The reformed Van Athletic Booster Club isn’t wasting any time getting back up to speed.
When club president B.J. Anderson hung up his football coaching whistle and moved back to his hometown with his family a few years ago, he noticed the high school’s athletics program didn’t have an official support organization.
“I can remember when I played football here and how important that was,” Anderson said. “When we came back, we saw a real need. We wanted to try and kick it up again and create that energy.”
Anderson went to work with wife Stacey, who was also a Van native, to build a support system for all of the school’s athletic programs. He also called some old friends – athletic directors at schools where booster clubs have had great success supporting student-athletes.
“I called Scott Surratt at Carthage, John King at Longview, Mike Wood at Kilgore,” he said. “I asked them how their booster clubs worked.”
Armed with some how-to guidance from a few coaching legends, Anderson developed his club’s goals and went to work.
“We are trying to create a best-in-class atmosphere for all of our student-athletes,” B.J. Anderson said. “The superintendent is behind us and supports us. We have lots of real hands-on supporters.”
In two years, the club has grown its membership significantly, which has helped meet the needs of the school’s teams. Working closely with Athletic Director Jared Moffatt, Anderson and the club’s board has been diligent about supporting each of the Vandals’ teams.
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