Coach Jim Stomps is a great fit for from the Christ’s Church Academy football program because of his faith and football belief system.
Stomps, in his first season, was hired in January after serving on the Birmingham Southern College football staff for a year as assistant coach. He is no stranger to the Jacksonville area; Stomps spent two seasons as an assistant coach (1995-96) at Wolfson High and three seasons (1997-99) at Mandarin High School with his mentor, coach Craig Howard, who coached Tim Tebow at Nease High.
“I’m a Craig Howard guy,” Stomps says. “We throw it around a bunch. We talk a couple of times per month. I wear a shirt and tie like Craig does.”
Howard says Stomps was the first coach to get to school in the morning and the last to leave. He said Stomps ran the strength and conditioning program, mowed and lined the field, and even cleaned the stadium after the game. He said Stomps will do a great job at CCA.
“The players will love him,” Howard says. “The parents will love him, because he will teach character values and teach having your priorities in order. The quicker his players buy in, the quicker the wins will come. Regardless of the wins on the scoreboard, his guys will leave the program as men of faith and character and know the value of hard work.”
Howard’s motto is “Character, Strength and Honor”. Stomps adopted a variation of Howard’s motto of Character, Strength and Honor, instead using “Christ, Character and Class”.
“I wanted to put emphasis on what God has done, how we can use football to show life lessons, and how we can use God’s leadership,” Stomps says.
Stomps praised the CCA administration, including Head of School Dr. Madison Nichols, for offering students and faculty a strong combination of Christian values, athletics, and academics.
“She (Dr. Nichols) supports football,” Stomps says. “My kids (Hannah and Brock) go there. My wife (Emily) teaches science there. The church and school strengthens the whole family atmosphere. The academics and athletics are put in a place that is Christ centered.”
Nichols praised the work that Stomps has done with the football program.
“CCA is an amazing school with amazing people, but Coach Stomps is one of those very special finds,” Nichols says. “He loves his players, loves football, and expects nothing but the best from our students. He is a role model and a true picture of the ‘Three C’s’ he expects his players to live by: Christ, Character, and Class.”
Even though the football program has been in existence since 2007, it is still a young program, evidenced by the fact that the roster has around 35 players.
“We are growing the program and honoring God as we grow,” Stomps says.
Stomps says he was coaching in Oregon as a head coach and athletic director at Salem Academy Christian School (2010 – 2013) when he sensed a call to return to Jacksonville.
“My grandmother and my wife’s grandmother died in same year,” Stomps says. “It was almost like (former Alabama head football coach) Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant said when momma (the University of Alabama-his alma mater) called him back to Tuscaloosa.”
Stomps, who is the son of a Southern Baptist preacher, was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised an hour away in Tuscaloosa. His wife, Emily, went to Ed White High School and the University of North Florida. Her family lives in the Jacksonville area, while his family lives in Alabama.
“I look at this as my ministry,” Stomps says. “They honored me with the opportunity to be the head coach here.”
Alan Verlander, who is the executive director at JAXSPORTS Council and Taxslayer Bowl, knew Stomps when both of them were at Jacksonville University. Verlander was the JU athletic director, and Stomps was an assistant with the Dolphins. Verlander says Stomps is a wonderful coach and even better man.
“He makes every team better because he’s a magnet for growth and positive outlooks,” Verlander says. “He played a key role on our teams at JU, and I know he’ll do super things at CCA.”
Colin Litchfield, the teams’ assistant coach, says it’s a blessing to work with Stomps.
“It’s a joy to be around coach and our kids,” Litchfield says. “At the end of the day it’s all about God.”
Stomps says CCA is a great place to have a school and play athletics.
“We want to give a great product academically and athletically, and we want a good product to draw kids to come and to Christ’s Church,” Stomps says. “Our kids have bought in. Our stadium is right around the corner from our school. We’re going to play hard- nosed football and honor God. We’re an option to public schools. We don’t pull kids away. We don’t recruit. We already have academics second-to-none. It’s a great package for parents to bring kids to CCA.”
As a teen, Stomps played high school football at Hillcrest High school in Tuscaloosa. His defensive coordinator was former Alabama defensive back Tommy Wilcox.
“I learned a lot from him,” Stomps says. “He would tell us Coach Bryant stories. He was on 1978 team that stopped Penn State on the goal line (to win the national championship in the Sugar Bowl). Coach Bryant tipped his hat to the defense after goal-line stand. I have a picture of coach Bryant behind my desk.”
Stomps says he respects Bryant’s influence to this day.
“He started taking men and making them men of character,” Stomps says. “Coach Howard does same. I try to mimic men like (Georgia’s) Mark Richt, (former NFL coach) Tony Dungy, and (Clemson’s) Tommy Bowden.”
Stomps is having similar influence everywhere he goes.
Northeast Florida /October 2015
Coach’s Corner
Christ’s Church Academy
Jacksonville, Fla.
Written by: Brent Beaird
Success Goes Way Beyond the Score
