Tim Harper

Tim Harper- Head Football Coach

My Career

MY FAMILY

• I have 25 years experience coaching at the high school level.
• For the past 19 years, I have been a head coach at these schools: Mena, Searcy, Des Arc, and Lewisville.
• I have coached State Champions or State Runner-Up teams in football, boys track, girls track, and wrestling.
• My teams have qualified for the State Playoffs 14 out of the 19 years.
• I am most proud of this because the programs I have led have been perennially losing programs. Searcy was 3-37 the four years prior and had never made the Class 6A Playoffs, and we did this all 4 years.
• Mena nor Searcy had hosted a home playoff game in 20 years. We have hosted 12 home playoff games in the last 8 seasons.
• Coached Des Arc and Mena to the State Championship in 2008 and 2014. Neither school had played for a championship in over 35 years.
• Last 10 years my teams have won 65% of their games. Searcy averaged 36% and Mena 37% prior to my arrival. We have made the playoffs 13 out of the last 15 seasons.

My wife Amanda and I have been married 24 years.

My oldest daughter Taylor is 20.

Alex is my youngest and she is 15.

My Career (cont.)

Coaching Accolades:

• Selected to AHSCA All Star Football Coaching Staff in 2009 and 2012
• Awards:
• 2014 Little Rock TD Club AAAA Coach of the Year
• 2014 Farm Bureau Hootens AAAA Football Coach of the Year
• 2014 Simmons Bank AAAA Football Coach of the Year
• Finalist for the Dove National Caring Coach of the Year of the Award in 2014.
• Conference Coach of the Year in football: 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2005.
• Conference Coach of the Year in track: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, and 2004
• Polk County Citizen of the Year 2014

My teams have finished in the Top 10 in the State 10 times and in the Top five 6 different times.

TRUST

The Parents, Players, Coaches, Community, and Administration has to be able to TRUST that everyone has the programs best interest at heart.

Fairness and Consistency will guide our program

Every decision will be made for the betterment of ALL student-athletes this is ALWAYS our #1 PRIORITY!

TEAMWORK

WE will hold one another accountable inside and outside of the program.

WE will strive to OUTWORK every other team in the CONFERENCE. This is a promise made by EVERY player and EVERY coach.

WE WILL EARN WHAT WE GET!

WE will WIN together and if we should LOSE, we will do it TOGETHER!

TENACITY

This is the program's relentless pursuit of EXCELLENCE. We will play harder and want it more than EVERYONE we compete against. It is the program's goal that this goes beyond the playing field to the classroom and also the community. WE WILL NOT QUIT! WE WILL NOT GIVE UP!

I BELIEVE that this is a direct result of our program's CORE VALUES!

TRUST

TEAMWORK

TENACITY

While at Searcy we defeated LR Central, West Memphis, Jonesboro, and Marion for the first time in school history. These schools have 2X the enrollment of Searcy.

More Than Just FOOTBALL!

WHO IS TIM HARPER?

VIDEO

More in the News

IN THE COMMUNITY

• Youth 7-on-7 League coached by current players
• Youth Coaches Clinics
• Mentoring program at Holly Harshman Elementary
• Nursing Home Visits
• Christmas Babysitting for Foster Families
• Future Bearcat Football Camps
• Fast Cat Summer Program

MY COACHING PHILOSOPHY

MISSION STATEMENT

OFFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY

OFFENSE OVER THE YEARS

• 8 of my quarterbacks have been selected ALL State
• 3 have played in AHSCA All Star Game
• 2 have been selected offensive player of the year in their classification
• 4 have signed to play beyond high school
• 3 have thrown for over 3,500 yards in a season
• 3 have passed for 3,000 and rushed for 1,000 in a season
• 1 passed and rushed for 2,000 yards in a season!

I believe offensively that you have to do 3 things.

First, you must ALWAYS keep the defense guessing. We can never eliminate the element of surprise. Use lots of formations to gain advantages.

Second, we must ALWAYS be fundamentally sound. We have to eliminate mental mistakes. (Turnovers and Penalties)

Third, we must ALWAYS out-hustle and out-physical our opponent. It does not matter the style of offense.

Set School Records for Points Scored at 3 different schools

Searcy, Mena, and Des Arc

Make them defend the whole field

Be aggressive take shots

6 Different Seasons with a 2,000 yard passer, 1,000 yard rusher, and 1,000 yard receiver

2011 3,500 yard passer, two 1,000 yard rushers, and a 1,000 yard receiver

2014 3,100 yard passer, two 1,000 yard rushers, and two 1,000 yard receivers

2014 6,800 yards of offense

2018 We were 51% Pass and 49% run. We averaged just under 200 yards run and pass. The Bearcats will return 9 starters on offense in 2019.

60-40 Run to Pass Ratio

Vary tempo regularly

Be MULTIPLE!

It is the program's primary goal to have every young man to put on the uniform to be thankful that he was a part of the program, and that he will be a better father, husband, and citizen because of it.

Other program goals:

• Be recognized STATEWIDE as a great program regardless of classification!
• Qualify for the PLAYOFFS every year!
• HOST a home playoff game every year!
• Celebrate THANKSGIVING together!
• Win the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!

DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY

Beyond High School

INFLUENCE: I believe that COACHING is a calling. I am blessed to have a wife who shares this calling with me. I believe that a coach should take advantage of every opportunity to influence the young men he has the opportunity to coach. It is my goal to help each young man to be a better husband, father, and employee.

LOVE: "Coaching is a profession of love, and you can't coach people unless you love them. " Coach Eddie Robinson said. Once you convince the young men that you are in the business for them, they will do anything they can to make you proud of them and their efforts.

BELIEF: A good coach will make his players believe in what they can be rather than what they are.

WORK ETHIC: The coach cannot accept anything less than the best a player is capable of giving. To do so is to cheat the young man.

In the past 12 years, I have had 28 young men continue their playing careers at various universities.

All but 2 of these young men continued playing at NCAA Division 2 are lower, we went out and found them a place to play. From Avila University in KS to Union College in Tennessee.

We have hosted National Underclassmen Combines as well as carried these young men to combines to help promote them to colleges.

TRUST.

TEAMWORK.

TENACITY.

We will be very multiple on defense.

We will be aggressive, but very sound defensively.

We will be a great tackling team that flies to the football.

We will play as a unit with heart and passion.

We will base out of a 4-3, but we will also employ some 3 and 5 fronts.

We will be a zone team primarily sticking with a 2 high shell.

We will man at times to add defenders to the box.

We will also be very aggressive in certain situations and try and cause our opponents to turn the ball over or to win field position.

Defense at Class 6A Searcy: 4 Season average of 21.5 points per game

over 46 games!