Coach Childress' unique style inspires confidence at Clements

Feb. 24—CLEMENTS — They say that clothes make the man, and if that's true, Clements head coach Shane Childress is worth about two.

Coaches dressing up is nothing new in basketball, but Childress has put his own spin on it.

It started over 20 years ago when he brought his love for music to his passion for basketball.

"I'm a huge Elvis fan and so I started wearing Elvis shirts during the (Lawrence) county tournament when I was the boys coach at Hazlewood in 2003," Childress said.

From then on Childress, became known for his eccentric shirts that were usually button up, collared shirts with prints of the King of Rock and Roll on them as he continued to coach basketball in Lawrence County.

When Childress took over as the Clements girls basketball prior to last season, he decided that he needed to bring that same style with him. This time, however, it was more than just for fun.

"Clements had been beat down for a while and when I took the job, I had people say to me, you're going to Clements? You're taking your girls to Clements? Then they would laugh," Childress said. "I took that personally."

Childress came to the school with the mindset of building the Colts into more than just a good basketball team.

"I wanted to help build an image. I wanted these girls and this community to have that confidence and swag and be proud of who we are," Childress said. "We wanted to show people we're not a doormat."

This time though, it wasn't Elvis shirts the coach would don during games. Instead, he opted to embrace the school's Colt mascot. Game after game, you can find the Clements' head coach wearing a plethora of uniquely designed shirts that all feature a Colt boldly shown.

The shirts have drawn plenty of attention across north Alabama as Clements has put together back-to-back 20-plus win seasons, even though it did take some getting used to for his family.

"That was a battle my family knew they weren't going to win," Childress said of his decision to wear the shirts. "I think my girls (Clements basketball players Leah and Josie Childress) have grown to like it. My wife (Kelley Childress) still kind of shakes her head about it."

While it may have been a little embarrassing for the family at first, it's hard to argue with the results on the court. This Tuesday, Clements will play in the Final Four in Birmingham for the second straight season. What's more they dominated No. 1 ranked Lauderdale County, the staple of 3A girl's basketball in north Alabama, in back-to-back years to do it.

"I know all about the tradition and success of Lauderdale County basketball because I was there when it started. They've been running the same system since 1988, and they run it to perfection," Childress said. "We don't have a system here, but you definitely have to respect what we're doing."

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A different team

To get back to the Final Four this year, the Colts had to take some bumps and bruises along the way.

Midway through the season, Clements lost starter Shakarri Bailey, which forced the team to completely change its identity.

"She was one of the best defenders in the state, in my opinion. She was always at the top of our press (defense) and she had high energy that kept her going all game," Childress said. "Losing her changed the whole dynamic of the team."

To replace Bailey, Clements turned to three players: sophomore Josie Childress, sophomore Jakayla Farrar and freshman Asiah Malone. The Colts also changed how they played defense. Instead of in-your-face, press defense all the time, they learned to pull back when needed.

That was on full display this past week when Clements rolled out a brand new, never-before-used defense against Lauderdale County in the Northwest Regional finals.

The result was 11 steals, six blocks and forcing the Tigers into 20 turnovers, while also holding them to 41 total points. Additionally, stars Taylor Farrar and Leah Childress dropped 20 and 16 points, respectively.

"I was so nervous going into that game, but the girls just went out there and executed," Childress said. "I also have to give credit to my staff (Former West Limestone star Mitzi "Bugg" Grizzard, Childress' wife Kelly and his daughter, former UAB standout, Rachael McIntyre). I think we have as good a staff as any in the state of Alabama. I'll put it up against anybody."

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A mountain to climb

The Colts may be back in the Final Four this year, but the path to winning the 3A state championship that fell through their fingers a season ago won't be easy. First up for No. 4 Clements is a rematch of last year's state championship game against No. 3 Trinity Presbyterian. That game will take place Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the BJCC in Birmingham.

The winner faces either Cottage Hill or No.2 Plainview on Friday at 12:15 p.m.

"We've been here before, we know these teams, we know the challenge we have," Childress said. "It's a tall mountain, but it's a mountain we want to climb."

Asked if Childress had anything special planned for his attire at the tournament, he said everyone would just have to wait and see.

"I go all by feel. I have one shirt that I would like to wear, but I've gotten so fat from stress eating this season that it doesn't look good on me," he said. "I'll see what I can figure out though."

—caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2