JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gil Morales is taking on a new challenge.
The longtime high school baseball coach is back in the area and taking over the program at Menendez High in St. Johns County. It’s his first foray into the public school realm, with all of his 20 years in coaching spent at private schools both in and out of the area.
“One of the hardest things to do in the private sector is build community. And we have some really good private school coaches up here. I think you would agree with that. And we have some good public schools,” Morales said.
“And you know, the one thing going into Menendez is, yeah, they haven’t had a lot of success in their program. They haven’t played a very high level, but I’m going into a community, a community that is starving for baseball success. And, I’ll be honest with you, I know my lane. I mean, I guess I’m kind of good at starting programs and having a vision and getting people motivated. And at the end of the day, that’s really what I’ve done with those last programs.”
Morales is one of the most successful baseball coaches in area history and his specialty has been building or rebuilding programs. He won four state championships, three in a four-year period at Eagle’s View (2005 and ’07-08), and later at Trinity (2015).
Morales left Trinity Christian last summer for the job at national powerhouse Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian, which spent time ranked as the country’s No. 1 team last season. Morales went 19-5-1 last season at Calvary.
The Menendez job will be his greatest task yet. The Falcons played their first season in 2001 and have never been to the playoffs.
Outside of a return to an area that he’s familiar with, Morales said the big draw is getting to work with Menendez athletic director Matt McCool, who came to Menendez after spending seven years at Nease. McCool was the longtime baseball coach at Palatka High before moving into an administration role in St. Johns County.
“The baseball side takes care of itself. … I’ve been telling the kids already, listen, you’re going to be challenged, there’s some rough days, you know, but it is what it is, it’s part of what we do,” Morales said. “But with what Matt brings to the table with experience I think that’s going to help me a lot.”