Brandon Childress takes over Baldwin boys’ basketball as J.J. Eads steps down

BALDWIN - There is a new era beginning for the Baldwin boys’ basketball program.

As J.J. Eads, who has been at the helm for the past five seasons, resigns so that he can spend more time with his family, Brandon Childress will take over.

Childress was the J.V. coach this past year, so the transition couldn’t be smoother. And Eads knows that Childress is the right man to step up and take over.

“So, I think it just kind of worked out well, where the timing, being here for five years, getting it stabilized. Now we can move it on to someone who’s young, who’s got the energy to put the program in the continued right direction,” said Eads.

Eads has been coaching all over Northern Michigan for a while and has captured 10 league titles in his past 19 seasons.

“I actually started coaching 30, 31 years ago. My senior year in high school at Reed City, I got sick for the season and I started coaching, freshman boy’s assistant,” said Eads. “When I was at Ferris, I coached at Big Rapids for six years, all different levels. I moved back to the area, Crossroads took me in, 11 years of varsity girls there, three at Reed City, five at Baldwin.”

Childress played football at Central Michigan and Ferris State, and he is the all-time leading points scorer at Baldwin. For him, there was one coach he had that really had an impact on him.

“The coach that really, really, really touched me was Coach Annese, man,” said Childress. “I really love that guy. As he says always, the catalyst of the Ferris State program, football program, is love, and coach truly means that. His love for me, his confidence in me as a player, as a coach to be one day, has really inspired me to go into that path.”

He is excited for opportunity he has back in his hometown, where he went to high school, and he hopes to lead Baldwin somewhere that they’ve only been once before, the state title game.

“I’m gonna bring that energy every day, no matter if they believe it or not. I believe that we can be there as a school, as a community, and I cannot wait for the day that we can take a bunch of fan buses down to Breslin and, our little town, pack the Breslin Center out and, our kids get to show off that, you know, we’re worthy of being there,” Childress said. “I expect our kids to, to feel that they’re worthy of doing great things.”

Eads will still remain as the athletic director and English teacher at Baldwin High School, and may help out the basketball program in the future. For the time being he is just focused on being there for his son.