Harmon has a vision for resurrection of Greater Beckley Christian football

Brian Harmon attended the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh and left with more than just hope for his beloved Steelers’ future.

He returned with a clear plan for the future at Greater Beckley Christian.

It was from discussions bandied about during that three-day excursion that led to settling on the decision to bring football back to the Prosperity school. The move became official and was a hot topic when it was announced on social media earlier this week.

Greater Beckley will officially implement football back to the athletic curriculum starting in the fall of 2026, and Harmon will be the head coach. The school has not fielded a football team in 20 years.

“Justin Arvon, our administrator, and one of the other teachers and I had attended the NFL Draft and we just talked about football,” Harmon said. “And I was like, ‘What happened to the program?’ What was its rise and fall?”

The Crusaders had a football program for two seasons, in 2005 and 2006, but had to disband the team due to roster depletion and budget concerns. They went 2-15 in those two seasons.

Once Harmon and Arvon had a plan, they presented it to Athletic Director Jeff Graham. With Graham’s blessing, the plans moved forward with a clear vision of getting started in just a few months.

“We’ve communicated our intentions to the WVSSAC (West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission),” Harmon said.

Everyone involved is comfortable with the way things currently stand and feel the problems that arose 20 years ago will not be factors this time.

“We are looking at increased enrollment here and so we felt like we could move forward, looking at our middle school ranks to be able to sustain something with a little bit of longevity to it,” Harmon said.

Greater Beckley currently has a roster of 20 players. Harmon said the plan is to run their summer flex days the first and third weeks of June.

“Our goal is to play two or three varsity games this year, and then the rest (of the season) doing developmental football, just playing a JV schedule on Mondays,” he said. “And then in 2027 we look to begin fielding a competitive (varsity) team to get ready in single-A ball.”

This will be Harmon’s first head coaching position, but he has been around the sport his entire life. He played in middle school before moving to wrestling at Shady Spring High School. He graduated in 1987 and was a member of the Class AA/A state championship team that was coached by Hall of Famers Dix Manning and Larry Snuffer.

“They left an impression on me for sure,” Harmon said.

Harmon’s three sons, Scott, Aaron and Will, all played football for the Tigers.

“This will be my first official coaching position, but I’m certainly not a greenhorn to this,” Harmon said. “My boys all played different positions, which has allowed me to gain knowledge about what they needed to do on the field, and so I’m fairly well-versed in what happens for linemen and wideouts and specialists.”