Wildcats' Liner is Lakelands FCA coach of the year

10/10/2012 12:43:00 AM MAN OF FAITH Wildcats' Liner is Lakelands FCA coach of the year Ninety Six High School football coach Chris Liner watches a game from the sidelines. (Index-Journal | File) By SCOTT CHANCEY NINETY SIX -- Coaches draw inspiration from others, and Ninety Six High School's Chris Liner is no different. The moments that shaped the Wildcats' football coach, though, did not necessarily involve X's and O's. Take, for instance, his days as a Greenwood assistant coach under then-coach Shell Dula, who guided the Eagles to three state championships. Dula's words mattered to Liner. But Dula's actions mattered more. "You walk into his office at any time during the day, he's going to be reading his Bible about three-fourths of the time," said Liner, who was recently honored as the Lakelands Fellowship of Christian Athletes coach of the year. "I like to watch other people, especially people who are successful and try to emulate them. That was an advantage of growing up in a family environment where being a Christian was first. And working for coach Dula was a blessing for me. And a lot of the guys on his staff were Christians, too. That was a time in my life when I needed that kind of direction, and it's something I can never repay. But I certainly try to pass on what I have learned. And that's what we're doing." Hence Liner's lesson after seeing this quote from legendary basketball coach John Wooden: "You can't live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you." Whether it's helping organize an FCA meeting at Edgewood Middle School, where he works as an assistant principal, or taking his football team to an FCA camp, Liner said an underlying goal of his job is to prepare players for more than just Friday nights. He wants to prepare them for life - a successful one at that. SEE MORE IN WEDNESDAY'S INDEX-JOURNAL. www.indexjournal.com