Mount Pleasant ISD teacher and coach, Ladarius Craddock, was selected for the Texas High School Coaches Association R.O.C.K (Rare, Outstanding, Compelled, and Knowledgeable) mentorship program for the 2024-2025 school year. The program selects 50-60 of the best young coaches in the state from all sports who have less than 5 years of experience. The R.O.C.K. program, powered by the Texas High School Coaches Education Foundation (THSCEF) and the Texas A&M Thornton-McFerrin Coaching Academy, is designed to connect a coach that is new to the profession with a veteran coach to gain advice, encouragement, and insights into their career aspirations and to help them grow in their desired coaching fields.

Craddock and MPISD Athletic Director, Joey Cluley, attended the R.O.C.K. Symposium, a two-day event where rocks and mentors get to know each other, on March 3-4 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. After the Symposium, R.O.C.K. mentees and mentors will work through a year-long curriculum developed by the Texas A&M University Thornton-McFerrin Coaching Academy. This curriculum provides bi-monthly access to virtual learning modules with discussion prompts, activities, situational challenges, and more for each pair to discuss. In July, the R.O.C.K. mentees will also volunteer as convention staff for the annual THSCA Coaching School and attend sessions designed specifically for coaches in the R.O.C.K. Mentoring Program. Craddock’s mentor is Earl Westbrook, the Defensive Coordinator at Conroe High School, and Cluley is serving as a mentor for a coach in Weatherford.

“This is an outstanding award that Coach Craddock has earned in every sense of the word,” said Cluley. “Coach Craddock was chosen out of thousands of applicants to represent Mount Pleasant in the program. We are so proud!”

Craddock graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 2014 where he was a multisport athlete in football and track. He went on to graduate from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant in 2018 where he continued to play football. He currently teaches Outdoor Adventure at Mount Pleasant Junior High and coaches Varsity football and assists with track.

Photo: MPISD Coach Ladarius Craddock (left) and MPISD Athletic Director Joey Cluley at the R.O.C.K. Symposium