By Kyle LoJacono
Jason Stokes is the first new football coach for Gaither in nine seasons and he sees great things just over the horizon for the northern Hillsborough County program.
Stokes was a running back while in high school in Maryland and then became a linebacker at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.
He started coaching and teaching full-time in 2003 as a junior varsity coach with Riverview, where he later became the defensive coordinator. His first head coaching job was at Bloomingdale in 2008, where he guided the Bulls to a 7-5 record and the only playoff berth in that program’s history.
He was the leader at Middleton the last two seasons, where he had a 10-10 record but was not brought back after the 2010 campaign.
Stokes recently spoke with the Lutz News and The Laker about leading Gaither.
Q: Why did you first get into coaching?
A: I was passionate about it. I’m passionate about teaching the kids and about the competition. I love sports and I love what it brings out of young people.
Q: What do you think about the opportunity to make this program into a winner?
A: I think Gaither is Plant before Plant became Plant. I think the talent is here. I think the infrastructure is here. I think the administration is here. We have the parental support, the community support and the support from the staff. Right now I just have to put faith in my coaching staff to do the right thing for us to take it to the next level.
Q: Gaither hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008 and has only four wins in the last two years. What is it going to take to make the postseason?
A: A lot of hard work and dedication. It takes everyone coming to practice and getting here on time. It’s going to take hard work for the entirety of every practice. It’s going to take focus in the film room. It’s not going to be easy, but from what I’ve seen, the kids are willing to make those sacrifices and I feel good about things so far.
Q: What are the focuses for you on and off the field?
A: On the field my goal right now is to create toughness and accountability in these kids. Be accountable to your teammates. Off the field it’s a lot of character building. We’re going to plan a lot of community service projects. Just keeping their noses clean and letting them know what accountability is all about. They need to know it’s more than just football. It’s grades, it’s family, it’s community.
