When Chuck and Sharon Jones got married on Aug. 10, 1991, there were no plans for either of them to get into coaching. There were no visions of becoming head coaches, and there certainly weren't dreams and goals of winning state championships.
"When we first got married, we had decided not to coach at all because we just knew it was so time consuming and it took so much away from family time that we decided 'let's just teach,'" Sharon said. "It didn't work out the way envisioned."
Life has a funny way of altering people's plans, and sure enough it happened to Chuck and Sharon, not only in their teaching careers but also this year in particular.
Not long after saying they wouldn't get into coaching, Chuck and Sharon accepted assistant coaching positions -- Chuck in Bentonville and Sharon at Gentry, her alma mater.
"Then we decided we wouldn't take any head coaching positions," Sharon said. "We'll just be assistants and we'll still have time for each other and our family."
Assistant coaching positions turned into head coaching jobs over the years and success has followed the pair as they eventually settled as coaches in the Siloam Springs School District.
Sharon joined the district in 2008 as head cross country coach and Chuck followed two years later as an assistant football/soccer coach.
Between them, they've won a combined eight state championships and had seven state runner-up finishes in their respective sport.
And in the 2014-15 school year -- with Sharon heading up boys and girls cross country and Chuck the head boys and girls soccer coach -- they each had teams win state championships and finish as state runner-up to finish the season.
Sharon's girls cross country team won the 2014 6A state title while the boys finished second in the fall. Then in the spring Chuck led the girls soccer team to the 2015 6A state title while the boys were runners-up.
"That's pretty unique isn't it?" said Siloam Springs Superintendent Ken Ramey.
Change of plans
Chuck and Sharon both ended the school year with two trophies each, one gold representing a state title and one silver for the runner-up, but the truth is -- it wasn't supposed to end up like this.
In the summer of 2014, Chuck had accepted the head boys track coach position at Siloam Springs, and wasn't going to be coaching soccer anymore.
Jones had been an assistant soccer coach to Jason Bowen from 2011 to 2014, and had been a part of three state championship teams -- two with boys soccer winning back-to-back Class 5A titles in 2011 and 2012, and a girls 6A state title in 2014. He had also helped coach the 2013 boys and girls teams to state runner-up finishes.
In joining the track program, Chuck knew he was leaving behind a very successful soccer program and it was a tough decision.
"Every one of Siloam Springs soccer's state championship they've won I've gotten to be a part of since I've been here, which had been fun," Chuck said. "It was hard for me to make that decision to leave. I felt like I almost didn't get to say goodbye."
Jones served as seventh-grade football coach in the fall and cheered on Sharon's cross country teams through their 2014 season, all the while preparing for track in the spring.
In November, the cross country teams went to the 6A state meet at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, where the Lady Panthers won the program's fourth cross country state title, while the boys finished second just one point behind state champion Lake Hamilton.
For Sharon, it was her fourth state title overall and fourth state runner-up finish in seven seasons of leading the cross country team. The Siloam Springs boys won state titles under Sharon in 2008 and 2009 and finished as state runners-up in 2010 and 2014. The Lady Panthers won state titles in 2011 and 2014 with state runners-up finishes in 2012 and 2013.
"Siloam has always had a good strong tradition in cross country," Sharon said. "We've got 12 state championships in school history. It's always been successful."
Chuck has enjoyed being along for the ride in cross country.
"You know, I'd never really been around cross country much until (Sharon) started coaching," he said. "I love the fact that all kids get a chance to participate. I get emotional when those girls and guys are out there running at those state championships."
Sharon said Chuck supervised the pep bus that went down to Hot Springs to cheer on the Panthers and Lady Panthers.
"He's always been a big part of it," Sharon said. "He's always been supportive."
Once cross country season ended, Chuck and Sharon shifted their attention to the track program, where Chuck was going to be head varsity boys coach and Sharon head junior high coach.
A new role
In early March, in the midst of several days of school closings because of winter weather, Chuck got a phone call from Siloam Springs administration asking him to come in for a meeting.
School was out because of snow and Chuck wasn't sure what this could be about.
When he got to the meeting, he learned that Bowen had been placed on administrative leave, and the district was looking for someone to step in and lead the boys and girls soccer programs.
Administration asked Chuck to return to the program, which was days away from starting the 2015 season. And after much thought and prayer, that's what he did.
"For Chuck to say 'yes, I'll step in and do what's best for the Panthers,' that's pretty unique and he did a fabulous job," Ramey said.
Chuck moving to soccer had a trickle-down effect as well. Now there was an open head boys track position, which Sharon filled. Henry Janes filled Sharon's role as head junior high coach, and Conlan Efurd took on some additional responsibility with the track program.
"I was pleased at the way our coaches stepped up when they were needed the most," said Siloam Springs athletics director Kevin Downing. "They put the program first."
Transitions went as smooth as can be expected, but Sharon admitted she wasn't thrilled about the changes at first.
"I was pretty mad," she said. "I was mad that we were so looking forward to working together in track. We were so looking forward to having more time away. Chuck was getting to coach our son Zach's soccer team and being able to do more with the boys. We had just envisioned what our spring was going to look like. When that happened, I just knew it was out the window. We weren't going to see Chuck again until this summer, and we were right."
It took a little while, but Sharon cooled off and thought about the situation.
"I knew track was going to be OK," she said. "Every single person out there had been a head track coach at one point or another. We all just jumped in and everybody stepped up. It wasn't just me. Henry stepped up and took over the junior high program. It was the best track season this year that I think we've had since we've been there. I think a large part is due to Chuck. He got everybody on the same page. and he got everybody excited. Together we just pulled together and we did fine.
"Once I got over the fact that I didn't get my way and we didn't get what we wanted, it was OK. I really enjoyed having the high school. I liked it a lot."
State championship
On the morning of May 23, the Lady Panthers defeated Searcy 1-0 in the Class 6A girls state finals at Razorback Field in Fayetteville.
Freshman forward Megan Hutto found the foot of sophomore Maycee Lance, who scored the game's only goal as the Lady Panthers (14-4) repeated as Class 6A state champions.
Nearly two hours later, Chuck, who had just celebrated the euphoria of winning a state title, felt the sting on the other end as the Panthers lost to Russellville 2-1 in the boys state championship game. They finished the season 10-7-1.
A few days later, Chuck reflected on a soccer season that he never expected to happen.
"I don't believe in chance," Chuck said. "I think things happen for a reason. I didn't feel like I got to say goodbye to the soccer kids last year and the Lord maybe knew that this was an opportunity for me to come back and finalize things."
At the soccer program's postseason banquet, Chuck fought through tears as he informed the players and their families that he would be returning to the track program for the 2015-16 school year.
He'll return to his position as head boys track coach, while Sharon has been promoted to head girls track coach.
Both Chuck and Sharon have said many times that they make a good team.
At Siloam Springs Intermediate School, they team-teach physical education for fifth- and sixth-grade students.
"I feel like we are perfectly placed as far as our teaching assignment because we really get to know those fifth- and sixth-grade students and we really get to encourage them to come out for athletics," Chuck said. "We really encourage them to just play a sport, just to get involved in an activity. But I feel like the kids are comfortable coming out and playing because they know us, and I think that's an advantage for us."
Chuck said he and Sharon have different strengths, which work well together in teaching and coaching.
"I'm kind of the idea person," Chuck said. "I come up with lots of crazy ideas, and Sharon is kind of the feet to it. She is the one that can follow through with things. I think there's enough difference to us where we balance ideas all the time."
Sharon, laughing, said, "He's the big idea man. I'm the detailed person that gets it done."
Sharon said she and Chuck have fun together, which is one of the more important things.
"We're best friends," she said. "We like to be around each other, and a lot of people can't believe we teach together every day. The thing is we do. If you see us at home sometimes working on projects you wouldn't think so because we both try to be the boss, but I think our philosophies are so alike that we believe in the same things and we want the same things for kids. So even if we may go about it differently, we're both going in the same direction."
Chuck said he and Sharon are both passionate in what they do, both teaching and coaching.
"It doesn't matter what we do, we want to do our very best at it," he said. "I think from a working standpoint, that's how we approach PE. We want to have the best PE program that there is. When two people both have the same mindset, I think it helps things go pretty smoothly."
Chuck and Sharon have certainly earned the respect of their peers and administration.
"First of all, they both are impeccable with kids," Ramey said. "They draw kids to them like magnets because they're so genuinely honest and transparent in how they support kids. They treat kids with clarity. They are the role models you want kids to have in any sport. ... They're outstanding both of them. Great coaches and great contributors to our community. People value them, I know I do."
Sports on 06/24/2015