Who is Life CHAMPS® Sports

Founded in Little Rock, Arkansas, Life CHAMPS® Sports is unlike any other youth sports organization. Life CHAMPS® focuses on developing "Champions for Life" by providing not only excellence in athletic instruction and competition, but also focusing on the importance of character and education.

Life CHAMPS® Sports is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing high quality, professionally run sports leagues and campes to the 5-12 age group.

Guiding Principles
Life CHAMPS® Sports operates all programs under the following guiding principles:
1. Make it fun
2. Build character for life
3. Develop lifelong learners
4. Limit standing around
5. Everybody plays
6. Teach every position to every child (5 to 8 years old)
7. Emphasize fundamentals (help experience success)
8. Skill development for each child
9. Treat others like you want to be treated
10. Stay positive (yell encouragement, whisper criticism)

Promoting Education
In addition to learning about character traits, each Life CHAMPS® team, through a partnership with Read-2-Lead, will be assigned an age-appropriate book that supports its character theme. Read-2-Lead is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting leadership and education using the platform of sports.

This partnership accomplishes several important and valuable educational objectives:
1. Reinforces the character trait
2. Teaches that reading can be fun
3. Gets books into the hands of many kids who have never owned one before
4. Promotes lifelong learning
5. Encourages parents and children to read together
6. Sportsmanship

One of the most important character traits is sportsmanship. Every practice, game and meeting in the Life CHAMPS® Sports league is built upon the principle of sportsmanship. This applies to players, coaches, referees, and parents to ensure that everyone has a positive experience.

Recognition
Young people thrive on the high expectations and recognition of their parents and mentors. Life CHAMPS® plans to end each season with a first-class awards banquet where each team and player will have the opportunity to be recognized for their hard work, character, sportsmanship, and athletic achievement.

Leaders
Life CHAMPS® Sports is led by Dr. Fitz Hill and Steve Snider. Fitz is the former Assistant Head Coach of the San Jose Spartans. Steve is a local attorney and businessman who currently serves as president of Fellowship Associates, a leadership development and church planning consulting firm.

Both natives of Arkansas, Fitz and Steve grew up in Arkadelphia. It was there thay they played sports together and were teammates from the peewee leagues through college.

Both attribute a lot of their personal and even spiritual growth to their experiences in sports. They have long planned to work together to give today's kids the same kind of experiences they enjoyed as young men. Both believe that sports are one of the best places to learn life's important lessons: teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance, leadership, competing well and spirtual growth. That is why they created Life CHAMPS® Sports.

Anthony Lucas is a former standout and all-SEC wide receiver for the Arkansas Razorbacks and hols the Razorback's all-time records wth 2,879 receiving yards and 23 touchdown receptions. He is second on the school's career-record list with 137 catches and set an SEC record by averaging 21 yards-per-catch over his career. He also set a Razorback record of 10 games with over 100 yards receiving during his career.

He graduated from the University in 1999 with a degree in Social Work. He was drafted in the 2000 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers, who were excited about Anthony's superb acceleration, good hands, and ability to make yards after the catch. Several knee injuries required a number of surgeries that ended his football career as a player.

Having been in the corporate world for the past couple of years, Anthony is glad to be back in the world of sports with the opportunity to lead and encourage young people in doing what he's done so well over the years, being a champion for life. Anthony's love for kids, great character, dynamic personality, and record for making good choices in life make him the perfect Director for Life CHAMPS® Sports.

Ben Faires currently serves as the Director of Life CHAMPS in Little Rock, AR.  Ben is originally from Springdale Arkansas where he was a multi-sport athlete at Springdale High School.  He was all-state in track and field for 3 years, and won State and the Meet of Champs in the 400meters as a senior.  Ben also was all-state in football in his one and only year to play Wide Receiver at Springdale High.  Gus Malzahn (current Auburn Offensive Coordinator) became Springdale’s head coach and asked Faires if he wanted to play.  Having never played Receiver before in his life, he thought with his speed, it would be a good offense to play in.  He led the state in catches, and yards that year and went on to play in the All- Star Game, and sign a scholarship to play football at the University of Central Arkansas. 

From there Faires had a great 4 year career starting as a true freshman and finishing #6 all time in catches and TD at UCA.  Just recently Faires was named to the UCA all decade team as Coach Clint Conque described Faires as “probably the most enjoyable player I have ever coached”

Faires has a degree in Business Finance from Central Arkansas.  Faires met his wife at UCA and they were married after graduation.  They now reside in Little Rock and have a passion for serving the youth around Central Arkansas.  Whitney (Faires’ wife) is a 1^st grade teacher at Little Rock Christian, and Ben works hard as Director of Life CHAMPS and Assistant Facility Coordinator at D1 Sports Training.