Published: Friday, Jun. 26, 2009

Updated: Friday, Jun. 26, 2009

Kitchie looks to future, respects past

Land O’Lakes’ football program is now under the watchful eye of Matt Kitchie.

It’s his team. His players. His playbook.

His right to forge ahead and carve out his own legacy.

But Kitchie knows better than to put blinders on to the past.

And therein lies the challenge:

Being your own man while respecting what came before you.

Formerly the coach of Saint Stephen’s, Kitchie beat out more than 60 applicants to become the main man at Land O’Lakes. His predecessor, John Benedetto, was there 32 years.

“I didn’t get into this business to take the easy road,” Kitchie said. “The competitor in me likes the pressure.”

Kitchie, of course, is a Manatee County son, a guy who won a state title with Southeast as a player and then came back to coach the Seminoles quarterbacks. And a guy who saw how things went when Howie DeCristofaro tried to follow Joe Kinnan.

Benedetto may have not won four state championships or taken his team to the top of any national polls. But he won 196 games — an average of more than six per year — and has guided the Gators to the playoffs every year since 1997.

Benedetto may not be Kinnan. But he’s not a slouch, either. And now Kitchie has the task of taking over.

“You can’t just go out and say, ‘This is my team now.’ You have to approach it with kid gloves,” Kitchie said. “I’m taking over for a guy who was entrenched in the community.”

Stepping in for someone who has been so successful for so long is a balancing act. You need to embrace and respect what came before you, all the while having the fortitude to put your system into practice.

“I know it sounds like a cliché, but I’m going to take a page out of Paul Maechtle’s book,” Kitchie said, referring to Southeast’s legendary coach. “We’re going to do what we do and do the best we can.”

But Kitchie isn’t about to ditch what turned Land O’Lakes into Land O’Lakes to begin with. He isn’t asking anyone to forget Benedetto or what he accomplished — Kitchie just wants people to give him a chance to make his own memories.

“You have to embrace the traditions,” he said, “because that’s what the kids know.”

Comparisons will be made and shadows will loom large over Kitchie’s head as he prepares for the fall. That comes with the territory. This is a great opportunity, and great opportunities always come equipped with great risks.

Winning cures all ills. Losing exacerbates the whispers. That’s what happens wherever you go.

So Matt Kitchie is off to Land O’Lakes, looking forward to embracing this boost given to his young coaching career.

Most importantly, however, Kitchie won’t be afraid to look back, either.