Gardner named Calvary boys basketball coach

Tives Gardner has coached basketball at several levels, winning multiple boys state championships at Grant Middle School.
?

Now, the 41-year-old Springfield High School graduate is getting a chance at the high school varsity level. Gardner has been hired as the new boys head coach at Calvary Academy. Brittany Welk, the athletic director at Calvary, confirmed Gardner?s hiring on Monday.

?I knew my time was coming; my patience paid off,? Gardner said Monday. ?Sometimes I wondered why I didn?t get an opportunity earlier.

?But a buddy called me and said Calvary was looking for a coach. So I said, ?Why not?? I?m thankful to get the opportunity.?

Gardner will take over for Josh Heberling, who coached at Calvary the past two seasons. Heberling resigned a month ago in order to become an assistant coach at Blackburn College.

With a high school enrollment of 98, Calvary is Class 1A athletically. Gardner admits the small Christian school will be a contrast from Grant, where he had a successful six-year coaching stint from 2006-11.?

The Generals won three Illinois Elementary School Association state titles under Gardner, who also guided them to one third-place state finish and two second-place finishes. He still works at Grant as a security guard.

It also will be different from Springfield High, where Gardner was an All-City performer and later spent nine years as an assistant coach for the Senators before going over to Grant.?

Gardner also coached a local AAU boys team, Mid-America Elite, for four years. He stepped away from the coaching job at Grant to take care of his mother, Jerrolyn Gardner, who was battling cancer. She died in 2012.

?It?ll be a change, but they know my coaching ability,? he said. ?It?s a small school, but it?s an opportunity for me to do my thing and better my life, too.?

Welk also said Monday that Dallas Whitford is the new girls head basketball coach at the school. Whitford will take over for Welk, who resigned as coach because of family responsibilities.

Whitford also served as Calvary?s head softball coach last spring.

Dave Kane can be reached at 788-1544. Follow him at twitter.com/DaveKaneSJR.

?

Source: http://www.sj-r.com/sports/x1868848452/Gardner-named-Calvary-boys-basketball-coach?rssfeed=true

amc amc meteor shower chris brown Michael Girgenti Lavabit Breaking Bad Season 6