Jaguars Lead League in Viewpoints
The coaches at C.H. Flowers meet during a recent practice. "If we all agreed, there wouldn't be a purpose of me having a staff," said head coach Mike Mayo.
(By Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)
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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Scheduling a staff meeting means reserving the school's multipurpose room. Outfitting everyone with T-shirts and other gear can get expensive. Remembering everyone's name can be a challenge. And there are plenty of differences of opinion.
That's what happens when you have one of the Washington area's biggest coaching staffs.
While other schools struggle to find coaches, C.H. Flowers Coach Mike Mayo has 14 assistants for the school's varsity team. Bring in the 10 junior varsity assistants for staff meetings, Mayo said, and "then you're talking."
"If we all agreed," Mayo said, "there wouldn't be a purpose of me having a staff."
On the varsity, there are two assistants for the offensive line, two for the defensive line, two for linebackers and two for special teams. Two of the assistants played for Mayo when he coached at Forestville, defensive ends coach Garland Johnson and offensive line coach Arthur Moore. Three more joined the Jaguars' staff last season, though Mayo said the large number of assistants has not become unwieldy.
"They know what they've got to do," Mayo said. "It works out pretty good. We have interesting conversations. Everybody just wants to win, that's the bottom line. People have asked me why I've got so many coaches. To me, if you've got men, particularly black men, that want to work with kids -- that's so hard to find and you find people that are willing to do that -- it's hard for me to say no."
The only thing Mayo tells interested coaches is not to expect much money. Prince George's County provides stipends of less than $3,000 for a head coach and three assistants; everyone else is considered a volunteer, though Mayo divvies it up among all coaches based on seniority and place on the staff.
"We know it's nothing but gas money, if that," Mayo said. "It's about working with the kids and having fun."
