JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – We’ve heard what high school football players had to say.
So, what about the coaches?
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We asked them the following questions at Baker’s Sports high school football media day early last month. Answers were anonymous. A total of 38 coaches responded to the questionnaire.
Who is the best coach in the area?
(9) Darrell Sutherland, Bartram Trail; (4) Matt Toblin, Bolles; (4) Brian Braddock, St. Augustine; (4) Bobby Ramsay, Mandarin.
Not a big surprise to see Sutherland mentioned at the top. He’s the third-longest tenured public school coach in the area (First Coast’s Marty Lee and Keystone Heights’ Chuck Dickinson are in front of him), widely respected and has consistently put the Bears in the playoffs. Bartram has missed the postseason just three times in its 20 seasons of eligibility (it opened in 2000 but wasn’t eligible until 2001). Sutherland had 161 career wins at the school entering this season and a sate runner-up finish in 2017.
Toblin coached at Clay and Ponte Vedra before Bolles, and he’s played for three state championships in his career. He was 77-30 entering this year. Braddock has four seasons of double-figure win totals and started this season with a 67-27 mark. Ramsay is the only coach among these top four with a state title, winning the 8A crown in 2018. He also coached all-time great Derrick Henry at Yulee. Trinity Christian coach Verlon Dorminey is the most successful active area coach, winning his 300th career game last week. He’s got eight state championships to his credit. A bit surprised he wasn’t higher on this list.
The most creative answer in this category: my wife. Most married coaches would probably agree with that one.
What is the biggest issue facing your coaching profession today?
(10) Pay for coaches; (7) Open enrollment/transfers; (5) Decrease in numbers of coaches; (5) Resources; (4) COVID and having parents trust you.
The pay issue isn’t going away here as long as states like Georgia and Texas open their wallets to high school football coaches. Open enrollment is here to stay, thanks to a state law signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2016. That opened the door to controlled open enrollment in public schools across the state. A decrease in the number of assistant coaches here is likely tied to poor pay and would-be coaches looking at careers out of state or in other fields.
What is the biggest change in the coaching profession since you’ve been doing it?
(7) Social media; (6) Safety protocols; (6) Transfers/recruiting.
This was the question with the most widespread of a response. Other answers with multiple responses included technology in the game, like the improvement of Hudl and the addition of tech on the sidelines (headsets, TVs, drones recording the game from the end zone), the loss of two-a-day practices and having a smaller assistant coaching pool to pull from. But social media and its prevalence in society is something multiple coaches say makes it more difficult for them to do their jobs.
Has the low pay in the profession caused you to think about getting out?
(20) No; (14) Yes; (3) Sometimes.
We took a dive into coaching salaries here in 2019 and spotlighted just how poorly high school football coaches in Florida are paid. The no answers were almost unanimous in how they were phrased. They do it because they love making a difference.
“No, because I really love helping kids become young men.”
“Never. The reward is too big.”
“Not getting out, but potentially relocating.”
The yes answers were powerful, too.
“Yes, it’s hard to maintain.”
“Two kids in daycare. Yes.”
What’s one thing you wish that all parents understood better about what you do?
(16) Time put into the job; (6) Trusting the staff to put kids in the best position to succeed; (6) We love your kids; (5) Every kid is not a superstar.
Coaching is a part-time position in Florida, but the demands are greater than any of their full-time jobs.
“I see their kids more than I see my own.”
“We care about each kid and they all can’t be college players — and that’s OK.”
“We do care!”
The big takeaways here were a few things. One, the time sacrifice is far greater than many understand. And second ... parents aren’t always the best judge of their child’s talents.
If there was one change you could make in your profession to make your job better, what would it be?
(18) Better pay; (5) More support from administration/district; (4) More resources to do the job.
It’s that pay thing again. Rightfully so. The area’s richest public school head coaching supplement is Clay County’s, which comes in at $6,370. That’s for an entire year. Some counties only pay coaches on 10-month contracts, so there’s no money for work in the summer months. But coaches still tend to weight rooms and lead workouts and supervise.
“More support from administration.”
“Less focus on what’s next. More focus on enjoying today.”
“A greater appreciation of what we do. Show that appreciation through compensation and assistance. It feels as if every decision is designed to make things more difficult for us to do this.”