- December 26, 2024
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Photo by TK_PHOTOGRAPHY
One of the biggest arguments against the professionalization of amateur sports, from college down to even the pee-wee level, is that the main purpose of one level of a sport should be to develop athletes — physically, emotionally and mentally — for the next and not to win games or championships.
Although you could argue that winning inherently helps development, the importance a program places on winning also can hurt a player’s growth. For example, if a program trains players in schemes and tactics that work at a lower level but become obsolete in the future, are those skills really worth learning at all?
If you ask West Orange High football coach Geno Thompson, the answer is no.
“Our main purpose as a program is to get kids into college,” he said. “And not just get them there but prepare them to have the ability to be successful at the collegiate level on the football field, the classroom and in life.”
Thompson not only knows what it takes to get to the next level and be successful from his time as a coach, but also from his playing days, he knows what it’s like to not be prepared for success at the next level.
“When I had the opportunity to go to college, there were some things that I wasn’t prepared for,” Thompson said. “I ended up going to Wofford College, and my college career consisted of one career catch that came on a fake punt against The Citadel, 32 yards. That was my big moment, and that wasn’t what I expected my college-playing days to look like, but I wasn’t prepared.
“What I learned when I got to college was I didn’t know anything, I wasn’t well-versed in football schemes — even though growing up I was always told I was smart in terms of my football IQ,” he said. “But I get to college, and it’s like information overload. I didn’t know how to process it all; I didn’t understand the system of college football. I ended up redshirting, and I had this idea that I’m going to just focus on academics to make sure I get my grades right, and then I’ll worry about football because the redshirt year doesn’t matter. That was the worst attitude to have. It ended up really putting me behind.”
Thompson’s experience playing in college did more than help form his coaching philosophy. It became the central thesis of the program he’s built at West Orange.
“I realized that in college having a good enough skill set was one thing, but the most important thing, when you (get) to that level, is your dedication, your work ethic and your understanding of the scheme; because if you didn’t know what to do, you wouldn’t step on the field,” he said. “Fast-forward to me now as a high school coach, and we talk about our why and our purpose as people and as a program, our why is not only to get kids the opportunity to go to college but to prepare them to be successful in college. If playing college football is something that you want, you’re going to get every opportunity to prove you belong there and you’re going to get prepared for that chance at West Orange because we run our program like a college program.
Putting players’ development first means Thompson needs to make sure his guys are getting the job done in the classroom.
“We’re lucky as a football program, because West Orange as a school does a phenomenal job of preparing kids to be successful in college — not just as an athlete but as a student-athlete,” Thompson said. “Our teachers do a great job of holding students accountable, making sure that they do what they’re supposed to do in the classroom and that they meet the academic standards … before they even get on the field. … That commitment from the school and teachers shows in our group going into next year, our 2025 class is a great group … not just on the field but academically. Their GPAs are through the roof. The majority of them are above a 3.4 GPA, which is unheard of.”
Despite college football’s increasing focus on a player’s ability on the field, in many institutions, from the Division I level to D-III, execution in the classroom is still one of the biggest determining factors in a player getting a scholarship — or even an opportunity.
Thompson’s mission this offseason is to take full advantage of that academic achievement and get his guys scholarship offers.
“Knowing that this group is set in the classroom, we’re trying to figure out how to take advantage of that and get our guys recruited by the schools that put higher importance on academics and offer scholarship money to the kids that are good enough to play at the next level,” he said. “What we found was that a lot of those types of schools are sitting up in that Ohio Valley region. So we were asking ourselves what is the best way to get these schools to look at our kids?
“Usually, those schools we’ve identified will come down to visit and see our kids but not until January at recruiting fairs,” Thompson said. “By that time, a lot of the scholarship money they have to offer is already dedicated or allocated to different players, and it’s usually the players from their local area. The money they have allocated to Florida kids is limited, so often that means Florida kids are having to pay out of pocket to play at those schools who give them a chance. … So, we recognized that we need to get our kids in front of these Division II, D-III schools earlier so they can have the chance to get scholarships — academic and football — to these very, very good academic schools, some of which, more so than a lot of these Division I schools, are better academically or have an alumni network that you can’t beat.”
What Thompson and his team cooked up was a six-day, 12-school bus tour that was headlined by an academic mega-football camp at Miami University in Ohio. Overall, West Orange’s players on the tour were evaluated by more than 150 total schools, which paid dividends.
“From that trip, we ended up with four seniors getting multiple offers,” Thompson said. “We had more seniors get the chance to build relationships with schools that they can follow up with during the season, to see how they’ve developed. Not just that, but we actually had a Class of 2024 senior commit to an offer on the trip.”
The list of players who have come through the West Orange program recently or are currently at the school is chock full of current and future college players.
Just look on the incoming 2024 roster: Senior defensive back Ivan Taylor is a Notre Dame commit; senior athlete Donovan Lanier holds offers from Ole Miss, FAU, Coastal Carolina and more; junior DB Devin Jackson holds offers from Florida, Mississippi State, Wisconsin and more; junior athlete Devonte Anderson holds offers from Florida, Kansas, Colorado and more; junior defensive back Chakai Scott has an offer from UMass; senior receiver Ryne Brown holds an offer from Ole Miss; and senior offensive lineman Nicolas Marti, holds an offer from Wabash College.
Thompson expects to see a few more upperclassmen receive offers throughout the summer and come fall.
Another great example of Thompson’s approach working is West Orange alum Jordan Castell, Class of 2023. In his freshman season, the University of Florida defensive back hit the ground running, playing in 12 games. He made 60 total tackles (1.5 for a loss), deflected four passes and caught an interception. Castell’s play on the field earned him a spot on the Freshman All-SEC team and the ESPN Freshman All-America team, while his work in the classroom got him on the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.
