Stabilizing The Wolfpack

LINCOLN — Coming into the 2012-2013 school year, one thing was certain, Lincoln High School was undergoing wholesale changes in athletics.

The leadership of Clay He n d r i x , ou t go in g s u p e r i n - t e n d e n t of Lincoln Co n s o l i - dated School District, served as a tremendous stabilizing influence amongst a flurry of adjustments. Not only were the Wolves moving into a brand new high school with new athletic facilities under construction, but they were moving up in classification from 3A to 4A for athletic competition.

Always one to do his homework, Hendrix provided an in-depth perspective with research, pointing out that Lincoln, the smallest school in 4A, would be competing against Farmington, the largest school in 4A, and every other team in their new league would be a larger school. Hendrix cited a June 21, 2012 memo from Tom W. Kimbrell, Commissioner of Education, which broke down the square miles of each school district. Hendrix noted Farmington has 32 square miles while Prairie Grove has 105 square miles with Lincoln the largest of the three U.S. 62 rivals, at 146 square miles.

In 2012, Lincoln graduated 78 seniors compared to 113 for Prairie Grove and 136 for Farmington, their U.S. 62 rivals. Hendrix said historically the three schools were closer in size before the density went way up in Farmington. According to Hendrix, the enrollment differential is due to population density.

“Lincoln has the largest number of kids in square miles, they just get spread out,” Hendrix said.

The latest numbers from the Arkansas Activities Association show Farmington as the 60th largest high school in the state with an enrollment of 501 with Prairie Grove at number 80 with 415 and Lincoln coming in 99th with 325 students. Farmington is moving to 5A beginning with the 2014-15 school year and Lincoln is staying

Hendrix at the 4A level. One impact of his research was Hendrix became keenly aware of the importance of structuring an effective development during time allotted for school-sponsored athletic training. The logistical challenges of gathering student/athletes for practice in a rural portion of western Washington County were greater than those faced by other schools in the league with a more urbanized population base. To address this, Hendrix made the hiring of more coaches a priority.

“You do whatever you can to get kids to come out,” Hendrix said. Hendrix’s leadership and the impact of his decisions on behalf of Lincoln athletics has translated over onto the playing arena. Lincoln qualified for state in boys basketball and baseball while the girls basketball team finished in a tie with U.S. 62, rival, Farmington, for second place in the tough 1-4A and the softball team was competitive. Nikki Thordsen won a 4A state championship in the triple jump in track and field and the football just missed the state playoffs with a 5-5 record.

“The more competitive teams we’ve played, the more competitive our teams have become,” Hendrix said, emphasizing athletics is really about the students.

“I think athletics are

a huge opportunity to problem-solve. It teaches kids to think quickly, it teaches kids to think strategically and to work in teams.”

Among the projects Hendrix has guided is the construction of the new athletic complex at the new high school. One headache along the way has been recurring problems with the track. “Some time last fall we told them it was not okay,” Hendrix said. “Then they did the repair that you see on January or February. It’s been very frustrating. We gave them two weeks to repair a 30 by 30 stretch of track. If we approve the repair, they can repair the rest of it. If not, we’ll go another direction.”

Hendrix said the district is still making plans on football to be ready this fall.

“We are doing dirt work and working on the grass to get this ready for the public. I’m real excited, it’s something you do just about every 50-60 years to build a stadium one time. The bleachers are top notch. We’ve put a lot of thought into fencing. It was really good for the grass that we did not play football on it last year.” Hendrix resigned as Lincoln superintendent on May 10 and will assume duties as assistant superintendent for innovations, technology, STEM and accountability with the Springdale district on July 1.