Coach Earnhardt came to Rabun Gap after serving as head girls coach at Asheville School for seven seasons and coaching boys basketball in Florida. He is in his 17th year of coaching basketball at Rabun Gap.In addition to his coaching duties, Coach Earnhardt serves as Rabun Gap’s Athletic Director and started the football program in 2009.He’s led the Rabun Gap girls basketball program to new heights during his tenure as head coach. His teams have experienced much success in the NCISAA over the past 10 years, including state playoff berths in each of the past 12 seasons, eight consecutive Final Fours appearances, and three state championship games. Five Lady Eagles have earned Division 1 scholarships, while three others have played at the D2 or D3 level.  Coach Earnhardt has had many highlights throughout his coaching career, including the first state championship game in 2013 and upsetting Greensboro Day in the Final Four that year, but few compare to seeing his team beat Providence Day School to advance to the 2018 Final Four during his daughter Josie Earnhardt ‘18’s senior season.

Chris Fore is a veteran Athletic Director and Head Football Coach from Southern California who specializes in the hiring process among the highly competitive athletic world. His consulting business,EightLaces, has been instrumental in helping coaches navigate the employment process.  He counts former NFL players, collegiate coaches at all levels, and high school coaches from all sports as his clients. (One client just landed a NCAA Division 2 Head Football Coach position!

Fore’s success as an Athletic Director can best be summed up in this: every year he has been an AD, his school won MORE League Championships than the year before!  And he has set SCHOOL RECORDS for most League Championships in one year at both schools where he has been an AD!  Excelsior Charter School hired Chris to bring prestige to their athletic program after winning just 3 League Championships in TEN years.  They won SIX in his first school year!!

He is the author ofBUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER FOOTBALL PROGRAMS, released in December, 2013.  He has also publishedOUTSIDE THE LINES: FOOTBALL COACHES andOUTSIDE THE LINES: ATHLETIC DIRECTORS.  Fore has written articles for two national magazines:NIAAAandCoach/Athletic Director,  and has been featured in articles on some of football’s best websites:Football Scoop,X and O Labs, Coach XO,My CoachBook and more.  He has been a guest onHigh School Football America’s radio show, as well asFox Sports AM 570 Los Angeles, and has also appeared multiple times onFootballCoachingPodcast.com.

Fore’s own blog,  CoachFore.org, is seen by hundreds of unique visitors per day, and is a favorite among football coaches.

Coach Slatten started his career as a Graduate Assistant at Tennessee Tech University in 1989 where he was in charge of player development, scouting, and strength and conditioning. While there he worked with future NBA draft picks Milos Babic of the Cleveland Cavaliers and John Best of the then New Jersey Nets.

Coach Slatten coached 23 years as a head coach with a record of 512-234. He guided 4 different schools, Perry County, Cleveland, Culleoka, and Moore County that appeared in 13 district championship games, winning 11 district championships. They also appeared in 10 region championship games, winning 6. His teams reached the Sectional/Sweet Sixteen level 10 times and reaching the state tournament Elite Eight 5 times and the state final four 3 times.

He led Perry County to the State tournament Elite Eight in 1994, 95, 96, 97. The 1995 team lead the state in scoring averaging 86.2 ppg. In 1996 his Perry County team finished a State Runner-up with a 30-3 record and in 1997 they finished 37-0, which included winning the State Championship.

He led Cleveland to the 1999 Sub-state (Sweet 16) with a 22-10 record.

His 2007 Culleoka team reached the State Tournament for the 1st time in school history advancing to the Final 4 with a 31-7 record. The 2008 Culleoka team also reached the Sectional/Sweet 16 round. His 2009 team finished 30-2 and lead the state in scoring defense at 36.1 ppg.

Alex Carlson Coaching Bio  

Boise State Grad Assistant  

2 seasons 

Pacific University (Men’s/Womens) Assistant  

2 Seasons 

2014 Men’s Basketball 15-10 record first winning record at Pacific in 13 seasons 

University of Alaska Anchorage Assistant  

2 seasons 

2015 Ranked #1 in NCAA D2 for 4 weeks 

2015 Conference Champions, Conference Tournament Champions 

Southern Oregon University Head Coach  

6 seasons as head coach (5 year record, didn’t play a season during Covid) 

126-32 Record 

33-2 (Conference Champions, Conference Tournament Champions) 

27-5 (Conference Champions) 

28-5  

16-11 

22-9 (Conference Tournament Champions) 

NAIA National Runner-Ups 2015-16 

Redmond High School (Oregon)  

1 season 

22-6 record (Conference Champions, 5th place state) 

Playing Career  

Played for Coach Danny Miles who has over 1,000 career wins and 3 NAIA Championships. I  was an NAIA All American on Oregon Tech 2004 National Championship Team. 

Redmond High School  

Team Motto: F.A.M.I.L.Y (Forget, About, Me, I, Love, You)

Record at UAA: 281-62 (.819), 12 seasonsCareer Head Coaching Record: 295-75 (.797), 13 seasons

One of the brightest coaching talents in the NCAA ranks, Ryan McCarthy has taken the Alaska Anchorage program to unprecedented heights in his 12 seasons, producing a 281-62 record and making the Seawolves annual title contenders.An Anchorage native, McCarthy enters 2024-25 with a top-10 career winning percentage (.797) among active NCAA Div. II women's basketball coaches, having led UAA to the best winning percentage in program history (.939) with a 31-2 record in 2019-20.The five-time GNAC Coach of the Year has led his hometown program to the third-best winning percentage and fourth-most total victories in NCAA Div. II over the past 10 years with a 245-43 (.851) record, reaching the NCAA National Title Game in 2016. From Dec. 2014 through the 2019-20 season, UAA was ranked no lower than No. 16 in the WBCA Top 25 poll -- a streak of 95 polls in a row -- while ascending to No. 1 for a total of eight weeks.Despite not featuring a single player among the NCAA top-50 stats leaders, the 2019-20 Seawolves also swept the Great Northwest Athletic Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, finishing No. 4 in both national polls and landing McCarthy both the GNAC and NCAA West Region coach-of-the-year awards.In 2018-19, he became the all-time victories leader in Seawolf history as UAA earned a 30-3 record, won the fifth of its six straight GNAC regular-season titles, and finished No. 7 in the WBCA Top 25 coaches’ poll.

Now in his fifth year at the helm of the Mt. Bethel boys’ basketball program, Cal Boyd brings with him a wealth of experience and a long list of accolades. Boyd has spent 29 years working at private schools in the Metro Atlanta area.

A local standout at nearby Campbell High School, Boyd helped lead his teams to two Region Championships and a State Championship. He was named All-State as a senior, finished as the all-time leading scorer in Campbell’s history, and upon graduation, his jersey was retired.

Boyd went on to play four years at Wake Forest University where he played in all but two games during his four years.  He was a two-time captain and team MVP as a senior. He still holds the ACC record for the best all-time three-point percentage for a career.

During his coaching career, he has coached at Walker, Westminster, Pace, and GAC. His teams have set records at each stop, including Region championships, GHSA tournament appearances, GHSA Final Four runs, and record-breaking win totals.

In 2017, Boyd led the Mt. Bethel Eagles to a GICAA state championship, an accomplishment they repeated in 2018. Making the transition to GHSA in the 2018-2019 season, Mt. Bethel reached the Final Four and finished with a 24-8 record.

All told, Boyd is closing in on 500 wins for his illustrious career.

Boyd and his wife Kristi have been married for 26 years. They have three children, Cameron (who is attending Huntingdon College playing college basketball), Kaylann (who is attending Vanderbilt and playing college soccer), and Coleman (a freshman at Georgia Tech and playing college basketball).

[email protected]

Alex Demczak is a former SEC quarterback for the Missouri Tigers. Alex graduated with a degree in Communication and a minor in Business. Alex is a keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and author who challenges businesses, schools, and teams to maximize their impact.

He is the best-selling author of The Sale with Jon Gordon. The Sale delivers an invaluable lesson about what matters most in life and how to achieve it. The business fable teaches four lessons about integrity to create lasting success. The Sale has been endorsed by Dave Ramsey, Ed Mylett, Michael Porter Jr., Jamie Kern Lima, and others. Alex is also the author of Thrive U. The inspirational book is a collection of stories from 100 collegiate and professional athletes from across the country. Alex has been mentored by Jon Gordon for the past 8 years and is part of his core leadership team. 

Alex is the co-founder of Streamline Books, a company that helps individuals become an author. He is also the founder of Speaker School, which helps individuals become speakers.

Alex is an innovative entrepreneur that has a knack for starting new ventures and collaborates with multiple startups.

Coach Durden is entering year twenty as head girl's coach of the Buford Lady Wolves. He is originally from Midville, GA and played basketball at Coastal Community College in Brunswick, GA., where he received an Associate Degree in Business. He then attended Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education. Durden is semi-retired and his daily duties include serving as an assistant athletic director for Buford High School. 

Overall, Coach Durden is going into his 37th season as a head coach. This past year the Lady Wolves achieved a 26 and 4 record before being eliminated in the "Elite Eight" of the 7A state tournament. Last season, the Lady Wolves achieved a 27 and 5 record and advanced to the 7A “Final Four.”  Durden's Lady Wolves have played in ten of the past sixteen state championship games, while winning the state titles in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2011, 2010 and 2009

Coach Kevin Kiernan is the Athletic Director at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CAH

His total of 900 wins includes his stops at La Quinta and Troy high schools, and a combined collection of 12 CIF-SS titles, six state crowns and two national championships.