Cory Butler isn’t fazed about following Nelson Medina as the boys soccer coach at Springdale Har-Ber.
Har-Ber wasn’t a factor in soccer until Medina arrived and led the Wildcats to a conference championship and a second-place finish in the Class 7A state tournament in two years. Har-Ber reached the championship game after beginning the state tournament as a No. 6 seed.
Medina, who was named NWA Media coach of the Year last season, left shortly after the state finals in May to take a job as an executive director with the Las Vegas Sports Academy.
“Nelson laid a good foundation at Har-Ber and a stepping stone for me,” Butler said. “So, I look forward to keeping Har-Ber going in the positive direction he had them going.”
Butler is eager to put his own stamp on the Har-Ber program, and he arrives with loads of credentials. He coached for seven years at Tulsa Union, where he led teams to five conference championships and two state runner-up finishes. He also coached in Louisiana and smaller schools in Oklahoma before accepting the Tulsa Union job.
“Cory is an outstanding math teacher, and he’s won championships at three different levels,” said Wayne Stehlik, director of athletics for Springdale Public Schools. “He has rings, so he knows what it takes to win championships.”
As a player, Butler spent four years at Marquette and had stints in professional leagues in Louisiana and Wisconsin after graduating from high school at Broken Arrow, Okla. Butler’s wife, Ashley, is from Green Forest, and the couple was attracted to Northwest Arkansas as a place to raise their children.
“Ashley loves it,” said Butler, who will teach math in addition to his coaching duties at Har-Ber. “She’s got family all over Northwest Arkansas, and she’s glad to be back.”
Butler brings an aggressive, pressing style of offense to the Wildcats, who lost 3-0 to Bentonville in the state championship game last season. Butler likes Har-Ber’s potential but said the Wildcats still have plenty of work to do before the season-opener March 5 at (Tulsa) Bishop Kelly. Har-Ber will host Siloam Springs in a benefit game Tuesday.
“We want to be like gnats and cause problems all over the place,” Butler said of the Wildcats, who finished 13-9-1 last season. “When we get the ball, I like to keep it and make the other team work to get it back.”
Butler is searching for some playmakers after the Wildcats lost top scorers Miguel Gomez and Cole Brothers from last season. Rolando Sidon could emerge as a leader after he scored eight goals and had six assists as a sophomore.
“Technically, our players are very good,” Butler said. “They’re good at moving the ball around and creating offensive chances. Our biggest challenge is going to actually scoring the goals. We don’t have a true goal scorer, and somebody is going to have to step up and fill that role. So far, nobody has.”
Cory Butler
AGE 39
COACHING EXPERIENCE Coached for seven years at Tulsa Union after beginning his coaching career in Louisiana. Also coached at Chickasaw, Okla., and Catoosa, Okla.
PLAYING CAREER Played four years at Marquette after being recruited in Dallas, where he was playing with a club team. Played professionally in leagues in Louisiana and Wisconsin.
NOTABLE Led Tulsa Union to five conference championships and two state runner-up finishes in seven year at Tulsa Union…. Union clinched District 6A-4 championship last spring with 2-0 victory over Jenks, Okla.
Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@nwadg.com or on Twitter at @ NWARick