Manatee football players meet new coach Yusuf Shakir

In his first meeting with Manatee High School’s football players on Wednesday, Yusuf Shakir stressed effort and commitment — on and off the field — along with physical, aggressive play.

The coaching staff, athletic director Danielle LaPoint, current Manatee booster club president Bowen Summer and booster club president Gene Brown were among those present as Shakir met with his new team in the Hurricanes’ locker room inside the school’s field house.

“They do everything first-class and professional,” Shakir said. “... It’s like, ‘Wow.’ They have a machine really going. It’s phenomenal to be a part of.”

Shakir also met with faculty, and the players received a treat when the legendary Eddie Shannon spoke to them, too.

“There’s no way you can have too much respect for someone like that,” linebacker Brett Gerber said. “Having him come in and getting the guys fired up, breaking it down with us and it really does go to show you the history of this program and how far we’ve come and how far we can still go. ... (Shannon) is excited to watch us this season. It’s really great to connect old Manatee football with new Manatee football.”

Shakir said the goal of his introductory speech was to meet the players face-to-face before the school year ended, and to express his core beliefs, which are hard work, discipline and how he’s planning on giving 100 percent in every facet to lead by example for them.

“You coach for the kids,” Shakir said. “It’s really about them. ... I just really wanted them to see me and meet me, and I wanted to see them and meet them and talk with them.”

Quarterback Ryan Overstreet, who had an impressive spring, said his new coach really understands the Manatee High tradition.

“When (Lincoln) came down and played Manatee two years ago, (Shakir) said one of the biggest reasons was they were a young program up there, and he wanted to show them the tradition big schools like Manatee had,” Overstreet said. “So when he said that ... I kind of knew he does know about the program, and he does want to be a part of it.”

Shakir emerged from a field of nearly 130 applicants to become the program’s fourth head coach since 1981, following John Booth’s departure after the Hurricanes’ spring game against Lakeland Lake Gibson.

Shakir’s previous head coaching stop was at Tallahassee Lincoln, where he claimed the 2010 Class 4A state title over Seffner Armwood and finished runner-up to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in 2012.

LaPoint told the Herald last week that developing a program such as St. Petersburg Gibbs, where Shakir coached for two seasons prior to leading his alma mater Lincoln, and Shakir’s state championship experience were key to hiring him.

For the players, they picked up on different things, but the meeting held their entire focus as he spoke Wednesday.

“Just listening to what he had to say and taking it all in,” Overstreet said. “... It was a little bit of a calmer speech. He talked a little bit about his life, what brought him here and then he talked about his coaching career at Lincoln.”

Added Gerber: “He talked about physicality; he talked about effort; he talked about just making plays out there; but the biggest thing was commitment. ... Whether it’s lifting, whether it’s in the classroom and, of course, on the football field, you need to be committed a hundred percent no matter what you’re doing.”

The Hurricanes and the rest of Manatee County high school teams begin summer workouts next week. Fall camp begins in late July this year. Manatee is still searching for an offensive coordinator after James Booth left to become Plant City’s head coach.

Shakir said he has no plans to deviate from the summer workout schedule that was set prior to his hiring.

“I’m not trying to create any ripple effects or change things for the kids,” Shakir said. “I’m just trying to come in and try to see how they do things, and just really grow and develop. Because it’s easier for one person to adjust than it is for 80 or 90 kids.”

The Hurricanes open with a difficult stretch of games: the Kickoff Classic against perennial state power Armwood, tradition-rich Lakeland, county rival Palmetto and a long-awaited battle with rising area power Braden River.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 6:27 PM with the headline "Manatee football players meet new coach Yusuf Shakir."