In Search Of The Fountain Of Youth

Famed Spanish explorer Juan Ponce DeLeon may have discovered Florida -- by accident. He was actually looking for a quicker route to the West Indies.

He is claimed to have found a fountain of youth on Bimini in the Bahamas.

Yet no explorer has ever come across a fountain of youth in prep coaching.

The coaching business as a whole is volatile. It can be summed up in three letters N-F-L.

No! The acronym does not stand for the National Football League (NFL).

Or maybe it does.

NFL means not for long.

Just ask Hernando High: its Booster Club can claim three head football coaches in three years.

But that seems to be no big deal on the Bell Avenue campus where a dozen head coaches (yes, 12 mentors) have been shown the door after one (just one) season.

So far, 23 of the Purple and Gold's previous 26 head coaches have not survived more than four years.

(Just for the record, prior to the 2009 season Central High is on its fourth softball coach in four seasons and fifth in six years. And Springstead is on its fourth boys swim coach in four years).

In 65 years - or since 1939 - there have been 43 head football coaches pacing the sidelines in Hernando County. To date, 65 percent of those coaches have not lasted five years. It's a pattern eerily similar to the National Football League.

Moving on

So why is there such a revolving door?

First of all, there are no guarantees in molding 14-18-year-old student/athletes.

Even if you have a tremendous 4-year cycle of one core group of players, what about the next group?

Therein lies the rub. There are no promises with any group of incoming middle school players or the tiny fraction of youth league players that matriculate to the prep level in this county.

Of course, the almighty dollar plays a huge part, too. Though coaches don't work for money per se, it sure helps.

A lot of kids these days don't play multiple sports like they did in the past. Most would rather skateboard or play video games.

In an era of specialization, kids nowadays tend to gravitate to one sport and stay with it.

Of course, with so many binuclear families, a lot of single parents are raising kids and need extra funds to support their children. As a result, many teenagers locally help support their parents with jobs - thus lessening the student/athlete pool even further.

Also, most of the Hernando County coaches understand they can receive higher wages and increased stipends in neighboring counties. So the likelihood of coaching and staying in this community is decreased even further.

So is the local (lack of) funding for coaches a correct indicator of how, in general, sports is looked at? Just a thought.

And what about assistant coaches? Aren't they the right-hand men or women for many head coaches?

Most assistants, however, are fluid. They'll hang around - like booster clubs - until their kids graduate and then they simply wipe their hands and say "It's someone else's turn, now."

Standing out

So why do coaches - especially head prep football coaches - do what they do? They love the game, their kids, their community, their assistant coaches, administration and players.

Maybe that's why Springstead High's William "Bill" Vonada stands out.

The 44-year-old Vonada passed his mentor, Bill Browning, in the most career wins at the Mariner Boulevard campus spanning 33 years. His team's 33-0 win Friday night against Belleview pushed the former Springstead and FSU alumnus to 50-54 lifetime at SHS.

Browning went 49-43 in nine years at SHS and followed with eight years and a 44-41 won-lost slate at Hernando to hold the county record for most career wins (93).

Interestingly, it should be noted Vonada ranks third all-time in Hernando County football wins behind Hernando High's Mike Imhoff (52) and Tom Varn (66) at one school.

Perhaps most importantly, Vonada in his 11th season overall, is the longest tenured head coach in county history. He bypassed Browning and Varn last year.

So did Vonada find the fountain of youth?

Speaking out

So why has Vonada been able to survive in an environment where so many others haven't?

For Vonada its starts with his foundation: his family and his extended family (Bill's mom and dad and sister and her family, who live here locally).

He and his wife Becky, who is also a teacher at Springstead, have three children: 13-year-old Ashley and two sons, 11-year-old Will and 8-year-old Josh. Like most modern families the Vonadas juggle their careers, their kids and coaching.

Also, Vonada isn't your typical head football coach. He has many other priorities besides X's and O's, including his faith.

Bill continues to serve on Sundays as the Youth Director for Mariner United Methodist Church in Spring Hill while Becky serves as the Children's Ministry Director several days a week.

If you line up 100 prep head football coaches, how many would raise their hands to say they teach Bible school both during the season and the offseason? The answer locally is one, Vonada.

"I'm glad he broke the school record," shared 17-year-old Mike Greco, a two-year starting fullback for the Eagles. "I'm glad to be a part of it. Really, I feel honored. It goes on my resume that I played for the school's best coach."

"It's (Vonada's record) an amazing feat," added 17-year-old starting quarterback James Mahla. "It's real big. It says so much about our team and our coach. He won't say anything. He downplays it. I'm glad to have helped him reach this."

"This (record) is great for coach," added the 17-year-old three-year starting linebacker Nate Schafer. "For the players, it's great to be a part of history. And we got a shutout at home, it's even better at home. He (Vonada) is a tremendous coach, he deserves this."

His boss, Hall-of-Famer Bob Levija, perhaps best summed up Vonada's body of work.

"Bill is an excellent coach, I coached him years and years ago," recalled Levija. "He's done a terrific job here."

What were the keys to success?

"It's just a matter of hard work," replied Levija. "He (Vonada) struggled in the beginning, but he never gave up. His tenacity helped him get the program running. I think we're a very, very respectable program (now). When I was coaching (football) we were kinda the laughing stock of the area. But Bill has brought us to respectability."

What about passing Browning as the school's wins leader?

"It's humbling," remarked Vonada. "This (50 wins) isn't about me. I had no preconceived notions going in 11 years ago. My family, the administration, coaches and players have allowed me to be in the position I'm in. Tonight was nice because its home. I'm very fortunate to stick around and be a part of something like this."

Certainly Vonada's feats would cause DeLeon to blush.

By the Numbers: Bill Vonada
- Compiled by TONY CASTRO
YEAR  W L .PCT
1998  4 5 .444 
1999  0 10 .000
2000  3 7 .300
2001  6 4 .600
2002  2 8 .200
2003*  7 3 .700
2004$* 8 3 .727
2005$* 8 3 .727
2006  5 5 .500
2007  5 5 .500
2008  2 1 .667
TOTALS 50 54 .481
$ Denotes state playoff appearance
* Denotes county champions