John Scargle waited a long time to be a head coach.
He spent the last 14 years as the defensive coordinator at Clearwater Central Catholic High School, and was an assistant in Pinellas County for 15 years.
And now that he’s on the big stage as the head man for Palm Harbor University, he’s making the most of his opportunity.
“It’s been a long time coming, but it’s very exciting,” Scargle said. “Every day there’s a new challenge. There’s a lot to do outside of coaching: a lot of administration, a lot of paperwork, a lot of organization. But when we get on the field, the fun thing is to get out and coach the kids.”
Scargle, who played in college at UCF as a defensive back, built a reputation as one of the top defensive coordinators in the area at Clearwater Central Catholic.
He enjoyed a ton of success there, including six consecutive seasons with nine or more wins before taking the Palm Harbor University job.
Scargle also acquired an encyclopedia of knowledge working under legendary Marauders’ head coach John Davis.
“A lot that I learned from Coach Davis is organizational skills, getting the guys motivated, and making sure there aren’t a lot of real highs and real lows," Scargle said. "To try to stay as calm as possible. And whatever happens, to act like that’s what you expected to happen.”
Scargle says the time was right to leave CCC for a new challenge.
Palm Harbor U was the right fit.
It has a fantastic administration to work with, and most importantly, great kids to coach.
“They’re hard workers, and they listen well. They’re very smart and have a high football IQ. They love to hustle. We’ve just got to get better at running the offense, get better at running the defense, and just put more time and work in.”
His players won’t have much of a break.
They’re back June 5th for offseason workouts.
After all, Scargle’s been waiting long enough.