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Childress graduated from Ruston High School and played on the 1947 state championship football team. As the subsequent head coach at Ruston from 1979 to 1991, he led the Bearcats to a 131-27 (.829) record and four state championships: 1982, 1986, 1988, and 1990. The 1990 team, 15-0, was Childress' most successful. It was ranked No. 1 ''nationally'' following a 52-10 victory in the state championship game. The fifty-two points remains a state Class 4A state finals record at a time when 4A was the largest classification in Louisiana.<ref name=jchildress/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://usatodayhss.com/2015/exruston-high-coach-chick-childress-dies-at-83|title=Ex-Ruston High School Coach Chick Childress dies at 83|publisher=''[[USA Today]]''|date=July 12, 2015|accessdate=July 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myarklamiss.com/story/d/story/ex-ruston-high-school-football-coach-chick-childre/27892/9hPgvaHcF0etwcdVRfz9GA|title=Ex-Ruston High School Football Coach Chick Childress Passes Away|publisher=myarklamiss.com|date=July 13, 2015|accessdate=July 16, 2015}}</ref>

Childress graduated from Ruston High School and played on the 1947 state championship football team. As the subsequent head coach at Ruston from 1979 to 1991, he led the Bearcats to a 131-27 (.829) record and four state championships: 1982, 1986, 1988, and 1990. The 1990 team, 15-0, was Childress' most successful. It was ranked No. 1 ''nationally'' following a 52-10 victory in the state championship game. The fifty-two points remains a state Class 4A state finals record at a time when 4A was the largest classification in Louisiana.<ref name=jchildress/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://usatodayhss.com/2015/exruston-high-coach-chick-childress-dies-at-83|title=Ex-Ruston High School Coach Chick Childress dies at 83|publisher=''[[USA Today]]''|date=July 12, 2015|accessdate=July 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myarklamiss.com/story/d/story/ex-ruston-high-school-football-coach-chick-childre/27892/9hPgvaHcF0etwcdVRfz9GA|title=Ex-Ruston High School Football Coach Chick Childress Passes Away|publisher=myarklamiss.com|date=July 13, 2015|accessdate=July 16, 2015}}</ref>

Childress was considered a "forward-thinking defensive strategist" credited for having made the four-man front a widely used play in high schools across North Louisiana. The mechanics of the game, however, were said to be less important to Childress than what he most valued, "character and integrity, words that every Ruston Bearcat heard over and over again."<ref name=hunsucker>{{cite web |title=Childress was about more than defense and shutouts|author=Adam Hunsucker|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/high-school/2015/07/14/childress-defense-shutouts/30128477/|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|date=July 14, 2015|accessdateSeptember 24, 2020}}</ref> Brad Laird, Childress' last quarterbac] at Ruston High School and the current head coach of the Bearcats, said that Childress believed especially in his later career that a team could win based on character and integrity.<ref name=hunsucker/>

Childress was considered a "forward-thinking defensive strategist" credited for having made the four-man front a widely used play in high schools across North Louisiana. The mechanics of the game, however, were said to be less important to Childress than what he most valued, "character and integrity, words that every Ruston Bearcat heard over and over again."<ref name=hunsucker>{{cite web |title=Childress was about more than defense and shutouts|author=Adam Hunsucker|url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/high-school/2015/07/14/childress-defense-shutouts/30128477/|publisher=''[[Monroe News Star]]''|date=July 14, 2015|accessdateSeptember 24, 2020}}</ref> Brad Laird, Childress' last quarterbac] at Ruston High School and the current head coach of the Bearcats, said that Childress believed especially in his later career that a team could win based on character and integrity.<ref name=hunsucker/>

From 1958 to 1973, Childress was an assistant coach at Neville High School in Monroe, which he helped to lead to four state titles.<ref name=jchildress/> Neville's 1972 state championship team won three games in eight days, all shutouts. When he went to Ruston near the end of the decade, the rivalry with Neville was intense and ever-present. In the 1982 Class 4A state championship game, for instance, Ruston beat Neville, 8-0, scoring on a blocked punt and a safety.<ref name=hunsucker/>  

From 1958 to 1973, Childress was an assistant coach at Neville High School in Monroe, which he helped to lead to four state titles.<ref name=jchildress/> Neville's 1972 state championship team won three games in eight days, all shutouts. When he went to Ruston near the end of the decade, the rivalry with Neville was intense and ever-present. In the 1982 Class 4A state championship game, for instance, Ruston beat Neville, 8-0, scoring on a blocked punt and a safety.<ref name=hunsucker/>