Nature Coast head coach Rob Kazmier sees plenty of potential in his Sharks

BROOKSVILLE, FLORIDA- One of the treats of coaching high school football is the opportunity to coach your alma mater.

First-year Nature Coast head coach Rob Kazmier gets to live his dream out of heading up the very program he attended high school at with the Sharks. Kazmier last was a head coach when he coached the Hernando Leopards from 2018-2019, and he compiled a record of 12-9, with one playoff appearance.

After his time with the Leopards, Kazmier took a step back from coaching to help as a recruiting aid to multiple schools throughout the North Suncoast and Northern Central Florida, assisting schools like South Sumter and Dunnellon with exposure for athletes trying to play at the next level. The new challenge for Kazmier is continuing to build 'Running Back U' and work hard on the practice field.

"I would say the biggest challenge so far this spring has definitely been operating with both of our returning quarterbacks playing baseball," Kazmier said. "We also have seven players going to the regional track meet in Titusville. It makes spring football difficult, but it is a great problem to have because we really love multiple sport athletes here. We want all of our programs on this campus to succeed. So we hunker down and make it work. It's all about overcoming adversity. It's one of the biggest lessons this great sport teaches us."

Nature Coast is coming off a solid 2022 season in which the team finished 7-4 and won the Class 2S, District 11 championship. The Sharks ended up losing in the region quarterfinal round to Hudson, thus ending Nature Coast's season. In the off-season, former head coach Cory Johns accepted to become the new head coach at Bartram Trail, leaving the program in search of a new direction.

Enter Kazmier into the picture and he inherits a team that brings back plenty of talent from last fall. The new Nature Coast boss points out to the strong sophomore class they have coming up and a solid senior group, which looks to be the strength of the roster. Another bright spot to look at is the return of running back/defensive end Christian Cromer into the lineup.

Cromer has been a big piece of the puzzle the last couple of campaigns for the Sharks as he rushed for 1,147 yards and scored 23 touchdowns in 2022. The bruising tailback should be primed for a big senior season along with playing side-by-side with southpaw quarterback Jackson Hoyt, who is a University of Florida commitment for baseball. Offensive linemen Chase Murray and Immanuel Cardoza will lead the way up front.

Defensively, the Sharks have plenty to work with as players like linebacker Carlos Mendez, defensive back Carlos Rodriguez and defensive end Aiden Orta are all back in the fold. When it comes to what kind of team Nature Coast has shown this spring and heading into the summer, expect no drop off under Kazmier's watch.

"Our spring is off to a great start," Kazmier said. "Our numbers are excellent. We have great kids who come out ready to work and learn every single day. We are very young and inexperienced in a few areas, so we definitely need some of those guys to step up. We have a huge group of rising sophomores. Some of them are going to decide how good our varsity football team can be."

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.