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LP Administration Should Look Closer To Home For Next Football Coach

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 20, 2008

The coaching exodus continues to plague the Lake Placid High School football program.

Tim Grant resigned July 11 after one year as head coach of the Green Dragons.

Lake Placid will now be looking for its fifth head coach in eight years - not exactly a sign of a stable program.

Grant did the school no favors with his abrupt resignation. His decision apparently surprised the administration and the coaching staff.

The timing was awful. Grant is leaving the position just three weeks before the start of training camp.

It puts the school in a very difficult situation. Trying to find a head coach this close to the start of fall workouts and the beginning of school is going to be tough. LP will also have to find two assistant coaches.

According to Principal Michael Haley, Grant left for "personal reasons." The coach lived in Polk County and commuted to Lake Placid and the long -perhaps 100 miles roundtrip - and increasingly costly drive created an economic hardship.

If there were any other reasons for Grant's departure after one season, we don't know what they are. The coach has declined several calls from this newspaper seeking comment.

LP has struggled to be successful on the field, winning just nine games in seven years.

The school has gone outside the county in searching for a head coach the last few times.

This time the administration should consider in-house candidates -if any are qualified. Hiring someone who the players might have some knowledge of and is familiar with the school would be good.

It is likely there are players who believe - right or wrong -that Grant quit on them. His replacement will have the hard job of restoring confidence and bringing the team together - as well as trying to turn the program around.

That's certainly a tall order and there are coaches who are up to the task. We hope Lake Placid is able to find one.

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