Longtime Alma coach selected boys Assistant coach of Year
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
The first thing Alma boys basketball coach Cody Vaught noticed about his new assistant coach was that he didn’t leave before he did.
“I had so many people tell me, when I was considering coming to Alma, what a blessing it would be to work with Coach (Darin) Stahler, because he’s such a professional,” Vaught said. “Normally, the head coach works harder than anybody else in the program, but Coach Stahler never leaves before me.”
“I learned that from my dad (Bud),” Stahler said. “I guess athletics have always taught me that. When I was playing, I played all the way through high school, and I played in college. I was what they would call a gym rat when I played, and I felt like the only way you’re going to get better is you’re going to have to spend time at it, and I think that’s with everything. Whatever job you have, you'd better put the time in. With spending a lot of time (working), you’ve got to have people behind the scenes, like my wife (Bridgett), and the kids, and they have to understand that.
“She’s sacrificed a lot.”
A 1984 Harrison graduate, Stahler has spent the last 22 years of a 36-year career coaching for three Alma coaches - Stan Flenor, Dominic Lincoln, and Vaught.
This week, Stahler was named the Arkansas High School Basketball Coaches Association Assistant Boys Coach of the Year. He’ll be honored at a banquet on April 13 in Benton.
“It means everything,” Stahler said of the award. “Again, I didn’t get into (coaching) for this kind of stuff. I’ve worked with some really good people, and I’ve worked with some really good players. Good coaches have put me in a position to coach, and that’s the main reason why I came to Alma. When I was hired back in 2004, I was a head coach, and I really thought a lot of Coach (Stan) Flenor, the administration, and everybody here. I was going from a head coach to being an assistant, but I knew when I got here, I was going to be able to coach.”
Stahler has worked for three coaches during his time with the Airedales, including the first 16 with Flenor.
“He puts in just as much film time as I do and cares just as much if we win or not,” Vaught said. “Most assistants, it doesn’t matter to them quite as much. It’s important to him because he cares about kids.
“You wouldn’t do it this long unless you truly cared about kids.”
“Coach Vaught does the same thing coach Flenor did; he allows me to coach,” Stahler said. “I really appreciate that. The kids are really good, and they really respond. Our administration and our schools are some of the best that I’ve been around.”
Flenor said hiring someone with head coaching experience was key.
“Coach Stahler had been a head coach with lots of experience and also had a great background as a college player and a state champion pedigree in high school,” Flenor said. “He had a great command of teaching fundamentals and game preparation. Once he got here, he was just a great person, loved coaching hoops, and being around young people. He always had answers for tough situations that arise in programs with his experience as a head coach.
“Above all, his character, integrity, and loyalty have been pillars for our program.”
“As an assistant, my job is to help the head coach,” Stahler said. “Anything I can do, that’s what I strive to do.”
Stahler and his older brother David, both originally from Illinois, migrated to north Arkansas back in the 1970s when their dad, Bud, packed the family’s station wagon and drove to Mountain Home to help run one of his uncle’s resorts.
David Stahler spent the last 24 seasons as the head coach at Harrison.
“My dad was an insurance adjuster outside Chicago,” Darin Stahler explained. “His uncle had these resorts (near Mountain Home). On a whim, he said would you ever think about running one of the resorts?
“We packed our old station wagon and drove to Arkansas.”
The family eventually settled in nearby Harrison.