Dear Panthers,

Welcome to a new edition of the Panthers Playbook Volume II. This season, our athletes are fueled with determination, energy, and passion as they prepare to make their marks. I am excited to introduce our fall sport coaches who are bringing new perspectives, strategies, and goals for this new year. Alongside them, our senior athletes are stepping into leadership roles, ready to leave behind a legacy of hard work and Panther pride.

Varsity Football Coach Chris Haire, has been around Charter since 2015. “Adam Miller was a head football coach, and he was looking for a quarterback's coach. We had a mutual friend, and I had the opportunity to meet with Coach Miller, and then I got hired here, and the rest is history,” Haire said.

He emphasizes the importance of being "the best we can be every single day and put the best product out there on the field every Friday," as the team's main objective this year. Looking back at the season, one game stands out as a major highlight: the victory against Pine Crest. This rivalry game is always a big challenge, and the team secured an overtime win.

"We had a great win in overtime against them and it was the first time we beat them in 10 years. [It was a] really, really, really good win for the program," he said.

Looking ahead, Haire wishes to “just [take] one week at a time and just take it one play at a time.” While preparing for upcoming challenges such as a key conference game against Traditions Prep, a home game on October 10th.

Coach Brantley Barr has been at Charter for over 40 years, “it was just time for a change,” Barr said. “I knew Mr. Springer for many years, he was an old track coach himself, and he approached me about coming over to coach here. It seemed like a good opportunity. I wasn't ready to retire yet.” Since then Barr has been the cross country coach.

He is focused on one goal for his team: to get as far as they can in the state series. “That's the goal every year,” he noted. “If the girls made it for the first time ever at Charter last year, we're hoping the boys advance. They made it to district and got through to regionals.”

Barr wishes the best for his athletes, he desires to see them grow, improve every day, and give it their all. “I've been doing this too long to worry about things for me.
It's what's best for the team and the program.”

He explained how cross country is an “unique [sport] because you're not really running against just one team head to head. 
It's a group of teams, and you have to finish high in the place." He remains confident that his team has the ability to place in the top eight at districts, to qualify for regionals and ultimately reach states.

The girls volleyball varsity team is led by Head Coach Samantha Harwell. She has been playing volleyball her entire life, acquiring so much passion towards it. She remembers first stepping on the court in sixth grade before playing on a travel team through age 18. Harwell made an important decision in her life to not play at the college level to focus more on her academic career, rejecting offers from DII and DIII schools, finalizing her decisions to study at Florida State.

When Harwell returned to Charter, she immediately asked about helping with the volleyball program, “it just so happened they needed a middle school coach and then I was the coach and that was like 12 years ago,” she said with a laugh, “and then all of a sudden I was in it again.”

This is Harwell's last season coaching, “I really just want it to be something that I feel proud of.” Winning or losing is not important for her but leaving a legacy behind is what matters to her. “I care about, did we get better? Did I make an impact? Did I do something good? Did I help these girls? Did I make them laugh?”

She wants to be a coach that changed the lives of her athletes for the better, “where they can look back when they're my age and think that was a really fun time” she said.

For her team goal she wishes for everyone to improve in the court and outside the court “specifically, I think like the mental aspect” of being an athlete. This year Shane Marcy joined the team as the new assistant coach. Harwell thinks that “having coach Marcy joining us has been fantastic because he's really shifted our focus,” as he has brought a lot of knowledge and strategic playing to improve the level of the team to be better competitors.

Coach Nixon Barrios, head coach of the JV girls volleyball team, has been playing volleyball his whole life. His love and passion for the sport continues to grow every day.

“I played all through high school and college, as well as professional volleyball,” Barrios said.

He was inspired to join Charter after seeing the success of his friends’ daughters who graduated from the school and experienced the strength of its volleyball program. "I was impressed by the formation and improvement that charter had to help their athletes grow and move on to play at the college level” he said.

As a coach his main objective is to “help the girls grow in the short amount of time of the season, so that they can keep growing and take a bit of my knowledge into their club season,” he said.

Barrios mentions balance for his team, pursuing both joy and discipline. He wants “harmony, peace, and fun for the girls, but also a commitment, seriousness, and discipline toward the sport.”

His main goal is to win, to give it their all and best out on the court to leave a legacy and show that “the team has a lot of talent.”

Coach Sherri Wells has led the varsity swim team at Charter for the past 10 years, “I love my team and the community of High School coaches I have built relationships with,” she said. Back in 2016 Charters head coach was looking for an assistant coach, and Wells took the opportunity, as well as granting her kids in the school.

Assistant coach Hailey Wells, Wells’s oldest daughter, swam at Charter for “6 years and she graduated in 2022 and this is her fourth year as my assistant coach,” Wells said.

“I have a lot of history with Coral Springs Charter, it’s really hard to believe it’s been 10 years. I’ve had many swimmers that have started with me in sixth grade and went all the way through their senior year and went as far as swimming at the next level in college.”

Every day Wells appreciates and admires her athletes and her hard work. She strongly states that she has “enjoyed building the program and making it what it is today for our CSC Athletics.”

Wells wishes to take as many of her athletes to states, hoping to send eight of them to states and making a lot of waves in their division. “The next couple years should be really exciting as many of my state swimmers have been with our team since sixth grade. Last year we took the most swimmers to States since I have been coaching, we took 11 swimmers." Wells is very excited and has a lot of hope for this season.

Coach Greg Mason joins Charters bowling team this year with strong ties to the athletes. “I decided to coach at Charter because I know most of the girls and boys on the team and they have asked me many years to come over,” he said.

The team has already set aspiring goals for the new season, Mason commented on how their main goal this year is to “win county district title and move on to states and compete for a state championship.” The coach is very excited and hopeful of this season stating that “the girls team really has this opportunity to do this.” While for the boys team he recognizes that the team is doing well “but needs more work,” after all the boys team is full of young kids ready to improve

Challenges and obstacles will come along while the team reaches for their goals, and that is to “beat South Plantation for the county and Park Vista for the district” states Mason.

Head Coach Chris Lufkin began coaching the varsity golf team at Charter in 2024, after moving with his family from Tampa back to Coral Springs.

“I heard from a friend/teacher that Charter was looking for a new head coach for the golf team and I went through the process of getting hired to become the new coach,” Lufkin said.

Lufkin has been in the golf industry since a young kid and his love for the sport and extensive golf background drew him to coaching at Charter. He states how he worked “in the PGA apprentice program after college and [worked] with other PGA professionals, teaching youth summer camps and also caddying on the professional men’s and women’s tours,” reassuring his experience in golf.

Lufkin has a strong mindset on how he views his goals and his team, he states that “team and personal goals run together, PAR is an acronym for practice, accountability and respect.”

Having a strong and connected team, a team that cares for each other, that helps each other is very crucial for Lufkin. “This is a team sport, however, it’s also the only sport where we play our matches and compete individually.” Cheering and hoping the best for each other is significant to having a strong competitive team.

“High school sports are going to be tough no matter what sport you play. But it’s equally important for our team to work on things individually that they need to improve on to get better week to week. That comes together whether we are practicing as a team or having a match.”

This year seems to be an exciting year for all our sports programs, with a renewed sense of confidence in our coaches and their team. From the first practice to the upcoming games and challenges, there is a clear energy and determination that can be felt across every field, court, and track.

Lets continue to wish our teams a great season and show our support and spirit as the season unfolds.