knew he wanted to be a coach one day.

Immediately following college, he received his first head coaching job, as the boys basketball coach at the now consolidated Kingsland High School. After two years, he received a call from the new coach at his old high school in Poyen for an assistant job.

“It was great working with [coach Gary Shoptaw],” Powell said. “I learned so much.”

One of the things he learned was how to keep a team composed on a state championship run. While he was on the bench at Poyen, his team went 39-0, capturing the state title.

It wasn’t long, however, until he was ready to be a head coach again, and when the Carlisle job opened up, he made his move, because he would have a chance to coach softball, too. But he soon found himself back at Kingsland, coaching the girls basketball team.

With consolidation imminent, Powell took the job at Sulphur Springs, but stayed just one year because he was not able to coach baseball as well as basketball. And that led him to Oden, where he as spent the last three years as head basketball and baseball coach.

He knew the baseball program at Oden had been started two years prior to his acceptance of the job, and he said he looked forward to building up the program. Now that he has brought the team to a respectable level, heis on to another challenge, which is South Side Bee Branch.

“I am wanting to get the basketball program going again,” Powell said. “But I have just as much passion for one as I do another [basketball and baseball].”

For a school that is used to being successful in baseball, Powell knows that he will have his hands full with the basketball team, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Even though the seasons overlap at the end of the basketball season and small schools have a majority of their players on both teams, Powell is looking forward to what he can do with his new-found team.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Powell said. “There are a lot of kids to work with up there.”

On the basketball court, fanscan expect an up-tempo, fullcourt game from Powell’s teams. On defense, the Hornets will play some full-court man-to-man defense and on offense there will be a lot of motion sets.

For Powell, basketball is more than just a game, it’s a way to connect with his students - Powell is also certified to teach in nearly all subjects.

“I love sports; I have always had a passion for it,” Powell said. “I love working with kids, and I’m high on academics.”

Away from the school life, Powell tries to enjoy the precious little time he has away from the gym and field with his wife of seven years, Jennifer, and their 17-month-old daughter, Peyton. While he is not planning to push her toward sports, Peyton seems to always have a ball in her hand, Powell said.

“I don’t get to see my family much during the season,” Powell said. “So I try to spend as much time with them as I can.”

When he finds time in the offseason, he finds himself still doing the kind of things he enjoyed from his youth, such as hunting and fishing. He still sees himself as “just a country boy from Grant County,” but once he gets to work at South Side Bee Branch, you can rest assured he will be all business.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 132 on 07/06/2008