Darrell Don, who guided Northside Christian onto the national baseball scene, has resigned as coach.
Don, who led the Mustangs to a Class A runnerup finish in 2002, confirmed Monday he has taken a job in Orlando at First Academy.
"It's time for a change," Don said. "It was announced in school on Friday. It was pretty tough. I've put seven years of hard work into the program. But baseball has been dictating where my family's been for seven years."
Don's wife, Angela, has a teaching job at First Academy, where daughter Ashleigh, 6, and son Kyle, 8, will attend.
Don won't coach baseball at First Academy initially but will join the football team's staff as an assistant. He was the defensive coordinator for Northside Christian last year and a defensive assistant for all seven years he spent at the school.
"We were doing this regardless of baseball," Don said. "Baseball was down on the totem pole when it came to our decision. I just decided that our kids deserve a little bit more of my time."
Baseball is where Don left his mark at Northside. He won 20 or more games in every one of his six seasons as coach and won a school-record four district titles. His team's advanced to the region semifinals three times and the region final twice, and he went 144-38 overall. "It's been a good run," said Don, a Clearwater graduate and former assistant.
His 2002 team was one of the finest in Pinellas County history, going 32-3 and earning a No. 7 national ranking from Baseball America before falling in the state final 5-3 to Miami Brito.
The season was marred, however. Northside Christian come under fire the day after the final for dismissing star Lastings Milledge for inappropriate behavior with a minor girl despite letting him play all season. Later, the school was banned from postseason play for 2003 by the Florida High School Athletic Association because a booster paid some players' tuition.
Though Don had other job offers, he stayed at Northside to put the program back together. This season, the team went 20-8 and lost in the region semifinals.
Before succeeding Bob Dare at Northside Christian, Don spent five years at Indian Rocks Christian, helping D.J. Springman start the baseball program there and serving as an assistant coach.
