‘I think I’m that catalyst’: Gateway High names Charles Powell as next head football coach

A multi-sport athlete from Southwest Florida is set to become the next head football coach for the Eagles.

Gateway High School hired Charles Powell as the program’s second head football coach heading into the Eagles’ fourth varsity season.

“Honestly, it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” said Powell, who was the head coach of Gateway’s freshmen team last year.

In December, Cullen O’Brien, the first head football coach hired at Gateway, stepped down after leading the team for three varsity seasons and compiling a 4-24 record.

More: Gateway Shakeup: Football coach Cullen O’Brien steps down

Gateway interviewed 11 candidates for the job in a statewide search and narrowed that group down to four, according to athletic director Michael Dubbelde.

“It was a job that I really wanted just because I see the way these guys work,” Powell said. “I see the hunger in their eyes.”

Powell’s passion and familiarity with the program and the area made him stand out.

“He’s nonstop on campus and promoting what Gateway is and the great things we have going on,” Dubbelde said. “You could see he really wanted the opportunity.”

Charles Powell was hired as the next head football coach at Gateway High School.

Powell graduated from Bishop Verot in 1999 and played baseball, football and basketball for the Vikings. He attended Miami of Ohio before transferring to Bethune-Cookman, where he played both baseball and football.

This will be the first varsity head coaching job for Powell.

“You don’t have experience until you have experience,” Dubbelde said.

Powell described working with the freshmen team last year as valuable.

“I think I’m that catalyst to get everybody on the same page and working toward one team goal,” he said.

As the youngest Lee County football program, Gateway High is used to challenges. The…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/think-im-catalyst-gateway-high-102616542.html

Author : The News-Press

Publish date : 2024-03-05 10:26:16

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