Coaching Staff

Brice Helton (Athletic Director, Head HS Football Coach, and Head HS Track Coach): Mr. Helton has been working at Live Oak since 2016. He is originally from El Paso, and continues his tour across Texas after stops in Lubbock and Dallas. He previously served at The Covenant School of Dallas for eleven years as the Athletic Director, Facilities Director, Head Football Coach, and Head Track Coach. He received his undergraduate degree in Clinical Laboratory Science from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and his Master’s degree in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. Brice has been working in athletics since 2005 including jobs with Texas Tech University and Kanakuk Kamps. He is married to Lauren and they have four beautiful daughters.

Email: bhelton@liveoakclassical.com

Micah Burgess (HS Girls Assistant Basketball Coach): Mrs. Burgess has been a part of the Live Oak community since 2013 as a parent, Grammar School basketball coach and most recently as JV Girls Basketball Coach. She is also the founder and owner of a local childbirth coaching business. Her passion is to help guide others towards accomplishing their goals, whether in athletics, childbirth, discipleship or their own family. Mrs. Burgess and her husband Michael have 6 children and 2 grandchildren.

Kelly Combs (JH Boys Basketball Coach): “Coach K” began coaching at Live Oak in 2021 and has over 30 years of experience coaching basketball. He is also the Director of Basketball, Head Coach and Associate Director of Sports Reach Ministries. Since 2009 he has been the head coach for many international and domestic tour teams made up of college and pro athletes for Sports Reach and Athletes in Action. During this time he has coached teams and has conducted basketball camps and coaches’ clinics in Europe, Asia, Africa, the South Pacific, North America and Central America. Before going into full-time sports ministry, he spent 18 years coaching college basketball and 2 years coaching high school basketball in Kentucky. Coach K played high school and college basketball in Kentucky, and he was blessed to be the point guard at Kentucky Christian University when they won the 1989 National Championship. He is married to his high school sweetheart Jody (Ward) Combs. They love living in Waco and have four grown children.

Email: Coachkcombs15@gmail.com

Kyle Combs (Head HS Boys Basketball Coach): Coach Combs began teaching and coaching at Live Oak in 2020. Prior to his arrival at Live Oak, he worked for Baylor Men’s Basketball as a Graduate Assistant while earning a master’s degree in Sports Pedagogy. Coach Combs grew up in Kentucky and played basketball at Kentucky Christian University, completing degrees in Secondary Education: Social Studies and Biblical Studies. He stayed at his alma mater to coach for one season, making it to the NCCAA National Championship game. Coach Combs spends his summers working various basketball camps and traveling overseas with mission organizations such as Athletes in Action and Sports Reach. He loves anything sports-related, food, travel, and his wife Samantha.

Email: kcombs@liveoakclassical.com

Katy Cordell (Head Cheer Coach): Coach Cordell has been the head cheer coach at Live Oak since 2020 and oversees all of the cheer and spirit programs at Live Oak, which include the high school varsity cheer team, the junior high cheer team, Spirit Squad, Live Oak’s pep squad for 4th-6th graders, and the Lil’ Leaders program. Coach Cordell is passionate about supporting the Falcon sports teams in fun and energetic ways and loves bringing joy, enthusiasm, and school spirit to our campus. Katy has a degree in business administration and works in the finance office at Live Oak in addition to managing the school’s retail store. She has one child in college and four children at Live Oak, and in her spare time she enjoys watching her kids play sports and listening to true crime podcasts.

Email: kcordell@liveoakclassical.com

Natalie Friesen (Head HS Volleyball Coach, Grammar Athletic Coordinator): Coach Friesen began coaching and teaching at Live Oak in 2016. She is a graduate of LeTourneau University, where she received a B.S. in Education. She is passionate about teamwork, fitness, spending time with loved ones, and enjoying nature. Her hobbies include weightlifting, hiking, cooking, and reading.

Email: nfriesen@liveoakclassical.com

Steve Howard (Head HS Girls Basketball Coach, Head JH Football Coach, Assistant Track Coach): Coach Howard has coached and taught in Texas public schools for over 30 years here in the Central Texas area. He is married to Karen, and they have three grown children and nine grandkids (who are spoiled rotten). Mr. Howard loves to scuba dive, travel, and do anything sports-related. He loves Southern Gospel, traditional country, and bluegrass music. He also loves to read and study anything involving apologetics, early American Indian culture (specifically the Comanche and Apache people of the Texas Panhandle where he was raised), WWII, church history, and anything involving saving/spending/investing money. When he’s not coaching one of his many sports, you can find him on his tractor or tending to his cows.

Email: showard@liveoakclassical.com

Georgia Redding (Head HS Cross Country Coach, Head HS Girls Soccer Coach): Coach Redding has been at Live Oak since 2018. As a graduate of Baylor University, she received her B.S. in Exercise Physiology. She is married to Dylan, and enjoys spending time with her friends and family, and being active.

Email: gredding@liveoakclassical.com