MARBLE FALLS, Texas — For the Shipleys, football is family. For football, the Shipley family is royalty.
"It creates some credibility I think with the kids where they know what I'm telling them is the truth and they know to believe what I'm telling them," Stephen Shipley said.
When the former TCU wide receiver returned to Faith Academy to lead the Flames for the upcoming season, people took notice.
Shipley, who coached the Marble Falls school in 2016 before stepping aside for two years to pursue real estate, said this time he's in it for the long haul.
"What I want to do is try to build this program up on the level of our other sports here at Faith Academy," he said.
It gets even better for this year's team.
The players are also being coached by someone they got to watch on TV.
Jaxon Shipley is on staff as well, as the former Longhorns stud wide receiver is helping out his uncle.
"Any time that you get to be a part of young men's lives, you're much more than just a coach," he said.
Tuesday marked his first day with the team.
"It's not to flaunt the things that I've done, I don't care about that at all," he said. "I'd rather be remembered for how I helped guys down their journey."
Faith Academy is a private school with a student body of 230, kindergarten through 12th grade. It's now blessed with two coaches who were former Division 1 players.
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The two have big ideas to introduce to the six-man game.
"Coming from a spread offense background in our family, we've never been known for the wishbone or the veer," Stephen said.
"The spread here is something that's not done often. I think for them initially it's going to be kind of a shock and they're going to have to try to adjust," Jaxon said when asked about how opposing defenses will handle what's being thrown their way.
The Flames open their season at home on Sept. 6 against Summit Christian Academy.
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