01/27/2026
https://www.lincolntimesnews.com/sports/former-lhs-standout-farley-enjoying-the-goat-life/article_a9ff634b-1ee7-4ed3-a241-88c131fd6403.html
Cheron Farley is living the “GOAT life at the farm.”
The usual acronym “Greatest of All Time” does not exactly apply in this case, although Farley can lay claim to being one of the most accomplished multi-sport athletes to come out of Lincolnton High School.
He played on two state championship teams at LHS (football in 1993 and baseball in 1995) as well as a state runner-up team in football in 1994. He played varsity basketball until his junior year.
What’s more, Farley remains one of the few athletes at LHS to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft out of high school (St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1995, 55th round). He is a member of the Lincoln County Sports Hall of Fame, enshrined in 2021.
He turned down a pro offer and opted to play college baseball at Brevard and later North Carolina A&T.
The reference to the “GOAT life” is more about Farley’s current job, which is program director and head baseball coach at Combine Academy, whose sprawling campus, the former home of New Life Baptist Church, is located on the “Car Farm Road” in northern Lincoln County.
The mascot for Combine Academy is a goat, visible on the school logo as a rather fierce-looking creature with big horns and piercing eyes.
Goats are associated with rural environments, usually farms or pastureland. Combine Academy is in a rural area on a highway with “Farm” in its name.
Where he wants to be
In another sense, Farley, 48, is living the best possible life he can imagine for this stage of his coaching career. He was hired last August by Combine Academy after coaching football and baseball for 12 years at Southlake Christian Academy, a private school near Huntersville.
At Southlake Christian, Farley matched wits with well-known football figures in the Metrolina Athletic Conference, including NFL legend Randy Moss, who coached at Victory Christian Center School in Charlotte.
While his decision to leave Southlake was a difficult one, Farley’s ultimate ambition is to coach at the next level.
Combine Academy is not a college, even though the school has some post-high school students enrolled. It’s an international boarding school and sports performance center for student athletes (grades 9-12) who have collegiate or even professional ambitions.
Campus life like a college
The student body is diverse, and Combine offers small classes and low student-teacher ratios—all at one site.
The attraction for Farley is that Combine Academy runs its athletic programs like a college. For example, the program offers a fully-equipped baseball development center with turfed indoor batting cages/bays, lockers and a weight-training facility.
The student athletes attend classes in the morning hours and train in the afternoon, making for an 8 to 10-hour day. Students stay in dorms and apartments on campus. There are few commuters.
According to Combine officials, the school is one of two sports academies in the country to offer on-campus instruction. The others deliver their coursework through remote learning.
“I loved coaching at Southlake, but my ambition is to coach college baseball,” Farley said in an on-campus interview. “This job gives me an avenue to prepare myself.”
Combine has international appeal to young people who want to play in the States. For example, nearly half of Farley’s 2026 roster is made up of players from abroad, including China, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and even Denmark.
“Parents send their kids here for development. I am eager to see how these guys develop under my leadership, and where it all goes for them.”
Given Combine’s facilities and a challenging schedule that includes games against college-level programs (Division II Lander University and Young Harris are on the schedule), Farley said his athletes “have no excuse not to get better.”
About recruiting
The recruiting pitch is simple.
“The pitch I make is that we can get them college-ready. They don’t have to make that college adjustment because they get that lifestyle here,” Farley said.
Farley does not run away from Combine’s primary purpose, which is to develop athletes in basketball, baseball, golf, and soccer.
But students go to class and carry a full academic load.
“It’s probably 60 percent sports and 40 percent academics, but the academic end is 100 percent of that 40,” Farley likes to say.
To dispel rumors, Combine Academy is not a cult, school officials say. It is not a reform school.
“We invite anybody to come by, take a tour, and see what we are doing,” Farley said. “The gates are open most of the time.”
Another great thing about the job—Farley has been entrusted with full control of baseball operations.
“It’s definitely comfortable for me. It’s near my hometown, and I am doing what I love. The folks here have been very welcoming.”
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Cheron Farley is living the “GOAT life at the farm.”The usual acronym “Greatest of All Time” does not exactly apply in this case, although Farley can lay claim to being
