Cypress Christian School November 2023

\\ By Matthew Ogle HOGAN TURNING CCS FOOTBALL INTO STATE BRAND CU L T U R E A WINNING

IN RECENT YEARS, CYPRESS CHRISTIAN FOOTBALL HAS BECOME THE BRAND IN TAPPS COMPETITION. Reaching the TAPPS-III State Championship three years in a row, winning in 2021, speaks volumes about the players and coaches involved in the consistency of the program. While it may be the players who are battling it out on the gridiron, some credit has to be given to the influence coach Kris Hogan has had on the favorable outcomes the Warriors have enjoyed. One stands to wonder, what is his secret ingredient? “We try to create a culture of ownership,” said Hogan. “When the players own the culture, and it’s a player-driven program, it’s like they have skin in the game. When the players have the steering wheel, they want to be responsible and held accountable for the results. “That bleeds into the offseason and into the details. Also, the culture of unity is big. Our motto is ‘One Heart’ so we want to be unified in what we’re doing, and we want the students to own the process. I’d say those two aspects, plus our Christian heritage, is what makes this program distinct and gives us standards of success.” Several aspects of football comes down to the X’s and O’s, but Hogan is just as passionate about how his players are impacted off the field. “We’re pretty intentional

the brand of CCS in the ensuing months? “We have four goals for the upcoming season,” he said. “We want to win the opener, win the district championship, we want to practice at Thanksgiving and we want to win the closer. There are a lot of great teams in the state of Texas, so positioning ourselves to reach those goals takes a lot of hard work. But, we don’t expect anything less than that.” Another championship might be a safe bet.

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about the discipleship process,” he said. “We have another phrase that we use, it’s ‘Gentlemen Warrior’, which is the epitome of what you want a man to be. Gentle, kind and considerate when he’s supposed to, and then be a ‘Warrior’ when it calls for it. “We’re just using football, and all sports here, as a platform to build the new generation of husbands, dads, voters and business owners.” Hogan spent 17 years at Grapevine Faith before joining the Cypress Christian family three years

“For me, the biggest blessing is to help kids reach their full potential,” Hogan said. “Sometimes you can’t do it for them, but you can certainly give them the tools and the position to succeed. That’s been a very gratifying process for me in my coaching career. “Since I’ve moved here, I’ve loved Cypress. This is an unbelievable place with unbelievable people and I feel called to be here. I feel blessed to be a part of this community.” With all that in mind, what should we expect from

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