Clay Shearer knows what he wants from the Isabella baseball team: good character and a strong work ethic.

And Shearer knows what it will take to build those qualities.

“The most important thing will be to honor and glorify Christ in everything we do,” said Shearer, who was approved by the Chilton County Board of Education Tuesday as the Mustangs new coach. “After that, baseball just kind of takes care of itself.”

Shearer comes to Isabella after one season as the coach at Vinemont, where he led the Class 3A Eagles to the Area 12 championship despite having only 11 players on the squad.

Shearer served as an assistant coach at Tuscaloosa County High for two seasons and at Leeds for one season. Shearer is a 2005 Jacksonville State University and a 2001 Cullman graduate.

Shearer has seen much success as a player and coach and hopes to bring that to Isabella.

“I really hope to compete for state championships on a year-in, year-out basis, not just every once in a while,” he said.

The first step will be improving Isabella’s fundamentals.

“I believe in the small things—and building off of that,” Shearer said. “At the high school level, you can win a lot of games just by being fundamentally sound.

“I love the kids I’ve been around so far. They have great attitudes, and they’re coachable.”