Bayshore softball coach resigns

The possibility of missing practices and games because of a promotion at work and the lure of spending more time with family prompted Frank Luther to resign as Bayshore High School’s softball head coach.

Luther, who is also an assistant coach with the girls basketball team, submitted his resignation to Bayshore High athletic director Chris Brady on Wednesday.

“I wasn’t aware that he was ... in line for a promotion and was going to have a job change,” Brady said. “In that regard, yes, it was certainly surprising.”

Luther began his coaching career immediately after completing his high school basketball career at Arcadia DeSoto County. An Arcadia native, Luther helped coach the Bulldogs before relocating to Bradenton in 1992.

Once he arrived in Manatee County, Luther started coaching his oldest daughter, Latece, in recreation and travel softball. He was involved with the Manatee Twisters and coached at Palma Sola Park and G.T. Bray until joining the Bruins staff as an assistant when Latece began playing there in the mid-2000s.

The head coaching position came open for Latece’s last two high school seasons, and Brady hired Frank Luther as head coach.

Success began to form later in Luther’s coaching tenure. It started the year before future star pitcher Miriam Schmoll arrived on campus. The Bruins reached a region championship game in 2013. Schmoll pitched Bayshore to the Class 5A state semifinals in 2014 and a state championship game in 2016. Her high school career ended this spring, and she is attending the University of South Florida.

“When you really look at it, six (public) schools in Manatee County,” Luther said. “We’re, in every sport, basically the bottoms. For us as a sport, softball at Bayshore High School, to be able to put Bayshore on the map and to be able to compete and beat some of the top teams in the county and in the state, I’m never going to forget that.”

Luther’s nine-year career leading the Bruins coincided with his job at Frito-Lay in Bradenton. As a merchandiser, Luther recently saw he was in line for a promotion.

That meant more responsibilities, which include driving through the district that stretches south to Fort Myers and as far east as Okeechobee. Taking on vacation routes to begin with, Luther isn’t sure if he’ll be free for night games or practices once softball season rolls around.

By stepping down, Luther also gets a chance to spend more time with his wife, Debbie, and his children: 13-year-old Alexis, 8-year-old Ace and 4-year-old Jordyn. Luther also gets more time to see Latece and Jasmine, his daughters who have already finished high school.

Luther, who gave credit to his players for the program’s success in recent seasons, said he was thankful to Brady and former principal David Underhill, who is now at Manatee, for sticking with him a couple seasons ago when most programs in the county wanted on-campus employees as coaches.

In addition, he thanked his assistants during the latest run.

“Ron James, Shawn Schmoll, Latece and Stacy Schmoll for helping me and coaching with me in the last five years where we were pretty much one of the top teams in the state,” Luther said. “I give them a lot of the credit for my success.”

Brady said he and new Bayshore principal Wendell Butler Jr. are aiming to find a replacement during the fall, but there isn’t a rush. The focus is on launching the upcoming school year first and then finding a new softball coach.

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Bayshore softball coach resigns."