Glades Central Succeeds Despite Coaching Turnover

[OldSchoolLion]

Below are the 23 Florida teams that have won 4 or more state titles.  21 of those teams have had the benefit of a coach who spent 8 or more years at the school and took them to at least one title game(coach's name is listed after the school name).  There seems to be a strong correlation between coaching tenure and overall program success.

Glades Central is one of the two teams who have not(Miami Central is the other).   Between 2000-2017, Glades Central has had a 133-46 record, has appeared in 4 state title games and won 2 titles.   During this same time frame, Glades Central has had 7 coaching changes.  Further below is a breakdown of those coaches, the years they coached, and their records.   It is a testament to the strength of the program that it has had such success despite the substantial coaching turnover.  

One looks at a program with the talent of Deerfield Beach and has to believe that the 7 coaching changes there since 2000 have played a part in their limited success.  I don't mean to pick on either program.  Just pointing out the tumultuous path they have had.  Am not aware of any other perennial contenders who have had as many coaching changes since 2000.    

Teams with 4 or More State Titles

Bolles-Corky Rogers

ST Thomas Aquinas-George Smith

University Christian-Robby Pruitt

Glades Day-Byron Walker

North FL Christian-Tim Cokely

Pahokee-Blaze Thompson

Glades Central-???

Lakeland-Bill Castle

Jefferson County-Donald Johnson

Trinity Christian-Verlon Dorminey

Manatee-Joe Kinnan

Booker T Washington--Tim Harris

Carol City-Walt Frazier

Northwestern-Willie Goldsmith

Miami Central -???

Plant-Robert Weiner

Suwannee-Mike Pittman

Godby-Shelton Crews

Baker-Jeff Webb

Coral Gables-Nick Kotys

FAMU-Ira Reynolds

Cocoa-John Wilkinson

American Heritage (Plantation)-Byron Walker

 

 

Glades Central 2000-2017

Willie Bueno

2000-02

33-5

Won 2000 state title.

Larry Coffey

2003-04

22-3

Won 11 games both seasons.

Willie Snead

2005-07

35-7

Won 2006 state title.

Jessie Hester

2008-10

36-4

Went to two state finals.

Roosevelt Blackmon

2010-13

25-12

Went to consecutive regional finals.

Rick Casco

2014-2016

25-11

Went to consecutive regional finals.

Jessie Hester

2017

7-4

 

[MuckCityChamp]

10 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Below are the 23 Florida teams that have won 4 or more state titles.  21 of those teams have had the benefit of a coach who spent 8 or more years at the school and took them to at least one title game(coach's name is listed after the school name).  There seems to be a strong correlation between coaching tenure and overall program success.

Glades Central is one of the two teams who have not(Miami Central is the other).   Between 2000-2017, Glades Central has had a 133-46 record, has appeared in 4 state title games and won 2 titles.   During this same time frame, Glades Central has had 7 coaching changes.  Further below is a breakdown of those coaches, the years they coached, and their records.   It is a testament to the strength of the program that it has had such success despite the substantial coaching turnover.  

One looks at a program with the talent of Deerfield Beach and has to believe that the 7 coaching changes there since 2000 have played a part in their limited success.  I don't mean to pick on either program.  Just pointing out the tumultuous path they have had.  Am not aware of any other perennial contenders who have had as many coaching changes since 2000.    

Teams with 4 or More State Titles

Bolles-Corky Rogers

ST Thomas Aquinas-George Smith

University Christian-Robby Pruitt

Glades Day-Byron Walker

North FL Christian-Tim Cokely

Pahokee-Blaze Thompson

Glades Central-???

Lakeland-Bill Castle

Jefferson County-Donald Johnson

Trinity Christian-Verlon Dorminey

Manatee-Joe Kinnan

Booker T Washington--Tim Harris

Carol City-Walt Frazier

Northwestern-Willie Goldsmith

Miami Central -???

Plant-Robert Weiner

Suwannee-Mike Pittman

Godby-Shelton Crews

Baker-Jeff Webb

Coral Gables-Nick Kotys

FAMU-Ira Reynolds

Cocoa-John Wilkinson

American Heritage (Plantation)-Byron Walker

 

 

Glades Central 2000-2017

Willie Bueno

2000-02

33-5

Won 2000 state title.

Larry Coffey

2003-04

22-3

Won 11 games both seasons.

Willie Snead

2005-07

35-7

Won 2006 state title.

Jessie Hester

2008-10

36-4

Went to two state finals.

Roosevelt Blackmon

2010-13

25-12

Went to consecutive regional finals.

Rick Casco

2014-2016

25-11

Went to consecutive regional finals.

Jessie Hester

2017

7-4

 

Pahokee"s Coach was Leroy Foster for 3 of those championships. Blaze Thompson was the coach for 2. 

[OldSchoolLion]

13 minutes ago, MuckCityChamp said:

Pahokee"s Coach was Leroy Foster for 3 of those championships. Blaze Thompson was the coach for 2. 

Didn't mention Leroy because he was not head coach for 8 or more years, but he clearly laid a great foundation and made it easy for Blaze to carry the torch after it was passed on.  Between the two of them, some great coaching continuity at Pahokee for a lot of years, and the results show for it.

[muckboy561]

On 2/21/2018 at 11:43 PM, OldSchoolLion said:

Below are the 23 Florida teams that have won 4 or more state titles.  21 of those teams have had the benefit of a coach who spent 8 or more years at the school and took them to at least one title game(coach's name is listed after the school name).  There seems to be a strong correlation between coaching tenure and overall program success.

Glades Central is one of the two teams who have not(Miami Central is the other).   Between 2000-2017, Glades Central has had a 133-46 record, has appeared in 4 state title games and won 2 titles.   During this same time frame, Glades Central has had 7 coaching changes.  Further below is a breakdown of those coaches, the years they coached, and their records.   It is a testament to the strength of the program that it has had such success despite the substantial coaching turnover.  

One looks at a program with the talent of Deerfield Beach and has to believe that the 7 coaching changes there since 2000 have played a part in their limited success.  I don't mean to pick on either program.  Just pointing out the tumultuous path they have had.  Am not aware of any other perennial contenders who have had as many coaching changes since 2000.    

Teams with 4 or More State Titles

Bolles-Corky Rogers

ST Thomas Aquinas-George Smith

University Christian-Robby Pruitt

Glades Day-Byron Walker

North FL Christian-Tim Cokely

Pahokee-Blaze Thompson

Glades Central-???

Lakeland-Bill Castle

Jefferson County-Donald Johnson

Trinity Christian-Verlon Dorminey

Manatee-Joe Kinnan

Booker T Washington--Tim Harris

Carol City-Walt Frazier

Northwestern-Willie Goldsmith

Miami Central -???

Plant-Robert Weiner

Suwannee-Mike Pittman

Godby-Shelton Crews

Baker-Jeff Webb

Coral Gables-Nick Kotys

FAMU-Ira Reynolds

Cocoa-John Wilkinson

American Heritage (Plantation)-Byron Walker

 

 

Glades Central 2000-2017

Willie Bueno

2000-02

33-5

Won 2000 state title.

Larry Coffey

2003-04

22-3

Won 11 games both seasons.

Willie Snead

2005-07

35-7

Won 2006 state title.

Jessie Hester

2008-10

36-4

Went to two state finals.

Roosevelt Blackmon

2010-13

25-12

Went to consecutive regional finals.

Rick Casco

2014-2016

25-11

Went to consecutive regional finals.

Jessie Hester

2017

7-4

 

We don't play about in GC! If you don't win States in a few years you're outta here lol 

[badbird]

missed the other one at Baker.  He was there for 8 years

[OldSchoolLion]

26 minutes ago, muckboy561 said:

We don't play about in GC! If you don't win States in a few years you're outta here lol 

..not directing these comments at you Muckboy.  ..just some thoughts for what they are worth.

I believe the only way Glades will get its mojo back is to have a good coach camp out there for at least 5 years and do some foundation building.  And that may necessitate patience on the part of fans and administation the first 2-3 years.  Easier said than done, right?

Sorry to bring up a sore subject, but 2 playoff wins in 5 years...one has to go back 30 years in Glades history to find a stretch that bad.  Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, right?  Well, the coaching revolving door philosophy has not been working too well.  The program has lost a lot of momentum from its winning past. 

Quick fixes in life usually don't work out well in the long term.  I think football is the same.  Need to take time and "fix" things right.  

 

[OldSchoolLion]

6 minutes ago, badbird said:

missed the other one at Baker.  He was there for 8 years

Thank you for pointing that out badbird!  Well, that makes 22 of 24 teams.  John Ensor and Jeff Webb both led Baker to state titles.  Baker's program dropped off after Webb left and it has never been the same.  

Between 1995-2005, a lot of great FL hs coaches with long tenures and good records retired or moved on.  A number of schools got into the revolving coaching door mode after this and have never recovered.  Look at Dillard, Ely, Frostproof, Rutherford and Southridge.  ...all powerhouses in the 80's and/or 90's who have struggled to return to the glory days.   

I think philosophies, fan expectations, etc,  changed about 20 years ago, and caused some of the coaching turmoil.  Once a team gets into the revolving coach door mode, it can be very damaging to the long-term health of the program and it can take years to recover from it.  I believe this will become even more apparent in years to come, as coaching changes are becoming more and more frequent.  

The coach(s) is the glue.  When a coach leaves, there is going to be a dropoff at some level.  It is to be expected.  That is not unique to football...any leadership change causes ripples in an organization.  As fans and administrations have become less tolerant of these dropoffs, they need someone to blame, so blame the coach, get a new one, and it becomes a vicious circle.  

 

[MuckCityChamp]

On 3/3/2018 at 6:43 PM, OldSchoolLion said:

..not directing these comments at you Muckboy.  ..just some thoughts for what they are worth.

I believe the only way Glades will get its mojo back is to have a good coach camp out there for at least 5 years and do some foundation building.  And that may necessitate patience on the part of fans and administation the first 2-3 years.  Easier said than done, right?

Sorry to bring up a sore subject, but 2 playoff wins in 5 years...one has to go back 30 years in Glades history to find a stretch that bad.  Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, right?  Well, the coaching revolving door philosophy has not been working too well.  The program has lost a lot of momentum from its winning past. 

Quick fixes in life usually don't work out well in the long term.  I think football is the same.  Need to take time and "fix" things right.  

 

I agree. But, those firings came from Principals that really didn't care about the community. Casko left on his own. The current one sees the big picture. So unless Hester resigns or does something unethical, its his job to lose. 

[muckboy561]

On 3/3/2018 at 6:43 PM, OldSchoolLion said:

..not directing these comments at you Muckboy.  ..just some thoughts for what they are worth.

I believe the only way Glades will get its mojo back is to have a good coach camp out there for at least 5 years and do some foundation building.  And that may necessitate patience on the part of fans and administation the first 2-3 years.  Easier said than done, right?

Sorry to bring up a sore subject, but 2 playoff wins in 5 years...one has to go back 30 years in Glades history to find a stretch that bad.  Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, right?  Well, the coaching revolving door philosophy has not been working too well.  The program has lost a lot of momentum from its winning past. 

Quick fixes in life usually don't work out well in the long term.  I think football is the same.  Need to take time and "fix" things right.  

 

I know you wasn't talking about me just giving my two cents on the topic