Mike Estes is moving on, turning the page on his chapter at East Lake.
The long-time softball coach, and two-year head volleyball coach, announced his resignation, Tuesday. He's accepted a position with Eckerd College as the pitching coach for their softball program.
"It's something I've always wanted to do, and it would be a pretty good challenge for me," Estes said of coaching at the college level.
Eckerd approached him a month ago, asking him to consider the position. He applied, and got the job.
Estes stepped down as the school's volleyball's coach two weeks ago, and waiting to resign as softball coach until Tuesday, after the season. The school promoted JV coach Mike Morris to take over the volleyball program, and will now look to hire a softball coach to replace Estes, who coached the Eagles for seven seasons.
"I had a tough time making this decision because of my ties to the high school," he said. "I've been there so long. It was probably one of the toughest decisions I had to make."
If you're the Eagles, it's tough to see him go.
Estes led East Lake to the playoffs in six consecutive years, including two state final four births in 2010 and 2011. In volleyball, he led the Eagles to a state title in his inaugural season, their second-straight championship.
Estes' path to East Lake was an unusual one. He coached his oldest daughter, Lyndsie, on her travel softball team. East Lake football coach Bob Hudson asked him to join the softball staff as a pitching coach 13 years ago, and then he eventually took over.
Now, he's moving on. Parting with his girls is the hardest part.
"That was probably the toughest thing, to make sure I could leave the players," Estes said. "It's hard to explain, but if you're going to do the coaching thing right, you're going to end up being attached to those kids. They become almost like your own daughters...that's the hardest part about it."