HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY THE BOX

5 for Strawberry Crest’s New Head Football Coach

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Gerald Dickens looks over his defense during the BHSN/BCP 9 Route 7 on 7
Gerald Dickens looks over his defense during the BHSN/BCP 9 Route 7 on 7

Dover, FL – Strawberry Crest Athletic Director, Melvin Williams, has hired Coach Gerald Dickens, former Plant City Recruiting Coordinator. Dickens has extensive coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate levels. Joining him on staff is Coach Keith Newman, who has been serving as interim head coach at the Crest.  BCP was able to get in contact with Coach Dickens and this is what he had to say:

BCP: WHAT IS YOUR EXCITEMENT LEVEL ON A SCALE OF 1-10?
Dickens: 10 plus plus. I have a chance to change lives, but on a different level. I have always been driven by helping kids mature and what I have been doing has paid off. I am excited to become the head coach at the game I played and the game that helped educated me.

BCP: WHAT IS THE #1 THING YOU WILL LOOK TO IMPLEMENT AS THE NEW HEAD FOOTBALL COACH AT STRAWBERRY CREST?
Dickens: PRIDE and establish TRADITION. I want to use the current team as building blocks to establish tradition in the new school/program and display pride.

BCP: WHO DO YOU EXPECT TO HIRE ON YOUR STAFF?
Dickens: It’s hard to say at this time because I would like to keep some members from the current staff and then build from there. I will be keeping Keith Newman [was interim head coach]. I will be having a meeting with the current staff soon to figure out who I will be keeping.

BCP: WHAT DOES YOUR COACHING EXPERIENCE INCLUDE?
Dickens:
-Defensive Coordinator at Tampa Bay Tech, 94-95
-Assistant varsity defensive coordinator and junior varsity defensive coordinator for Plant City under Head Coach Wayne Ward.
-Camps and Recruiting Coordinator for Plant City under Head Coach, Wayne Ward

BCP: WHAT WILL YOU SAY TO YOUR KIDS THAT YOU WILL BE DEPARTING FROM AT PLANT CITY HIGH?
Dickens: It will be tough leaving my boys, but it is about developing as a coach and taking advantages of opportunities. This is an opportunity that the boys helped set up for me by allowing me to help them mature. My body of work speaks for itself and because I have put the kids first and I am in such a good situation now.