Posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Strong
returns home
Manatee High alum appointed as Canes' new
baseball coach
By JOHN LEMBO
When
the call finally came, Dwayne Strong got emotional.
He
had been named the coach of his own high school baseball program.
He
had been named the coach at Manatee High.
On
Tuesday, Manatee High principal Robert Gagnon announced Strong had accepted the
job as the Hurricanes' new coach, replacing Al Melnick,
who was let go over the summer.
"No
better place to start than home," said Strong, who played first base and
outfield for Manatee and graduated from there in 1985. "It's a great
opportunity to come home and put this program back to where it should be."
Strong
beat out roughly 20 candidates, four of whom were interviewed, Gagnon said.
"The
first thing is his emphasis on discipline and character," Gagnon said.
It's
been a busy two days for Manatee, which on Monday announced John Carlock was returning to coach the softball program.
Strong
is a well-known member of the baseball community. He continued his playing
career at
He
served as an assistant with Sarasota High's tradition-rich baseball team for
five years and was on the staff last year when the Sailors won the Class 6A
state title.
"He
has a tremendous amount of baseball knowledge, and he's been around one of the
nation's best programs in
Strong
said he still plans on running The Sandlot @ 5Tools Baseball, an instructional
facility located in
"I
can't answer that at this time," he said.
The
Hurricanes finished 14-12 in their final year under Melnick,
falling to Bayshore in the opening round of the Class
5A-District 12 tournament.
"The
goal is instilling discipline in the guys and getting them where we need to
go," he said. "Obviously, the first goal is to try and win a district
title."
As
happy as Strong is to be taking over a program, he's even happier he's getting
his chance at his alma mater.
"It's
the place where I started, where I played high school ball," Strong said.
"It's a situation for me to come home."