Geno

[gregcook68]

Kind of a small world thing to share with everyone. My son graduated from North Fort Myers High School, here in Florida. It is the same high school Deion Sanders went to. This year the school hired Earnest Graham, former Gator and Tampa Bay RB, to be the head coach for the high school football team.

(Earnest is local here, as a matter of fact, I was coaching a local LL All Star team in 1992. The first game we had was against Dunbar LL, our cross town rivals.

Earnest played for that team and was pitching for them during that game. He had hit 20+ home runs during the season, and had a league record strikeouts. We were the visitors and he struck out our first three batters in the top of the first!

I decided to walk him, if he came to the plate where a homerun would put his team ahead. We walked him the first two times, rattled him on the mound, with bunts and stuff, and ended up winning the game 5-1.)

Earnest brought some of his ex Tampa Bay coaches to NFMHS, one of them, the defensive coordinator, also coached at a high school in Florida, St. Thomas Aquanis. They've won several state titles over the years, and while he was coaching there, Geno Atkins was a student and football player.

The coach said Geno was sort of a 'freak of nature'! The school has never seen a guy like him before as his work ethic and attitude was amazing incomparable! His build and the strength in his legs is what made him a 'freak of nature' said the coach.

Best high school player, on and off the field, he's ever coached!!