Former NFL players Kevin Burnett and Leonard Weaver recently were named as head football coaches in south Florida. Both were excited and looked forward to getting their career – on the other side of the ball – started.
As both had been around the game all of their lives, and played at the highest level, neither were prepared for, or even thought of what has transpired over the past few weeks across the country.
While hurricane season is always something that everyone understands can happen, and realizes the major disruption, there is nothing that you can do to get ready for a worldwide pandemic, and that is what we are currently under with the Coronavirus taking over and cancelling everything – from sports to general life.
When the South Florida High School Sports Report hits the airwaves this evening (8-10) on 560 The Joe – WQAM, both Burnett and Weaver will join the program to talk about the anticipation they have for the jobs and what they are doing during this down time.
Burnett takes over at McArthur this coming season, and is excited about the chance to keep the two-time defending district champs relevant in 7A, and while this down time is setting things back a bit, he is not alone. Everyone is going through the same thing. He will join the program at 9:05.
For Weaver, who was a standout running back in the NFL, taking over Coral Springs High is something that he had very much been looking forward to the challenge of turning things around for the Colts.
Being around the game and equipped with plenty of knowledge, he is also anticipating of sharing his experiences with his new team. He joins the show at 9:30.
While Doral Academy’s new head coach Eddie Delgado has been around the game for much of his life – and as a coach for the past three decades – he is also in a tough position with a new job and trying to rebuild a team that went three round deep in the state playoffs just three years ago.
Delgado joins this evening’s show at 9:45.
Cardinal Gibbons junior quarterback Brody Palhegyi won a state title two years ago, and as he heads toward his final season at the high school, was very much looking forward to his final spring practices and working with some new players.
With the future of the off season still hanging in the balance, he will talk about the Coronavirus and what it’s doing to the athletes, and what they are doing to prepare – while distancing themselves. He joins the show at 8:20.
As a high school coach for so many years, Tim “Ice” Harris understands what it’s like to build and maintain a program. But now, as the first year Florida Memorial University HC, he is seeing things from a whole, new perspective – especially with a program building toward its first season.
After just one week of spring practice, Coach Harris joins the show at 8:45 to talk about how the Coronavirus has slowed progress of the Lions.
Speaking about college, the University of Miami had hoped to get back on the football field this week – after taking a spring break, just one week into practice.
With so many new faces – on the field and on the coaching staff – this was to be such an important month of March/April for head coach Manny Diaz and the Hurricanes. Andrew Ivins from 247Sports talks about the effects at 8:30.
Nearly two weeks ago, South Dade High’s wrestling team won its 7th straight state title – and 15th overall. Head Coach Vic Balmaceda’s program is one of the best in Florida, and while the season is over, the popular Senior National Tournament that attracts the best wrestlers in the country, has been cancelled along with the NCAA Tournament, which featured one of Balmaceda’s top athletes. He talks about it all at 8:05.
CATCH THE SHOW LIVE at: http://player.radio.com/listen/station/560-wqam-sports-radio – or archived at: https://wqam.radio.com/media/podcast/south-florida-high-school-sports-radio