When the opportunity arose for Hardin to become a collegiate head coach, he jumped at the chance -- even though the scenery was moderately different.

    Following the resignation of Bluefield women's coach Cheryl Fielitz-Scarbrough, the school's administration turned to Hardin, who assists Jason Gillespie on the men's side along with duties as the school's golf coach.

    Hardin accepted the position and hit the ground running with the Lady Rams, while keeping his other positions at the school.

    "(Fielitz-Scarbrough) resigned at the start of the year," Hardin said. "When they offered me (the job), they wanted me to give up the other stuff, but I still wanted to help the guys. They allowed me to do both."

    Prior to the season, Hardin chose to remain an assistant at Bluefield after declining an opportunity to assist Reggie Theus at New Mexico State and interviewing for the Virginia Intermont men's job.

    "I wanted to stay here because we had a good guys team coming back," Hardin said.

    Under Gillespie and Hardin, Bluefield's men won a share of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season title and earned an invitation to the NAIA national tournament a year ago.

    The Rams have begun their 2007-08 season with an 11-3 record including a win over Division I-A South Carolina-Upstate, who recently joined the Atlantic Sun Conference.

    While the men's program has found success, the women's program has struggled.

    The Lady Rams finished the 2006-07 season with a 7-20 record and began the '07-08 campaign with a 1-8 record before Hardin took the helm.

    Hardin accepted the position with no prior experience coaching women. His closest experience to the job was following his father, Tony Hardin, when he coached Elizabethton's girls.

    "The only thing close to this was when Dad coached the girls at Elizabethton," Hardin said. "I listened to him a lot and that was as close as I've gotten. I told (my team) that when I took the job."

    Hardin consulted his father, who currently coaches the boys at Heritage High School in Blount County, and Tennessee Tech men's coach Mike Sutton, whom he assisted earlier this decade.

    His father and Sutton both expressed their confidence in Hardin and told him he should take the job.

    "I talked to (my Dad) a lot early," Hardin said. "He said it's a win-win situation. He told me about all of the differences and the positives and negatives of coaching men and women. After him, I spoke with Mike Sutton at Tennessee Tech, who I've helped before. He told me I was crazy if I didn't do it."

    Once Hardin accepted the position, he knew he had a lot of work ahead. He faces the daunting task of rebuilding the women's program at Bluefield, all while continuing his duties as an assistant on the men's side.

    It's a big task. But if anybody can do it, Hardin can. Throughout his young coaching career he has maintained multiple tasks and found success at each stop.

    The Elizabethton-native assisted his father at Elizabethton while attending East Tennessee State in 1999-2000.

    One year later, Hardin transferred to Tennessee Tech where he became a walk-on practice player under current Auburn coach Jeff Lebo.

    In 2001, he was responsible for many duties while serving as a student administrative assistant at Tech for a team that made its way into the National Invitational Tournament's final eight.

    His hard work paid off with a student assistant coaching role under Sutton prior to the 2002-03 season. That year, the Eagles fell one game short of the NCAA Tournament.

    Following Tech, Hardin became Scott Polsgrove's men's assistant at King College with responsibilities including film exchange, day to day operations, recruiting and coaching the junior varsity program. In 2004, the Tornado received a bid to the NAIA National Tournament.

    Hardin joined Gillespie at Bleufield in July 2005 and has been a big part of the Rams' success.

    Gillespie and the Bluefield men have been supportive of Hardin accepting the position as women's coach, while the Lady Rams were excited about a fresh start.

    "(Coach Gillespie) was all for me doing it. He's been supportve and the players have been supportive. It was an easy transition," Hardin said. "Bluefield's women's athletics have not won much in recent years. The girls are excited about a new start and they're wanting to win so bad. They've been the bottom of the barrell in the AAC for a long time and they want that to change."

    Hardin saw some positives when he initially took the women's helm as his team fared well in loses at Covenant and Bryan College.

    "As soon as I took it we went to Covenant and Bryan and played them close. That was an accomplishment," Hardin said. "The team was excited. I opened it up and pressed a bit. We've got some good shooters, but we've got to get them the ball."

    Following Bluefield's loss to Milligan on December 8, Hardin and his team began a month-long, gameless stretch to refocus and gear up for the bulk of their AAC schedule which begins January 9.

    It may be too late for the Lady Rams to seriously contend for an AAC regular season title, but if Hardin has his way, his team will be one nobody wants to face once tournament play begins.

    In no time, the Lady Rams will have a new attitude. The hard-working Hardin will make sure of that.

    After all, it's in his blood.