Belton High alumni retires from coaching

April 10, 2025

Special to the Journal

Craig Bales, a graduate of Belton High School, recently retired from Big Lake High School. He was the defensive coordinator and golf coach this past year.

A former head coach of Winters and Italy High School’s football teams, he also worked at Eldorado, Iran, McCamey, Salado and Belton High Schools as a football coach in various capacities.

“There are a few coaches that get to stay at one place. In this profession, you must move around a bit. There is more stability as an assistant coach. It is a changing world in Belton. The change in football is how technical it has become. Even the small schools are more technical. Years ago, you didn’t have to worry about kids working out before the season. In the summers they built fences or hauled hay. As a coach, you must pay attention to conditioning. This is year-round. The kids are the same as they have always been. As a coach, you continue to improve by studying and trying to get an edge.  

“I was at Belton when we started playing Temple. That was a different level of competition. The number of coaches a team keeps on staff makes a huge difference on the field,” said Bales.

Bales married his wife Jenny who graduated from the University of Mary Hardin Baylor. They have four children, Kaytlyn, Kelton, Kaci and Kix.

Bales graduated from BHS in 1990 and coached at BHS for six years.