Long-awaited debuts arrive

When the season starts Friday night, there will be five first-time coaches pacing the sidelines.

By KEITH NIEBUHR
Published August 24, 2005

Sean Washington waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

For 16 years, he paid his dues as a high school football assistant, all the while hoping someday he would have a program to call his own. Jobs came and jobs went, and though Washington interviewed for several positions,he never got the call that said, "The spot is yours."

Until February.

Not long after Ricky Reynolds resigned in December after three seasons as Blake coach, the Yellow Jackets turned to Washington, a Durant assistant who played linebacker at Bethune-Cookman.

"I was like, "I don't believe it,' " Washington said. "I had been close a couple of times before."

Friday night, Washington will be one of six new faces directing county football teams, and five of them are first-time head coaches. The other, Tampa Catholic's Bob Henriquez, is returning to the program - which also happens to be his alma mater - he coached to great success in the 1990s.

Each first-timer admittedly has butterflies, which is understandable. Most waited years for the chance to run a program, and now that the opportunity is here, emotions are running high.

"There is some anxiety, sure," first-year Wharton coach David Mitchell said. "You're just trying to stay focused and not let that get the best of you."

Mitchell, a Tampa native and Leto graduate, began coaching football in 1982 and had been a Wharton assistant since 1997. He also is the school's wrestling coach and track assistant.

"I'm glad to be here, but I also want to make sure I've got things right," he said.

Joe Ross' wait was a lengthy one. He spent the past 20 seasons as a Jesuit assistant (and once coached semi-pro ball in Connecticut), and now the 58-year-old inherits a Tigers program that is used to winning.

"It's a tremendous feeling, a tremendous responsibility." he said. "I'm a classroom teacher and I think teaching and coaching are the exact same thing."

Coaches aren't unlike most of us. As they climb the ladder, they dream of the day they can finally do things their way. But once many coaches become the man in charge, they often begin to see things in a different light.

The paperwork once done by others becomes their responsibility. And the criticism from parents begins to fall squarely on them. Coaching, they discover, is only part of the job.

"At first, I was a little bit overwhelmed, but not in a bad way," said Leto's Scott Palmer, an Ohio native who spent nine years as an assistant. "But you think, "Okay, this is it," and then you get in there and there are a lot of little things that you took for granted."

As opening night approaches, the stomachs of first-year coaches are sure to tighten. Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia has been there before.

Now in his 13th season as Terriers head coach, he spent eight as an assistant before the call up finally came. To the newcomers he offered some advice.

"Be patient, try to do your best and always keep the kids in mind," Garcia said.

Times staff writer Keith Niebuhr can be reached at 226-3350 or online at niebuhr@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 24, 2005, 01:16:13]