Bradenton Christian School’s new football coach shares how his Christian education influences him

Dan Fort’s first weeks and months at Bradenton Christian School are already a whirlwind. As a first-year head football coach, he has to learn how his roster is shaped and how the culture at Bradenton Christian will affect the way he can lead. He needed to not only implement his on-field systems, but he needed to find a book of the bible that would suit this season, one he could use as a vessel to guide his team with during bible studies and pregame speeches.

This year’s selection: the Book of Joshua. The sixth book of the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament begins immediately after Moses’ death with the Israelites about to enter their promised land. Joshua has to become the people’s leader. He has to earn their respect.

“People have to buy in to Joshua just like they had to buy in to Moses,” new Bradenton Christian School head football coach Dan Fort said. “It took a little time.”

This is the book Fort will use to guide the Panthers through during their regular bible studies this season. Each year he’s been a head coach, previously at San Jacinto Christian Academy in Texas from 2013-16, he’s chosen a story to be a theme for the season.

He joins BCS this year following its first season in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference and its first trip to any sort of postseason. Bradenton Christian bowed out in the first round of the conference’s playoffs after snatching a wild-card berth by finishing second in its division. The first-year coach will almost certainly face challenges in building a team, so before Bradenton Christian even takes the field for its first practice July 31, Fort wants to be sure he has everyone on the same page.

“These stories are here for a reason,” Fort said. “They all point to Jesus, but at the same time there’s lessons to be learned in the real world right now.”

Fort’s only coaching stops since graduating from Central Florida have been at Christian schools. It’s the only grade school experience he knows.

The coach spent his childhood at Pine Castle Christian Academy, a K-12 school in Orlando where he was a standout baseball player. After his freshman year at Valencia Community College, a junior college in Orlando, a former coach asked him to come help coach the baseball team at The First Academy.

Starting that summer in Orlando, Fort knew he wanted to become a coach. He got to know Jeff Duke, one of the highest ranking members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the region, and turned him into a mentor during his time as a Knight. Working at Christian schools became a natural fit.

“I’ve been kind of immersed in it from the get go,” Fort said. “I wanted to make an impact where I could speak freely. I’m able to speak freely about anything from the Bible, about Jesus, about the Lord and no one is going to question it.”

“Daniel will do an outstanding job preparing the hearts and minds of our students through the game of football and in the classroom. Our goal is to develop young men to eventually become outstanding college students, husbands, fathers, employees or employers, Christian church members and contributors to society,” said Bradenton Christian School superintendent Dan Vande Pol.

Fort likes to lead pregame prayer sessions and share biblical stories, like the Book of Joshua. When he first addressed the team after he was hired to replace former head coach Allan Gerber in the spring, he recalled the Book of Esther, another selection from the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.

To Fort, the story of Esther is a story in part about timing and seizing opportunities. Esther was a Hebrew woman who rose to become queen of Persia just in time to save her people from genocide.

“I’m not here to save you, but I am here to be the next coach for as long as the Lord keeps me here,” Fort said, recalling his message during his introductory meeting. “I believe the Lord put me here for a reason. I believe I’m here at this time and place.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2017 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Bradenton Christian School’s new football coach shares how his Christian education influences him."