Fort Worth, TX - The Chargers Basketball program and Head Coach Gerald Sledge recently announced the return of Coach Chad Farmer to the program while Lady Charger Basketball Head Coach Brittany Foster announced the addition of Coach Chris Hastings and Coach Taylor Vaughn to her staff.
Farmer returns to Central after serving as the head coach at Perryton High School for the past two seasons. He'll fill the role of Associate Head Coach for the program and will be responsible for the organization, development, and leadership of the varsity program in support of Head Coach Gerald Sledge.
In his most recent season at Perryton, Farmer led the Rangers to a 12-15 overall record, the most wins the Rangers had registered in just under a decade (2013-14: 15-11). Coach Sledge was thrilled to bring Farmer back to Central saying "he has a grasp and understanding of our culture and strong family environment and was very significant in our player development and mental toughness." Sledge added that with the addition of Farmer to the current staff and returning players, the program has "exactly what is need to continue the success of Central Hoops and lead to another playoff appearance in the 2023-2024 season." Farmer started his coaching career at Central in 2015 as an assistant coach and was promoted to varsity assistant in 2017. During his four season as varsity assistant, the Chargers had tremendous success, reaching the postseason twice (2017-18, 2020-21) while registering one of their best district finishes in program history as they finished District Runners-Up in 2017-18 and made their way to the UIL Area Finals.
Coach Farmer will be returning with his wife Jo'Nia and daughter Cheyenne Skye.
Meanwhile, Chris Hastings joins Charger Nation after serving as an assistant coach at Highland Park High School on David Piehler's staff. Hastings, who is in his ninth year as a teacher and coach has coached both boys and girls basketball from the junior high to varsity level. Over the course of the last three seasons, Hastings has earned 2 district championships, while only losing a total of five games. He earned his BA in Kinesiology with minors in Health and English from the University of Texas-Arlington. He would later complete his Master's Degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion.
In his first season with the Scotts, Highland Park went 26-7 this past season, finishing as District Runners-Up and Area Finalists.
Head Coach Brittany Foster is coming off a historical first season as head coach where the Chargers broke the program record for wins in a season going 23-14 and just missing out on a postseason bid. Foster recognized that the program is blessed to have a coach the caliber of Hastings saying "he brings a ton of knowledge and energy to the program. He matches my competitive edge and I know it will be a lot of fun coaching together next year."
Coach Hastings grew up in Duncanville, TX and is supported by his wife of 16 years and three children.
Additionally, Taylor Vaughn will be joining Foster's staff taking on the role of leading the freshmen program. Vaughn currently serves as a math teacher here at Central and according to Foster "her knowledge, energy, and passion for player development make her a perfect fit to lead our developing players." With the addition of Hastings and Taylor, Foster said "we will only go up from here."
Hastings will be filling the role vacated by Coach Cody Parris who leaves Central to work at his daughter's school. Foster acknowledged Coach Parris' contribution to the Lady Chargers saying she'll miss "his great 'Dad Advice' and how he helped me become a better coach". Taylor fills the role vacated by Coach Ritter who will be retiring from teaching this year and moving to New Jersey to spend time at the beach. On Ritter, Foster said "Dyane has been such a huge asset to this program over the last few years. She builds great relationships with the kids and does a great job developing players and that was evident from the success of our JV program this year who among other accomplishments swept the season series against Keller."
Keller ISD Athletics offers sports programs that help develop the whole student through athletics. KISD athletics programs will provide student-athletes opportunities to experience competition, leadership roles, self-improvement, goal setting, discipline, coachability, learning from setbacks, accountability, enhance academics, developing positive character traits, and being part of a team. In partnership with families and community, the mission of Central High School is to inspire in all students the desire to learn, the courage to lead, the value of proven character, and the commitment to serve. More information about Central and its coaches, student-athletes and teams is available at Centralchargerathletics.com
