By Derrick Smith

There are some coaches that begin coaching or realize that they want to be a coach when they are in college or even after they graduate college. Others get bitten by the coaching bug while they are still in high school, which is the case for the head boys basketball coach at Rejoice Christian Tim Billingsley.

“One of the reasons why I got into coaching was because I was always a coach on the floor with a strong voice and a profound knowledge of the game,” Billingsley said. “Throughout my high school and college playing career I had a lot of different coaches who had a tremendous influence on me. I have adopted all the things that I really liked and have tried to let God, my passion and enthusiasm take care of the rest.”

Those coaches that played a part in Tim becoming the coach he is today are guys that he was able to watch on a daily basis and soak up knowledge from.

“I had a great high school coach Dan Snyder who emphasized taking care of the ball, rebounding and playing team ball,” he said. “My first college coach Kevin Lofton really impacted the way I do one on one skill development and how I teach defense. My second college coach Jeff Culver gave me a great example of what it means to be a player’s coach, but then empowered me and got me started with my coaching career at the collegiate level. And finally Zac Briscoe showed me the ropes for Oklahoma High School Basketball. Over the last four years, Zac and I have built a great foundation and I am super excited for the future at Rejoice.”

While he loves the game of basketball, both playing and coaching, there is another aspect of coaching that Billingsley enjoys as well.

“Something I enjoy about coaching is the opportunity I have to help shape and grow student-athletes in all aspects of life using sports as a tool,” he said. “My primary goal has always been to build a successful program by developing godly men within the program.”

When he is not coaching, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife, Hannah, one year old son Nolan, and their two dogs. He is also a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Denver Broncos.