Champions Christian Academy Sports

There is a lot going on at one of the best kept secrets in Cass County and the secret is worthy of attention.

Champions Christian Academy (CCA) has an extensive list of things they offer from academics to sports.

In this article we will delve into the sports side of CCA.

To get a better understanding of what is brewing at CCA, I was able to sit down with Athletic Director/ Chaplain Chris Woods to discuss the exciting sports opportunities CCA offers and will offer in the future.

The Beginning

“When I first came here last year, CCA only had PE one hour a week and that wasn’t enough. With my athletic background and growing up playing sports I knew what athletics could teach you,” Coach Woods said. “Most kids nowadays don’t get outside like we did and with this being such a sports crazy area I thought it would be a great idea to implement sports programs here at CCA.”

Woods says there’s more to sports than just hitting or kicking a ball.

“You can learn a lot of things on the field of play that you may not catch onto as easily in the classroom. The classroom is first and foremost of great importance, there’s no doubt about it but things that are learned on the playing field are commitment, accountability, respect, discipline and sacrifice,” Coach Woods remarked.

“Also, being behind in life, we’re all going to be behind on the scoreboard of life. How do you respond to that or certain situations? Those are the things we learn about through the avenue of athletics, so when I came here, I was like, ‘we need an athletic program’ and everything kind of came together really quickly and was kind of like a track meet in itself the way it happened,” Coach Woods said.

With time cutting close to the new school year, it didn’t leave much room for preparation.

“When I got the green light to move forward with sports programs it was June of last year which didn’t give us much time to get prepared for the 2023-2024 school year, Coach Woods stated. “We talked to some of the other small schools around like the school in Marshall who helped us out and told us to start out with volleyball first because you don’t need a large number of kids to get started.”

“We did this on a trial basis with volleyball last fall to see how it would take off and the kids absolutely bought into it. We were able to get more work out of the kids because athletics was there as a motivating factor,” Coach Woods said. “Our first volleyball game it took them awhile to get their feet under them and figure out what a program should look like and what’s expected of them.”

Volleyball Season

Woods remembers the ups and downs of that first season of volleyball but said that one moment stuck out to him that this is going to be a good thing in the long run.

“I remember in one game in particular we were beaten pretty soundly in the first two sets and in the third set I called a timeout and told the players ‘look guys y’all can lay down and they can pound you in this third set or you can put some fear in them and let them know they better step up and bring their game’ and they absolutely did that,” Coach Woods said. “During that third set they beat us but we were right there with them and you could feel the excitement in the gym. The players got fired up, the fans got fired up and I remember standing there thinking ‘you know what, something was born tonight’”.

“We gave basketball a shot and although there wasn’t as much interest it is still available and then we went into track season and you know you can go through track season with one kid. We ended up with seven or eight track athletes this year,” Coach Woods remarked.

And in the first year of its athletics program the school has a state champion already.

“My oldest daughter Payton Woods is in seventh grade and this was her first year competing in shot put,” Coach Woods said. “Our first meet at TK Gorman in Tyler was memorable because she beat the second-place finisher by three or four feet and I thought ‘ok we got something special here’ and it was a big thing for us when they announced the results to hear our school name over the loud speaker.

“So, we got invited to the Texas Private Middle School State Championship at Brook Hill School in Bullard and she won first place there by like four or five feet and she won a gold medal,” Coach Woods said. “Of course, we’re real proud of her and it’s been a confidence boost for everybody especially her classmates and teammates. I believe they got to thinking ‘this is possible, we can do this.’ It’s been exciting to watch how one person can motivate the rest of them to do their best.”

The CCA Brand and Logo

Coach Woods is also excited for the CCA brand to be recognized.

“Getting out there in an environment such as a track meet will get your school recognized. People were asking where we are located which is good for the for our school and sports program,” Coach Woods remarked. “It has been really exciting to watch this grow from nothing into our name getting out there. People are starting to recognize CCA when they see the black and gold or our champ logo. It’s been a whirlwind, lots of fun and we can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Coach Woods also spoke on how the logo, mascot name and colors came to be.

Black and gold were always the colors here since the school opened in 2011 and with no other school being black and gold you know who we are. The other schools in the area, when you see their colors, you know which school they represent,” Coach Woods said. “We wanted something that stood out bold and black and gold were intimidating colors kind of like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the ‘Steel Curtain’ from back in the day.”

“Now the logo we named Sir Champ and you’ll see him on our tee shirts and we’re looking at getting decals made to go on cars with his likeness on them,” Coach Woods added. “But we want to get to the place where when people see that they know we’re Champions Christian Academy. We want them to know exactly who that is.”

With the way things are going it won’t be long before the CCA, Champ logo and colors are well known in this area.

I discussed with Coach Woods how some of the best sports stories start from a sandlot or abandoned field out in the middle of nowhere, and blossom into an amazing story of perseverance, dedication and awe-inspiring victory.

The campus itself has a built-in volleyball area, a basketball court, cross country course, sandlot, batting cages, indoor gaming area and weight room.

“Having outside courses and such helps us with conditioning. In August we are out here in the blazing heat while other schools are inside in the air conditioning, so it helps us when the players start getting hot during a game and we are able to adjust properly because of that conditioning aspect,” Coach Woods said. “We want them to have fun because sports is fun but we also put in a lot of work and this is where we put in the work.”

“We have a circular section on the property for track training that is right at a quarter mile. It’s more like a cross-country course since it has hills and such but it helps get them in shape,” Coach Woods added. “It benefits both cross country and track runners because if you can run up and down hills you can run on a flat track.”

“Our shot and discus throwers set up on the basketball course for practice and it works. Obviously with us winning first place this year it is working. We have to use what we got,” Coach Woods remarked. “We are looking forward to what’s coming down the road. We have been faithful in using the small things we have and God will take care of the big things.”

CCA’s Champions Park, located at 702 Holly St. in Atlanta, has the following sports and events available: baseball target pitching, baseball batting cage hitting, basketball round the world, basketball 3-point shootout, bike racing, disc golf, football target passing, soccer penalty kicks, volleyball serving, volleyball bumping and setting, gaga ball and kickball.

You’ll have to visit the school to get the inside scoop on gaga ball.

When I asked Coach Woods how the kids have taken to using what they have available to them on campus he replied, “We told the kids it’s a starting point and every program had to start somewhere and this is what we’re starting with.”

“I told them one thing that nobody can take away from you is when you’re out of school 10, 20 almost 25 years like I am, you can look back and say ‘I was there when that started’. Who else gets the opportunity to do that? Who can say ‘I was a part of getting it off the ground,’” There is also plenty of excitement for what the future holds at CCA.

“There are plans down the road for a gym and the kids that are here now can say ‘I remember playing in the dirt out there’. There’s nothing wrong with starting out small but to get to be a part of something that came from nothing that’s not an experience you get very often,” Woods said.

“Also, this summer we are going to get certified in archery. We have a perfect facility for archery.

The thing that draws me to that is everyone may not be an athlete or an all-sports athlete, but anyone can do archery,” Woods said. “It teaches the same disciplines just in different ways.”

“Down the road we would like to take part in 6-man football. We are constantly making plans and looking down the road to the horizon in hopes of adding 6-man football as one of our sports programs,” Woods continued.

“As far as sports we already have, we’re practicing for volleyball season starting with voluntary practices over summer,” Woods said. “We have a scrimmage against Word of God Academy in Shreveport on June 28. They are a program that has never had volleyball before and since we have a year under our belt we are going to go down and do a joint practice and scrimmage with them.” The Homeschool Addition

Another thing that has flown under the radar is the addition of homeschooled children being able to play sports with private school teams or school districts in which the students reside in.

Texas House Bill 547 gives school districts the option to allow homeschooled students residing within district boundaries to participate in UIL activities as a member of the district’s teams, activities or events.

“We are really excited for our area homeschooled kids to get an opportunity to play sports just like the other kids. They are kids who want to feel the same way as other kids on a team, working together, being successful,” Coach Woods said. “They also learn the same things our kids do when it concerns commitment, accountability, respect, discipline and sacrifice. Three or four of our volleyball girls are homeschooled and our best player this past year was a homeschooled kid.”

“Before we implemented the sports programs, we had parents who were looking at sending their kids to school here asking if we had sports and at that time, we didn’t so it’s been a help to offer that now since like I said we live in a sports crazy area,” Coach Woods stated. “It’s been a draw for the school and its built a lot of school spirit and pride.”

A New District Home

Another huge step for the Champions Christian Academy sports program is that this coming fall, the program took a huge step in being accepted into the Northeast Texas Athletics and Academics District for volleyball.

The NTAA is a 12-team district composed of other area private schools and homeschool groups.

The District is divided into North and South Divisions where CCA will compete as members of the North, which encompasses teams from Sulphur Springs, Greenville, as well as Paris. The South Division is composed of teams from Longview, Henderson and the Tyler area.

The season will conclude with the NTAA District Tournament held Oct. 4-5, in Tyler.

Coach Woods stated, “This is such a great opportunity for our athletic program to take the next step and it’ll be really exciting for our ladies to take the court with a district championship on the line.”

From the Ground Up

The future is bright at CCA on all levels from sports to academics and Coach Woods is just as excited to see all of this play out from the ground up.

“There is a lot of excitement and plans ahead for what God is doing here and it’s exciting to see it start from the ground up. At some point every program started from the ground even if you go back to the 1920’s when Atlanta ISD started in the dirt. That’s where we started,” Coach Woods said. “It’s one thing to walk into something that is already established but to be a part of something brand new is awesome. Something you can look back on and say ‘I helped build that’ as a student or coach you can say ‘I helped build that’. That’s not an opportunity that comes around very often. We are really excited about it.”

Coach Woods is a Licensed and Ordained pastor. He grew up in Atlanta where CCA is located and was an active athlete in the local Atlanta school district.

He received many football awards and went on to play college ball at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies from All Nations Bible Seminary and is an ISSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree.

He has been married to Lauren for six years and they have four children, of which three attend CCA.

He serves the academy as the Athletic Director and Pastor, and his desire is to teach children to become responsible adults, who are capable of making wise decisions and become great leaders in their communities.