An old saying says, “All the stars were aligned” when talking about the timing of something. Nothing could be more true for Vian fast-pitch softball and basketball coach John Mays.
Due to several circumstances, the veteran coach is returning to his alma mater, Cave Springs, to coach football and be the dean of students at the high school.
“There’s three or four parts to it,” Mays said about the reasons why he took the job. “I drive about 40 minutes to my work (at Vian High School) every day. (Cave Springs Schools) is about 10 minutes from my house.
There are issues with my dad’s health and family issues, too. I’ll be closer to him (at Cave Springs Schools). I’ve had my administrative stuff (certification) for about six or seven years. They (Cave Springs Public Schools Board of Education) offered this to me. I graduated from Cave Springs in 1988, so there’s a little bit of that in there. My dad was an administrator there for 30 years, so I’ve got a little bit of knowledge of it from that standpoint. The timing is right for me to slow down from coaching a little bit as far as not coaching two or three sports during the school year.”
The decision was a hard one, since he considers Vian Public Schools a “second home.”
“I am not mad at Vian,” Mays said. “That is my second home. It’s just timing to help me slow down a little bit. I love Vian and the people I’ve worked with. It was a hard decision. Between Mr. (Superintendent John) Brockman, (football_ Coach (Gary) Willis and (assistant boys basketball) Coach (Lance) Winans, I got to be very close to them, but the circumstances just made it the choice (to take the Cave Springs job).”
While he has not been involved in the sport for the last several years, football is not foreign to the veteran coach.
“I played football at Cave Springs,” Mays said. “I coached 8-man at the K-8 level at Rocky Mountain and Zion. I was the offensive coordinator for one year at Cave Springs, and that was about six years ago — and that year we went 9-2. I did football at Vian for about three to four years. I have done football on and off for my 20 years (in coaching). It’s going to be newer to me from the last four to five years since I haven’t been coaching football, but it (coaching football) is not new to me.”
Due to the high Native Americans among the Cave Springs athletes, and the fact that Mays has Native American blood in him, he is hoping that the Native American connection will help things out for the Hornets on the gridiron.
“I think there just needs to be some normalcy,” he said. “They’ve had different coaches the last three years. This is an odd deal. The guy I’m replacing (former Gans assistant coach Randy Taylor) is still going to be there. He’s just going to be my assistant. I think just being that guy, and having a regular face to see, is big. They have a big Native American population, and I have some Native American blood in me. I’m a quarter Cherokee and have some Chickasaw. I just think they need a (Native American) person to look at and to coach them. I think they’ve been down on numbers a little bit. They started with 20 players last year. The last year I was there, we had 43. Football can be a hard thing if you’re just learning on the fly. It’s got to be fun. You have to be able to coach them, and I think that can be done. It’s just getting into the groove of things and letting them know who I am. I’m a players coach, and I think that will help out in that part of it.”
Also, the thrill of being a part of a rebuilding process is fueling the veteran coach.
“I am looking forward to building something,” Mays said. “Last year, they were 3-7. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity to build something and something they can be proud of. That part of me is looking forward to this. It’s something that will take a little bit of work from my point and them, but I think it’s something very doable. They have a lot of freshmen, and that’s something to build upon.”
