Coaches
Head Boys Basketball Coach: Steve Ward
Steve Ward, a former Alabama A&M standout, has spent the last 15 years at the helm of the Huffman Vikings.
Ward was born and raised in Birmingham, Al, and received his Diploma from Ramsay Alternative High School, where he also played prep school basketball under the instruction of local legend, the late Willie Scoggins Jr. In his senior season, Ward helped lead the Rams to a 20-9 regular season and a berth in post-season play. He was Honorable Mention for the Class of 1997 and a member of the Magic City Classic All-Tournament Team.
As a collegiate player, Ward was a four-year letterman at Alabama A&M from 1999-2002. During his senior season with the Bulldogs, he averaged 14.1 points per game and 6 rebounds while also scoring over 1,000 points for his career in Division 1. He was the team’s co-captain from 2000-2002, 2002 All-SWAC Conference Selection, 2002 Jerry A. Davis Jr. Leadership Award Recipient and a member of the Bulldog 1,000 Point Club.
Ward started his coaching career as an assistant basketball coach at Ramsay High School. In 2005 he became the head basketball coach at Hayes High School. At Hayes, Ward had the opportunity to coach Kentucky standout Eric Bledsoe, now with the NBA Phoenix Suns and Murray State standout Edward Daniel.
Ward is entering his 15th season as Huffman’s Head Coach.
Steve Ward Profile
• 2006 City Champion
• 8 Area Championships
• 8 Sub-Region Appearances
• 5 North East Region Appearances
• 2009-2010 North East Metro Coach of the Year
• 2015 USA Basketball Licensed Coach
• 2015-2016 North East Regional Championship
• 2015-2016 Final Four Appearance
• 2015-2016 Birmingham Athletic Partnership Coach of the Year
• 2017-2018 Birmingham Tip-off Club Coach of the Year
Head Girls Basketball Coach: Lin Slater
Lin Slater is entering her 6th season as head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Huffman High School and her 13th year overall as a head coach. She has compiled an overall (175-76) coaching record in her career.
Slater began her playing career at Central-Coosa High School in Rockford, AL where she was a standout player avg. 16 ppg and helped lead the team to two final four appearances and #1 overall ranking in class 4A. She played college basketball at Southern Union College and has won one state championship. Slater began her coaching career at Childersburg High School, in Childersburg, AL where she was the head coach from 2006-2012. Slater had multiple 20 win seasons, won multiple area championships, and won Talladega County coach of the year twice. Slater was asst. varsity girls’ basketball coach at James Clemens High School in Madison, AL from 2012-2013.
As head coach at Huffman High School, Slater led the Lady Vikings this past season to a (26-8) record, 2 Area Championships over the past 3 seasons, the first Northeast Regional Championship, and the Lady Vikings first Final Four appearance in school history during the 2015-16 season. The Lady Vikings were also ranked as one of the top 10 teams in Class 6A by ASWA and by MaxPreps during the entire 2015-16 season. Slater was named Birmingham City Coach of the Year for the 2015-16 season.
Assistant Girls Basketball Coach: Patricia Reasor
Coach Patricia Reasor was born in Birmingham, Alabama and is a product of the Birmingham City School system. She is a 1992 graduate of Huffman High School. Coach Reasor played basketball and volleyball during her 4year tenure at Huffman. Coach Reasor attended Miles College where she was very active with cheer and dance and a trainer for the basketball team. She finished Miles with a degree in Mathematics. Coach Reasor also attended the Birmingham School of Law where she received her Juris Doctorate.
Coach Reasor was a math instructor at Holt High School in Tuscaloosa, that’s when she began building her coaching resume. Coach Reasor served as the Head girls’ basketball coach at Holt for 3 years. The team was very young and her last year there they were area runners up. Coach Reasor wanted to return to her roots and left Tuscaloosa to accept a math position at Huffman, her home. Upon her immediate return there was not a coaching position in girls’ basketball so she coached cheer. When a position became available for an assistant coaching position for basketball she immediately jumped on it. Coach Reasor has served as assistant coach and head coach over her tenure at Huffman. She is very involved and dedicated to Huffman High and the growth of all athletic programs at Huffman High School. She has two sons.