Fairfield board welcomes Bray Beals as new boys basketball coach

Fairfield Community Schools officials introduced Bray Beals as the district’s new head boys basketball coach at a board meeting, the board announced.

Dr. Cannon opened the welcome and said Fairfield is "family oriented," then handed the floor to Chris Griffin, who described a competitive hiring process that drew 13 applicants and produced a consensus among committee members. "Bray stood out from the start," Griffin said, praising Beals’s leadership and curriculum plans that he said would connect K–12 basketball in the district.

Board members and administrators highlighted Beals’s recent work in Edwarsburg, where they said he spent two years and helped bring a district championship to that program. They also noted his role with Five Star Basketball, described in the meeting as a large travel program in northern Indiana that Beals ran from youth through high school levels.

Board members emphasized Beals’s development focus. One member pointed to a coaching curriculum Beals created for consistent coaching across teams and cited his willingness to stay and work through a difficult season at a previous school as evidence of his integrity.

The board presented Beals and his family with small gifts and district 'swag.' Beals thanked the board, saying he was "super thankful and appreciative of the opportunity" and that joining Fairfield was a family decision: "I wanted to be very selective of the environment that I brought my family into," he said.

The board framed the hire as part of broader K–12 athletic development, saying they expect Beals to support coaches and student-athletes across grades, help with recruitment and leverage college connections. The meeting moved on to other business after the welcome and the board’s congratulations.