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Ben Faires has gotten used to change through the years.
When Gus Malzahn replaced legendary coach Jarrell Williams’ Wing-T offense with the spread at Springdale High in 2001, Faires converted from kicker to receiver.
“(Malzahn) knew I played baseball and soccer and some other sports, and he was borderline desperate for athletes,” Faires said. “He ended up recruiting me to come play receiver.”
The move paid off, as Faires led Springdale in receiving and earned a scholarship to UCA, where he caught 115 passes in his career. He put his business finance degree to use, getting into sales.
“I really felt all grown up with a big boy job, and then my father passed away about eight or nine months after I graduated,” Faires said. “That really put a damper on my career at the time and my focus.”
His father, who died of a heart attack at 50, appeared healthy, but he didn’t have a healthy lifestyle. He smoked and didn’t exercise or eat well. That inspired Faires to get back into sports.
He and former Arkansas receiver Anthony Lucas started Life Champs Youth Sports in Little Rock and, two years later, opened up D1 Sports Training, where Faires worked as a strength and conditioning coach.
Although he enjoyed the work, which allowed him to work out with professional and college athletes like Cliff Lee and Hunter Henry, Faires said he usually got to the facility at 4:45 a.m. and wouldn’t leave until 7 or 8 p.m.
When his daughter was born, he struggled with the long hours.
He eventually applied to be the strength and conditioning coach for the Arkansas basketball team and went through the interview process. However, before it went too far, Faires pulled his name out of the hat.
“I found out what the job entailed, how much money those guys make, what their hours are,” Faires said. “I just decided that for my young family, I needed to find a career path that allowed me to be who I wanted to be.”
Instead, he came “full-circle” and got back into sales in 2014, working at Stryker Corporation in Little Rock as a medical sales representative.
While Faires still occasionally works out with athletes, he said he’s definitely not going back to those long hours. He is content where he is, but cherishes the time he spent as a coach.
“Looking back,” Faires said, “I’m glad I was able to pour into those kids and young guys that have young families and hopefully try to extend their life and make them a little bit more healthy.”
— Andrew Hutchinson • @NWAHutch