Back in May, the Permian Basin’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes announced its plan to give athletes in the area a chance to strengthen their faith and test their skills with All-Star festivities in 2023.
The plan developed even further Thursday when Permian Basin area director Marcus Gardner revealed head coaches for the football and volleyball teams, along with the location for the star-studded volleyball match.
Midland Legacy’s Rachel Anglin and Midland Christian School’s Callie Stewart were named head coaches for FCA’s first All-Star volleyball teams, which will play their contest June 17, 2023, at UTPB.
“Both of these ladies have really advocated for FCA on their respective campuses with a high percentage of their student athletes participating in our huddles, leading our huddles and getting to camps,” Gardner said. “Really excited about Coach Anglin and Coach Stewart heading up this first year as head coaches for our All-Star week.”
Along with volleyball, head coaches for the football teams were also announced and the organization looked to get the leaders from the 6A programs in Odessa and Midland on board.
Permian’s Jeff Ellison will serve as a head coach in the first All-Star football game along with Midland Legacy’s Clint Hartman.
Odessa High’s Dusty Ortiz and Midland High’s Thad Fortune will be assistants during the 2023 showcase and will then serve as head coaches in 2024.
“We’re going to have two years of our head football coaches from Midland High, Midland Legacy, Odessa High, Permian involved in this week and in this game,” Gardner said. “We’re really thrilled that they’re willing to do that and it’s a testament to those men and their character.”
The first year of All-Star festivities will feature football, volleyball and cheerleading before the Permian Basin FCA looks to bring in other sports.
When the All-Star week was first announced on May 13, Gardner said the football game would be named the Marks Football Classic and it was set to take place at Midland’s Grande Communications Stadium.
The FCA chapter’s strong connections with UTPB helped lock the location down for the volleyball match.
Gardner said having someone like Braden Harris, who is an FCA rep and football letterman at UTPB, was an added bonus because of his relationships within the athletic department.
“Him coming on board accelerated that process because of his relationships with Todd Dooley and Coach [Justin] Carrigan, the team here and helping directing me in who I need to talk to,” Gardner said. “I got introduced to Coach [Tim] Loesch and as those discussions started happening, that’s how locking down this location was accelerated.”
Gardner added that having the FCA chapter on the campus was highly encouraged by leadership at UTPB.
The selection process for football and volleyball athletes will begin in the fall, with the chapter encouraging area coaches to send in nominations that will be gathered around December.
Once the pools of nominations are put together, coaching staffs will be asked to hold a draft in January 2023 to put together their rosters.
The Permian Basin’s FCA is aiming on making the All-Star week its pinnacle event, celebrating fellowship through sports with multiple communities around West Texas.
“We want to make sure that we have representation from Pecos to Coahoma, and Andrews and Big Spring, down to Fort Stockton and Big Lake,” Gardner said.
The inaugural week of festivities is scheduled to take place from June 14-17 in 2023.
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
