With the start of the new year rapidly approaching, there are many new changes being made in Robinson. Alongside that came the announcement from the administration that there would be a new head football coach, Mike Williams, replacing now-former Knights football coach Marlo Hollingshed.

In order to make the transition between coaches smooth, the school organized a meet and greet open not only to the returning players on the team but also to their parents and teachers. The meeting gave insight into what type of coach Williams is and what new ideas he would be implementing into the team for the upcoming year. He plans to make many changes, altogether scrapping everything from the previous year but most importantly he plans to change the types of players he has on the team.

“I firmly believe that who you are as a son is the foundation of who you are [as] a person. If you cannot be a good son, how can you be anything walking through that door? I’m accountable to that part, what kind of a young man all of them [the players] are going to be,” Williams said. “And hopefully we can get all these GPAs up so we can make some magic happen. I am that coach, I want to take pride in who my kids are in the school.”

The specifics of training and practice schedules have not been set in stone yet; however, Williams will be working on it alongside some new nutritional aspects of the team with coach Darius Page. Players will work on every aspect of their lives from school to what they put in their bodies to sleep.

“We’re going to set up a guideline on that, but at the end of the day it will be up to the parents and the players themselves to stick to it,” Page said. “But for the most part, we’re going to map it out for them based off of each individual. We’re going to put them on a path for each individual to excel and for their own bodies.”

Many were wondering how this change came to fruition and why now.

“It’s a little serendipitous and it happened that we just so happened to have gotten in touch when the opening became available. We found a lot of connections that we had just between our families with Robinson at the root, and that turned into bringing the boys into what we want to see for the school and how we were gonna build that. It just feels like all of the puzzle pieces fell together,” Assistant Principle Kailyn Mormon said.

After spending the last three years coaching Wharton High School and leading them to three consecutive playoff appearances, Williams decided to leave anyways and join Robinson.

“I think it’s always important to always be chasing opportunities and always chasing challenges. Sometimes when you go somewhere and you do well, there’s a chance you get comfortable and I just felt like this was the opportunity for me to get back and in touch with a group that is hoping to be successful. Then it’s also a chance to get back to South Tampa and give back to a community I grew up with,” Williams said.

The meeting left lots of players with hope and anticipation for the next season and parents excited about the change in leadership. Many believe Williams will make a great new addition to the Robinson Knights.

“Well, minus his Plant background I think that he will be a great fit, I think that he offers the accountability piece and we have a lot of positive momentum already built up from last season and the success that we had,” Mormon said. “I think that the boys now are looking forward to building that into opportunities for them to continue winning but also college offers and opportunities and I think that he definitely opens those doors.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

Photo Chelsea Rodriguez

Former Plant Panther Williams puts on his new shirt gifted from the PTSA.