Ahead of the Buccaneers' trip to London to take on the Carolina Panthers this Sunday, the winner of Week Six's Coach of the Week, presented by Tampa Electric, is Dave Marino, head coach at Palmetto High School in Palmetto, Florida. On Thursday, Marino will take a tour of AdventHealth Training Center as well as enjoy lunch at the facility and meet with Head Coach Bruce Arians. As part of the award, his program was also presented with a $2,000 grant from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation for the Panthers football program.
What did it mean for you to be nominated and the win Coach of the Week?
It was such a great honor to be nominated to give the community of Palmetto High School the recognition they so truly deserve. Palmetto is such a great place and the community is so full of pride and support for their local team and I was just glad to give them one more thing to be proud of.
How can the $2,000 grant from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation help your program?
The grant money couldn't have come at a better time since we have to take a long road trip to Tallahassee, which will add more than quadruple to our normal travel budget. With the success of our program, so many local schools did not want to play us, forcing us to take this long and costly trip. Not to mention the rising costs of yearly budget items such as helmets. With the increased investment in player safety regarding concussions the cost for helmets has more than doubled so there are so many expenses this grant will be extremely helpful.
What's most important to you as a coach and mentor to young players?
The culture of our program was built with Three Core Values that I've tried to instill in all my players. They are: Commitment, Communication & Trust. I tell them in every area of their life if they show a 100% commitment and communicate if things don't go as planned, it leads to trust, which will ensure they have an opportunity to be successful.
If you know a coach that should be nominated, visit the Buccaneers website to nominate the next Buccaneers High School Coach of the Week, presented by Tampa Electric.
