The story of Christ’s Church Academy is so fairytale-esque that you may as well call Coach Jim Stomps “Cinderella”.
In his first season at Christ’s Church, he implemented Midnight Madness practice, got the Eagles off to a 5-0 start, vaulted them to their first ever SSAC State Playoff appearance, and sent CCA on a path to region-wide relevancy.
However, after starting 5-0, the Eagles went 0-5 to close their season out. The clock struck midnight on the fairytale team.
Even after coming so far in one season, Coach Stomps has even bigger plans for his team in 2016.
“We started off the season 5-0, then injuries took their toll and we did not finish as strong as we started. This has caused us to work even harder in the offseason to be prepared to finish strong and have the opportunity to play for the SSAC State Championship,” he says.
The team’s biggest weakness is their tough schedule. Their first game against St. Edwards Central Catholic is at ESPN Fields at Disney World. They also face Berean Christian (9-2) in week 5, and St. Joseph (10-0) in week 10.
Their biggest strength is that almost the entire team is returning, including QB Zach Bandwin, leading receiver TE/DE Zac Appelo, and leading tackler Louie Nammour.
They also are expected to have strong offensive and defensive lines, and obviously going into the second year with the same coach and same system will bring consistency.
Most notably, they have 3 athletes with a weighted GPA over 4.5. WR Mitchell Tucker, HB Adam MacManus, and TE Ty VanDuyn are excelling both on the field and off, which shows that Coach Stomps cares about the athletes beyond football.
With an attitude like that, this program is sure to go far.
Christ’s Church Academy Eagles
Coach Stomps: Inspiring Hope for Christ’s Church
Written by Kim Hoy
Photo by Christ’s Church Academy
