Warrior mentality

New Ouachita coach brings discipline and enthusiasm

By Eric Moore

LITTLE ROCK — When Clayton Ray graduated from Glen Rose High School in 1989, he didn’t think he would be taking a head coaching position at nearby Ouachita High School.

And he didn’t for nearly 20 years. First, Ray enlisted in the Army, where he ser ved five years. His love of Arkansas was finally the breaking point, so with his new wife, Missy, they headed home.

Once back in Arkansas, Ray realized what he truly wanted to do - coach. So, in addition to working full-time at Saline Memorial Hospital and taking care of his family, he took on a full schedule at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he majored in physical education.

“It was something I always wanted to do,” Ray said.

In just four years, Ray was able to walk away from UALR with a degree and set out on a path to find a coaching job. In high school, he was a basketball player, and that sport appealed the most to him. He looked around his area for coaching jobs, and nearly gave up until the Poyen assistant football position became open.

A lt hough he had never played footba l l, he had a knowledge of the game and the desire to teach a group of students the game in the first year of the program at Poyen. In his three years at the school, he assisted in nearly every boys’ sport at Poyen aswell as ser ving as the head track coach.

His abilit y to mu lt it a sk will come in handy at Ouachita, where he will be the head basketball coach, head track coach, head baseball coach and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsor. While some may have been overwhelmed at the amount of responsibility laid at their feet for a first head coaching position, Ray will call upon his military training to help him keep everything straight.

“The military helped me out with being organized,” Ray said. “It’s just a matter of being organized. I give God all the glory, and when you do that, it helps take a lot of worries off you.”

Another thing that helps him in his transition is having his children around him. During the summer, his daughter, Jessica, and son, Austin, can be found in t he g y m w it h him. Jessica, who is in fourth grade, is usually looking for something to entertain herself, while Austin, a seventhgrader, will be on the junior high school basketball team.

This upcoming season will be the first time that he will be coached by his father on a school team, something that R ay is looking for ward to. Some coaches are a little wary of coaching their own sons, because of the worry of treating them different than therest of the players, but for Ray, that will not be a problem.

“People might be harder on their own kids,” Ray said. “But we have an understanding between coach and son.”

It will still be a few years before Austin will be a part of the high-powered, up-tempo style of basketball Ray will bring to the Ouachita Warriors basketball team. Fans should expect to see some changes at the beginning of the season.

“I expect us to be competitive,” Ray said. “They had some success last year, and I want to build on that. [Before I was hired] I knew what they had over here, and I liked everything about it.”

Although he went to high school at one of Ouachita’s rival schools and coached at another, since joining the Warriors, Ray said he has been treated more than fair by the people in the community.

“Ever y where I went, the people were real nice,” Ray said. “It seems like a dream.”

And that dream is getting to be a part of a young person’s life, the most important thing about coaching to Ray. As a youth, basketball gave him a lot of confidence, he said. Being able to give back and bond with another generation of small-town kids, who are playing “the purest form of the game,” is something Ray had always wanted.

“Having that bond with the players is the greatest part of it,” Ray said. “It lasts longer than a career.”

Tri-Lakes, Pages 130 on 07/20/2008