For athletes, coaches are the daily instructor
in workouts and prepare them
for success. Not every coach has a background
in the sport they play; Coach
Brandon Lingerfelt and Coach Bobby
McConnell, the boys cross country and
long distance track and field coaches, are
distinguished from other coaches for not
only having experience, but more importantly,
having successful athletic careers
themselves.
Lingerfelt started his cross country and
track career at Chiles High School in Tallahassee.
“I played football my freshman year,”
said Lingerfelt.
“I was a 100 pound receiver, so football
didn’t offer many doors. I tried track
in the spring and stuck with it, leading me
into cross country in the fall and I never
looked back.”
Lingerfelt was coached by legendary
Coach Scott Gowan, going to the state
meet twice with his team. From this experience
in high school, he contemplated
the possibility of applying his experiences
to coach a new generation of young
runners.
Despite receiving several offers from
some smaller colleges, he ultimately decided
to go to USF, retiring his running
career in the process.
As part of an education major, Coach
Lingerfelt taught a semester at Newsome
High School. By making connections
there, he managed to get a job at Steinbrenner.
Coach Robert Ennis and McConnell
knew of his previous experiences
and almost immediately asked him to help
coach the Boss Cross.
“Coach Ennis has been a great influence
on me, because he’s a legend and
everyone respects him,” said Lingerfelt.
“He has reinforced to me how in both
cross country and all sports, success is
defined by how much effort you put into
it. I try to instill self-motivation, being
mature, giving 100% effort, and working
hard each and every day into my guys.”
McConnell had a similar path to becoming
a Steinbrenner coach.
“Coach Ennis started training me at the
end of the 7th grade year for the Sunshine
State Games and Junior Olympics,” said
McConnell.
“Then in my 8th and 9th grade years,
he allowed me to run with the Leto High
School team.”
McConnell was familiar with Leto’s
Long Red Row cross country program because
his aunt used to run with Leto in the
1980’s. He and his team were state champs
in his sophomore and senior years. Before
entering college, he even was able to be a
part of the Olympic torch runners, a string
of runners from Tampa to Atlanta that carried
the torch used in the games.
McConnell would go on to run track
at the University of Florida, leading him
right into coaching when he graduated,
and starting this new career at his alma
mater, Leto.
“With coaching I felt my running experience
I could give back to the my high
school. I got into teaching because I’ve
always loved history and working with
young people.”
Coach McConnell cites the high quality
of his coaches throughout his running
career to influence how he coaches today.
“Starting with my grandfather, I’ve always
had great coaches,” said McConnell.
“In junior high school it was Coach
Adler Shannon
Online Sports Editor
Zimmerman, in high school Coach Ennis,
and finally Coach Holloway at the University
of Florida.”
“The most important thing that they
stressed to me was team, so I learned this
far outweighed individual goals.”
Lingerfelt and McConnell both have big
plans for the upcoming track season and
next year’s cross country season.
“I don’t know how involved I will be
next year as Coach Lingerfelt is probably
going to take on the bulk of it next year,”
said McConnell.
“But we’ll have same goal as usual: to
compete for a state championship.”
For the track team, they both hope the
4×800 relay team makes it to state and have
at least one athlete qualify in the mile and
2 mile.
Both coaches have similar backgrounds
and paths to the Steinbrenner track and
cross country teams, imparting their varied
experiences to help the Boss Cross be the
best team they can be.
Adler Shannon //Online Sports Editor
