MonticelloLive

Last night at the boxing match, I visited with Monticello Billies Coach Van Paschal, and asked to interview him for tonight’s One Monticello Life.  He agreed, and I learned a lot about Coach Paschal during our conversation, this afternoon.

Coach Paschal was born in Ft. Worth, TX, and moved to Brinkley as a small child.  He grew up there, playing football, baseball, and track, and graduated from Brinkley High School, before enrolling at UAM, where he played 2 years of baseball and 1 year of football.

Coach Paschal graduated from UAM in 1985, and later got his Masters in Administration from ASU in 1996.

Coach married Mrs. Lisa in 1985, just after college graduation, and they will soon celebrate their 23 year wedding anniversary.  They have 5 children, Tyler (age 17), Hope (age 14), Hannah (12), Rebbecca (10), and Rachel (5 months, next week).  Lisa attended UAM for a year, and then finished her B.S. in Education at ASU.

The Paschals are members of First Baptist Church, where Van is a deacon. Coach also sponsors the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes at school.

He is a member of Coach’s Outreach, based out of Dallas, TX, which was founed by a former Baltimore Colts player, who played in Super Bowl V.  Coach’s Outreach is a Christian Based Outreach Organization, that reaches across at least 6 states.

Coach Paschal is the Monticello Billies athletic director, and is best known as their High School Head Football Coach.  He has been coaching for 23 years, with 3 of them guiding the Billies.

He chose coaching after he had started at UAM as a business major.  After finding himself again taking math classes, he asked himself, “is this what I really want to do?”   He visited with Coach Groce, Boyce Davis, and Dr. Mary Jane Gilbert, and saw that they really enjoyed where their careers had led them.  He had always been involved in sports, and knew what he would be changing his major to.

Usually, the ”favorite phrase” comes at the end of the article, but Coach Paschal told me that he agrees with the saying, “if you don’t enjoy something, then you’re probably going in the wrong direction.”

Years later, Coach is glad he made that choice. “This is for me,” he says about his career.  ”I’ve been able to live the dream of doing what I want to do, and getting paid for it.” 

His favorites include:

Sports team—Billies, of course

Restaurant—all of them

TV show—M*A*S*H re-runs and TVland

Movie—It’s a Wonderful Life, with James Stewart

Actor—John Wayne

Music—Contemporary Christian

Book—The Bible

The Paschal’s have one dog, Smokie, a miniature Schnauzer.

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When I asked Coach Paschal if there was anything that he wanted to include today, he told me, “I hope that as people are reading this article, they will come away with the feeling that this is a man who wants to make everything count for the Lord.”  “Matthew 28 says that we’re supposed to testify.  I believe that God can use an article on a web-site to spread his word, as well as any other way”.

Coach Paschal really made an impression on me.  Getting to know him better has been a blessing.

Coach Van Paschal, thanks for all you do, and for sharing your One Monticello Life.

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