LECANTO - Bruce Sheffield left his post as Lecanto coach after the 1996 season to pursue his master's degree, but he always kept one eye on the program.
Now, it's his again.
Sheffield, 45, has been hired to replace Brian Donovan, who was not reappointed after two seasons.
"Since I got out, I've really missed it," Sheffield said. "I felt like this was a great opportunity to get back into it."
About 40 people applied for the position, including former Crystal River coach Brent Hall. His contract was not renewed this year by the Pirates after a series of stories in the St. Petersburg Times detailed problems in Hall's previous jobs and a host of rules violations and ethics breaches at Crystal River.
"We wanted to take our time to find the best fit for our kids," Lecanto athletic director Dick Slack said. "We knew what kind of person (Sheffield) is and what kind of program he runs."
Lecanto was 8-18 last season.
The Panthers went 9-18 in Sheffield's final season (he was coach from 1992-96), but he led them to an 11-10 mark in 1994 - the last time the program posted a winning record.
Sheffield also coaches boys cross country and girls soccer and is a dean at the school. He and his wife, Suzanne, have three children.
The coach admits he is "not going to sleep" much because he has so many duties, but Sheffield said he had the full support of his family to pursue the post.
"I know the kids in our school," he said. "I feel like I have a track record for running a disciplined program.
"We're going to be fundamentally sound. I'm very strong on working on fundamentals. And I want the kids to have fun."
Sheffield grew up in Mississippi and received his bachelor's degree in physical education from Mississippi State in 1987. He later earned a master's in instruction-curriculum from National-Louis University.
Sheffield was hired at Lecanto in 1989. He has coached everything but swimming and wrestling, he said.
"He loves coaching," Slack said. "It's in his blood. He's absolutely a quality individual. We're lucky to be able to get him."
