The last 96 hours in the Greater San Antonio area have seen historical, frigid temperatures and the likes of snow fall that had not been seen in the Alamo City since 1985. With an abundance of cold currently going on, and still looking at another cold two days ahead of us, we hope to warm you up a bit with our latest feature.

The Saint Mary’s Hall (SM) Barons hold the #1 ranking in the State of Texas for TAPPS 5A and Head JV Coach Jahrrend Arnold sat down with us and touched on the Barons, being under the radar, his first year on the sidelines as an Assistant Coach at Trinity University and more.

Get yourself a cup of hot coffee or some hot chocolate, and be sure to come on in and go “Beyond the Baseline” (BTB) with us.

Coach, you are undefeated, 19-0 overall. You’ve had some key contributors and what’s been the reason for the Baron’s overall success?
All the credit to our seniors, they set the tone. They have seen what we did last year on our state run and they’re hungry to get back. Gavin Walker was a pivotal point for us last year and this year he’s stepped more into the leadership role, the team captain, putting us on his back. Hunter Darling coming from Boerne HS, has not missed a beat, those have led the way. Also, Luke Phillips has also stepped up, given us big minutes. When Hunter and Gavin are getting doubled he fills the void.

Currently, you guys are #1 in the State for TAPPS 5A, yet it really seems as if SMH is an after thought, unfortunately overlooked. Would you agree and why or why not?
To be honest we don’t talk about it, there’s no focus on it. With the ranking always coming out every year, we seem to be overlooked, kind of the underdog, but we’re good. My first year at SMH AJ Walker set the tone, he’s now starring at the Air Force Academy. After him we had Ben and Avery Euguster, Dane Huggins, every year I feel that we get overlooked, but in the end we’re right there.

I think it’s because we’re private and education type first, but when Coach Chamberlain was hired, we also became athletics, and we can hang. Through the season we always try to play public schools, we’ve asked several schools, that’s why we go play in AlamoCityHoops events and Tim Littlefield events in the fall and pre-season. We got some guys who can fill the row and play. We always get overlooked and in the shadows of Antonian, but we are right there with them. We’ve been on their heels, Coach Bernal does a great job with that program. I think these kids are getting the recognition that they need, but it could be a little bit more.

Most recently, this NCAA season, you also were added to Jimmy Smith’s staff over at Trinity University. How did that come about and what’s it been like?
Spring of 2020 I was supposed to take a role over at OLLU, things didn’t shift that well with COVID, a lot of stuff behind the scenes. Coach Dial reached out to Coach Smith at Trinity asking if I could get in. They have me as a volunteer/GA assitant for now 6 months. You see the different pace, the different flow from high school to the D3 level, it’s very competitive.

Long-term, could sticking with College Coaching be your route, or even looking to grow possibly as a Head Coach in UIL or TAPPS?
I’ve had some offers on the UIL side to go public, to be an Associate Coach for some 5A-6A programs. Now being at the NCAA level it’s opening my eyes. I like the goals that they have for the student athletes. I’ve been in talks with a couple of AD’s over the last 2 weeks since I graduated. Got a couple of things that will be shaking around April, I could see myself at the UIL side, 5A/6A or even TAPPs. I could see myself at the HS and D3 level. The obligation takes a lot more at the D2 and D1 level.

You stay very busy in the off-season, you have an AAU team that has risen up over the last couple of years. Give us a little background on it.
I started off in 2016 with a good coaching partner. We went our separate ways mutually. In 2017 I started Arnold Elite, it went from one team to five local, and now 5 national teams. AAU has kept me busy, kept my feet to the ground and the ear to the streets. The talent in SA is incredible, I’ve always wanted to have a local team. Since 2017 we’ve had teams that have traveled, but I want to tap into local kids who might not be the best or make their local team. It has been great, we have 5 teams on the local scene and it’s a platform for kids to get extra reps during the season. I’ve seen the void of where kids don’t make the HS team get neglected, they play in these leagues that really don’t help them get better for next year. We’ve seen success with 13 kids getting to college in the last 5 years. It’s all about staying relevant and withstanding everything. You see AAU teams pop up now and then they’re gone next summer. Working with people like yourself (AlamoCityHoops) and Blue Zertuch of the GASO. It’s all about timing and knowing good people.