EAGLE RIDGE BUILDS SPORTS PROGRAM

Fans of local high school sports no doubt are very familiar with the athletic programs of most of the area schools, including those from Cape Girardeau Central, Notre Dame, Jackson, Scott City, Chaffee and many others.

But fans are probably not all too familiar with the sports program at Eagle Ridge Christian School, located a mile west of Interstate 55 along Route K.

Tony Hammack, Eagle Ridge's youth pastor, athletic director, basketball coach and baseball coach, hopes to improve the visibility of the school's athletic program in the future.

"We don't really have the numbers right now, but we eventually hope to build our programs up to the point where we can go compete with some of the area's bigger schools," he said.

Eagle Ridge has about 120 students enrolled in preschool through 12th grades, but only a small percentage of that total make up high-school age students who participate on varsity teams.

Eagle Ridge has been in existence since 1982, although sports have only been offered for the past four years. This is the first year for the school's current location that features a new 30,000-square-foot building and includes a new gymnasium.

The majority of the area high school athletic programs are affiliated with the Missouri State High School Activities Association, which governs all of the state's public schools and most of its private schools.

Eagle Ridge is affiliated with the Missouri State Christian Athletic Association, which has several divisions based on enrollment. Eagle Ridge has been competing in Class 1A, the smallest division.

Sports offered by Eagle Ridge are boys basketball, girls basketball, volleyball and baseball. Junior high and senior high students participate.

Hammack said there are about 15 students involved in each sport. The school competes in a conference with five other small private schools: New Salem Baptist Academy of Marble Hill; Solid Rock Christian School of Farmington; Agape Christian School and Southern Missouri Christian School, both of Poplar Bluff; and Pathway Christian School of Blytheville, Ark.

"It's hard with our numbers, but last year we had some good athletes," said Hammack. "I'm not sure about this year. We've got a smaller high school group but more junior high students, so we're hoping to build."

Hammack, as a former athlete himself -- he is a 1992 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, where he played linebacker on the football team -- realizes the importance of sports.

"I think sports are very important," he said. "It's important to provide the best opportunity we can to develop our spiritual, physical and mental selves."

Hammack worked a variety of jobs before accepting a position at Eagle Ridge last October. While he coaches the basketball and baseball teams in addition to serving as athletic director and youth pastor, his wife Andrea coaches volleyball and teaches kindergarten.

"It's an enjoyable place," he said. "It's a very good opportunity for people who want to get a Christian education and we're trying to give them as many opportunities as we can to compete in sports."