- November 27, 2024
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I’m not sure where to start with this one. On the one side, I feel bad for former Seabreeze head coach, Skip Saunier, who resigned after just one year, due to what he said was an inability to energize the football program. As an aspiring head coach, I never picture the beginning, or any point of my coaching career, as a one-year experiment, leaving, not knowing what could’ve been.
But, on the other hand, I’m excited that Troy Coke will get his first head coaching opportunity, after working on multiple staffs for 17 years. In the first few years, I’m pretty sure all coaches don’t care to run the entire operation. No experience. So, they hope to get under a head coach who will allow them to make mistakes, who will teach them the ins and outs, and who will shape them into great leaders of athletes.
After a while, there comes a time in all of our lives where we want to hop in the driver seat to test what we’ve learned, and I’m certain Coke has been there, although he’s waited his turn. As an assistant coach, he’s probably told himself a number of times how he would’ve run a separate play or started another player. Well, now it’s his turn, and there’s no more time for hindsight. Coke’s names will be associated with the wins and losses of the team, which he understands and is ready to lead what he calls a future first-class program.
“I’ve been looking forward to an opportunity like this for a long time,” he said. “I’m ready to go to work and begin the offseason.”
Coke, who coached Seabreeze’s defensive backs last season, will inherit a much better team than last year’s product, although many of the players are the same; they just have experience. The majority of the Sandcrabs were underclassmen and first-year starters, so, having a more experienced group next season will make for a better hand than the one dealt to Saunier.
With the ball in his hands, I hope Coke establishes longevity like former Sandcrabs coach, Marc Beach, who coached Seabreeze for 14 years. And, if I’m completely honest, I hope he will elevate the program to heights where the crosstown rivalry becomes debatable. That would be best for all parties involved.
