Bloomingdale coach happier molding players' futures

VALRICO — Jason Stokes' life used to fluctuate with the stock ticker — mornings would begin with tuning in to CNN to see the futures market, and his stomach was in knots before breakfast in anticipation of another chaotic day on Wall Street.

But on the day when the stock market took its largest one-day tumble in history, Stokes — the Goldman Sachs trader turned Bloomingdale football coach — didn't even know about it.

"Today I just got up, drank a glass of chocolate milk and came in to work with teenagers," Stokes said Monday with a smile and a hint of a New York accent. "I'm having a ball."

Stokes, the Bulls' first-year head coach, has reason to be happy. His team is 3-1 heading into Friday's game against winless Sickles for the first time in recent memory. The Bulls are a beneficiary of circumstance, having been handed a win last week when Spoto had to forfeit its victory over the Bulls because of an illegal player. That gift served as a springboard for a 7-0 win over Plant City in Friday's district opener.

"Being a part of this takes you to a happy place," junior running back Derek Johnson said. "It's like you're 6 years old getting your first present. That's what it feels like. Winning our first district game made our whole world change."

After years of losing at Bloomingdale, Stokes, a former Riverview assistant, changed the tempo of the Bulls program. The team T-shirts read "Make History." He runs his weight room sessions like a drill sergeant, pacing and yelling, "It's not you, it's your hard work and discipline."

It has fueled a new energy. Defensive players compete to be the leading tackler. Running backs who make a pancake block are rewarded with a pizza on Monday. Special-teamers who make a big play also receive a reward. The practice player of the week gets a T-shirt.

It is still a work in progress; the Bulls lost their season opener to Tampa Bay Tech by 56 and the offense hasn't progressed the way Stokes had hoped.

But Bloomingdale is on the right path.

"This is really a big JV team," Stokes said. "We stress fundamentals, we stress details. No one has ever done that before. They're struggling with that right now, but we're not going to lower our expectations. The bar is set. They're learning and they're eager."