Every new school year, Miami Palmetto Senior High’s sports teams lose key players. However, MPSH’s coaches and staff are ahead of the game, as they prepare for a change of pivotal players for the team. The foundation of a team’s talent comes from the individuals who make sure to guide young and older players academically and physically. With their guidance, players are able to further develop, and are enabled to set up when having to rebuild and rebrand their team’s talent.
“We follow the Miami Dade County Public School policy, which says every athlete must have a 2.0 cumulative [grade point average] for their whole time at school. We also follow the attendance policy as well as the tardy policy, so we check all the grades for every athlete when they come in and get their insurance and turn in all their paperwork,” Assistant Athletic Director and AP Human Geography teacher John Hayduk said.
Hayduk mentions that he tells coaches about how student-athletes are offered tutoring, as well as the whole student body on Wednesdays. Not only is their tutoring on Wednesdays, but individual teachers also offer tutoring for the subjects they teach such as math, english and science.
Senior and captain of the MPSH boys varsity lacrosse team, David Cohn, knows the importance of maintaining a steady academic lifestyle, especially during the season.
“I prioritize academics, especially when I am in the off-season, to make sure I am able to compromise school events and things of that nature,” Cohn said.
Being a student athlete is part of what can make high school so fun, however, it is essential to the team and the athletes that the team is well-rounded and academically successful.
“All coaches for the releasing of students send a roster to the athletic director, Mr. Polizzano, for what time they need to be released, and then that’s how we release players. So it gets handled from the athletic director and he will send it out to the whole faculty,” Hayduk said.
All this work contributes to the act of rebranding and rebuilding a team’s talent.
“I think the key to rebranding and rebuilding is really our base, our freshman and trying to build it from within. I know we live in a new era with school of choice, where athletes are allowed to move freely if they would like to to play their sports, but I think it is really important to have a great Junior Varsity team,” Hayduk said.
From a coaches perspective, MPSH varsity football coach Mike Manasco explains what they look for when trying to rebuild their team after losing seniors.
“We are a team that wants really good eighth graders, that come to be ninth graders and we get four years to work with them. Winning and having a great program, having a great high school like Palmetto with academics, is very easy for kids to want to be here,” Manasco said.
Hayduk explains how having a foundation of younger players and exposing them to learn skills in the system they will learn and build off of it.
“A great example of [the foundation of younger players] would be some of our football players, Brashard Smith who went to [the University of] Miami and just finished at Southern Methodist University, who will be entering the NFL Draft. He came in as a freshman and stayed all four years,” Hayduk said. “Also, a cornerback that went to the University of Florida, Jason Marshall Jr., came in as a freshman, learned our system and then has gone on to do great things and hopefully will be drafted also in the upcoming draft.”
Manasco highlights the importance of a constant culture, thrill and dedication that players need to have to the program.
“There is no off-season, so it is 24/7 if you want to run a good program. You are constantly saying goodbye to seniors and getting the next group ready to go,” Manasco said. “Having kids that are loyal, do not want to transfer, that are dedicated and are just trustworthy are very important.”
Cohn also harped on how a shift in culture from year-to year-can be a good change. If and when there is a bad team environment, a new year can be a fresh start and complete turn around for a program.
“Last year our team was very selfish, where we wouldn’t pass the ball around, but we had some really talented guys who could always get the job done. This year is a lot more about teamwork, passing the ball around to run into plays to make sure things get done,” Cohn said.
MPSH’s football team takes no breaks, as they finish their season in November and start right back up for training in December. As time goes on, Manasco has learned how to adapt to his team.
“This is my 23rd year coaching and if I do not adapt with the times, I am going to get lost in them. So I feel that good coaches adapt and bring in new things that are going to reach their student athletes,” Manasco said.
When rebuilding the football team, you need lowerclassmen to be adapted to the system and prepared for the biggest stages. A current issue surrounding high school and collegiate sports teams across the nation is the desire to start in the top positions all four years.
“You want [lowerclassmen to step into top varsity positions]. Unfortunately, with the transfer portal and NCAA and all these things that we are dealing with in the climate of college athletics, it is hard to get kids to come in as freshmen to wait their turn,” Manasco said. “What is happening in [Miami] Dade County, and pretty much everywhere else, is the influx of public schools, charter schools and private schools that normally kids would be going to a certain school, but now they are going to all these other places to play early; that kind of hurts building a program.”
It is of the utmost importance for players to be attracted to the sports program that MPSH produces, while also having an amazing education. The key to having a strong, well-rounded team is being focused in and out of the classroom.
“Having a great high school like Palmetto with academics, is very easy for kids to want to be here,” Manasco said.
Culture is something MPSH’s football team finds is non-negotiable between players and coaches. Manasco explains that what the team wants to accomplish does not necessarily contribute to what the team’s culture is built around, but it comes down to how the people fit into the culture.
“While the kids’ faces, names and team change, the culture remains the same,” Manasco said.
