Florida high school football’s growing problem: ‘Coaching in Georgia is astronomically better’

If it weren’t for a family situation, Chuck Kenyon would have stayed in Georgia.

Kenyon was happy as an assistant high school football coach in the Peach State. After all, he was making more money as a teacher and assistant in Georgia than he did as a successful head coach in Florida.

“The cost of living is less, and you get paid more. It’s a win-win,” said Kenyon, who is heading into his third season as head coach at Royal Palm Beach. “Coaching in Georgia is astronomically better. I only came back because of family. It wasn’t the job or status or anything like that. It was strictly for family. If it wasn’t for that situation, I would probably still be in Georgia.”

Kenyon is one of the few coaches who have returned.

Royal Palm Beach coach Chuck Kenyon speaks to his team.

Several others, recognizing things literally are greener in other parts of the country, have left Florida for higher-paying jobs — primarily in states where coach pay is not collectively bargained by a teacher’s union.

In the past 13 months, state champion football coaches Eric Lodge (Sanford-Seminole) and Travis Roland (Mainland) have left for jobs in South Carolina and Georgia, respectively. Longtime Navarre coach Jay Wells, who led the Raiders to two Final Fours and 10 playoff appearances in 12 years, left to become a head coach in Georgia last month.

Aaron Sheppard led Ocoee’s football team to its first final four appearance and took eventual state champion Columbus to the brink of a major upset in the 2022 state semifinals, then got “more than double” to become an assistant coach in Georgia. Now the defensive coordinator at Mceachern High School in Powder Springs, Sheppard said the benefits of coaching in Georgia go far beyond the pay.

“The stress level is completely different,” Sheppard said. “I actually spend time here coaching…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-high-school-footballs-growing-183741352.html

Author : Palm Beach Daily News

Publish date : 2024-04-01 18:37:41

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