- November 1, 2024
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Flagler Palm Coast track coach David Halliday, 44, became the first Flagler County coach and one of the youngest ever to be inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the track and field division on Friday, Jan. 6, at the Ocean Center. Halliday was previous inducted into FACA’s Hall of Fame in the coaches division in 2015.
Thanks to a new Atlantic High School that was completed and opened up in 1994, Halliday began his coaching right after college, and the winning followed.
It’s not the mere “X’s and O’s” that have garnered success for Halliday, according to him. He credits his ability to create relationships with his players.
“I’ve been in three weddings of former runners of my mine,” Halliday said. “You probably can’t say that about a lot of coaches. And I will probably be in a few more weddings. That’s a relationship developed over a long period of time. I don’t have mindless soldiers, but I think the majority of my kids throughout my career would run through the wall for me, not because I told them to or because they believed in me, but because they knew I believed in them."
A coaching fate? Coach Halliday found an essay he had written his sophomore high school that said he wanted to teach history and coach track. After graduating college, he had forgotten about that essay and didn’t want to either, but now reflects on it.
“It’s funny how some things are just meant to be,” he said.
There isn’t enough space to specifically list everything he has accomplished, but Halliday’s coaching achievements are highlighted below.
To read more about Halliday's journey and his other Hall of Fame induction, click on the links of past Observer articles below.
http://www.palmcoastobserver.com/article/dave-halliday-hall-famer
http://www.palmcoastobserver.com/palm-coast-observer-online-26
