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Coach
Chris Stafford
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Chris
Stafford is presently the Head Baseball
Coach at North Cobb Christian School in
Kennesaw, Georgia.
The Eagle Baseball Program has come
a long way in a short time under the
guidance of Coach Stafford.
NCCS began its baseball program in
2000 with only a junior varsity team.
Coach Stafford took the helm in
2001 leading the Eagles to the state
playoffs in the programs first year of
varsity baseball.
In 2002 the Eagles won the region
4AA championship and continued on to win
the Georgia Independent School Association
AA Baseball State Championship.
The accomplishment was the first
GISA state championship in NCCS history in
any sport.
Coach Stafford was named Region 4AA
Coach of the Year and GISA State Coach of
the Year for these accomplishments.
Two years later Stafford was named
2004 Region 1AAA Coach of the Year for
leading the Eagles to the State Semifinals
in the school’s second year of AAA
competition.
Two years after the semifinal
appearance Coach Stafford and the Eagles
of North Cobb Christian School won the
Region 1AAA championship and went on to
win its first State Championship at the
AAA level in 2006.
Stafford was awarded his third
Region Coach of the Year Award and his
second State Coach of the Year Award in
2006.
In addition to success at the high
school level Coach Stafford has also had
several players go on to experience
success in baseball at higher levels.
During his tenure at NCCS Stafford
has coached 26 seniors of which 21 have
been offered the opportunity to play
college baseball with 18 pursuing this
opportunity.
Coach Stafford has placed players
at the Division I, Division II, Division
III, NAIA and Junior College Level, has
had several scouted professionally and one
play in the first World Baseball Classic
for South Africa against Team USA.
Coach
Stafford also teaches Health and Personal
Fitness at North Cobb Christian School and
earned his bachelors degree in Health and
Physical Education from the University of
Georgia.
During his undergraduate work Stafford
also attended Andrew Junior College where he
was captain of the baseball team and Shorter
College where he was a scholarship baseball
player. While
teaching and coaching at NCCS Coach Stafford
began his graduate work and graduated from
Cambridge College with a Masters Degree in
Education in February of 2006. In August of 2006 Coach Stafford married his wife Jacey.
Chris & Jacey Stafford currently
live in Kennesaw, Georgia.
The
theme verse of the Eagle Baseball Program is
Proverbs 16:3 Commit what you do to the Lord
and your plans will succeed.
Coach Stafford encourages the teams to
commit all that they do to the Lord on and off
the field and commits practice time to the
Lord daily through player and/or coach led
devotions.
It was through one of these team
devotions that STaF Athletics originated.
STaF stands
for Sacrifice, Teamwork, and
Faith.
These three words were the focus of a
devotion led by Coach Stafford during the 2002
State Championship run and the name stuck.
Since then Coach Stafford and partner
Coach Gil Navarro have focused on a baseball
ministry and STaF Athletics presently has
travel teams starting at age 14 and camps
starting at age 9. STaF Athletics has already placed
numerous athletes from all over Georgia and in
parts of Florida and Tennessee in various
college athletic programs. STaF has had
several athletes scouted professionally some
of which were drafted by major league
organizations. Coach Stafford and Coach
Navarro have a vision and a passion of using
athletics as a tool to minister and expanding
this vision through the addition of other
sports, new facilities, new Christian coaches
etc. This
vision is called STaF Athletics.
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