The Athletic Program at Athens Bible School has a long, rich history. When we moved to our new campus, we were unable to complete our outdoor athletic complex. Well, the time has finally come to make our dream a reality. Our new project, entitled “Play It Forward”, will concentrate on our baseball fields, softball fields, tennis court, and track. Join us today as we all work together to provide facilities that will have a positive impact on our students for years to come.

Coach Bill Murrell

Baseball Head Coach

Bill Murrell has been at Athens Bible School for 51 years, 48 as head baseball coach, 46 as head cross country coach, 41 as athletic director and 41 as school counselor. He also taught math for 30 years. He was elected to the AHSAA Hall of Fame in 2011 and to the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015. Selected by the Alabama Sports Writer Association as 1A Coach of the Year 4 times. In Baseball, his teams have 1 State Championship and 6 State Runner-up. They have been to the state playoffs 28 of the last 31 years. In Cross Country, his teams have won 4 State Championships and 7 State Runner-up.

Coach Toney Vining

Softball Head Coach

Toney Vining began his volunteer coaching career at Athens Bible School in 1987, serving as an assistant baseball coach for 11 years. He coached basketball for six years where he took the varsity boys to the finals of the regional tournament at Wallace State in 1997. In 2001, he became an assistant softball coach and took over the head-coaching position in 2008. During his tenure as a softball coach at ABS, there have been multiple state tournament appearances with two state championships, two state runner ups, and two third-place finishes. Tony’s wife, Joan (1971 graduate) has worked at ABS for 37 years. She serves as the counselor’s assistant, athletic secretary and was an assistant softball coach for seven years.

Coach Billy Bradford

Track Head Coach

Billy Bradford, ABS class of 1991 lettering in Cross Country, Basketball, Golf, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field. He is the husband of Carole Bradford, former IT Director for ABS and the father of Lillian (Class of 2019), Jack (Sophomore) and Rachel (6th). Billy has volunteered as IT support to ABS since Windows XP was popular. He became an assistant coach to the Cross Country teams and the head coach for the Track and Field teams in 2014. His dream is to create the first Track and Field practice facilities for ABS before the 50th anniversary year of the ABS Track program. P.S. – We only have another year or two to accomplish this

Coach Steve Klein

Tennis Head Coach

Steve Klein began his association with Athens Bible School in 1994 as a high school Bible teacher. In the years since, he has continued to serve in that capacity while preaching in churches of Christ in the area. Among other duties at ABS, Steve coached the ABS golf team from 1999-2002. In 2003, he helped organize and coach the first girls tennis team at ABS — a team on which both of his daughters played. Over the years, the tennis team has had moderate success with several winning seasons and has twice qualified for the state tournament. Mr. Klein regards tennis not only as good “bodily exercise,” but also as a true character-building sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. He enjoys sharing his love of the game with young people.

The “Play It Forward” project will be divided up into three phases.

Our plan is to have Phase One and Phase Two completed by January 1, 2022. Therefore, all funds for these two phases must be collected by October 1, 2021.

PHASE ONE

Phase One consists of permits, drawings, topsoil, fill dirt, erosion control, storm drainage, sewer, water, irrigation, base paving for track and tennis courts, sidewalks, field completions. This will be at a cost of $1,227,500.

Phase One Status 33% 33%

PHASE TWO

Phase Two consists of dugouts, fencing, and the concession stand/press box building. The total cost of this is estimated at $255,000.

Phase Two Status 16% 16%

PHASE THREE

Phase Three consists of lighting the two baseball fields, two softball fields, tennis courts and soccer fields. The estimated cost of this phase is $1,000,000.

Phase Three Status 0% 0%

Click Here for Project Status Updates!

TAKE ACTION

I want to help!

In order to complete this project in a timely fashion, we are going to need a lot of volunteers.
We have a variety of tasks to perform. If you are willing to help us, please fill out the form below.

TAKE ACTION

I want to make a Pledge!

Obviously, for our dream to become a reality, we need many donations from wonderful people like you.
We thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity.

By submitting this form, I acknowledge that this pledge will be fulfilled by October 1, 2021. I recognize that these funds will be used by Athens Bible School for the goals of the “Play It Forward” project.