When Mike Boza started coaching high school sports 30 years ago his dream was to become a head football coach at his alma mater Tampa Jesuit. He became the JV football coach in 1988 and began to teach there as well. In the spring of 1990, Boza began to coach track and started to discover the joy of coaching distance runners. He made the move from the gridiron to the trails and started coaching cross country in 1995. He says it was one of the hardest and smartest moves he's ever made.
"I was sad to leave something I loved, but excited to move forward to something new."
Over his twelve years as head coach at Jesuit the boys won four state titles and tallied three runner-up finishes in cross country. The Tigers also won a state title in track in 2003 without a single individual champion.
In 2007, Boza left Jesuit for nearby Plant High School where he has spent the last five years and helped the Panthers become one of the top boys' programs in 4A. Being a teacher along with a coach the every day grind has begin to take a toll on the coach. After thirty years he has decided to say goodbye to coaching. Boza says each of his jobs were becoming more challenging every year.
"The sum total of those two things got to a point where I was finding it hard to summon enough of the right energy to do both as well as I like. I don't do anything half-way. I also think it's important in life to keep moving forward and challenge yourself to grow in different ways. I have some ideas for meaningful endeavors I'd like to try in the next stage of my life. I'm not done yet."
The first thing he plans on doing is catching up on his fishing and golfing. He released his first book "Run, Rinse, Repeat" in October so a second book could be in the future plans as well. Lastly, it is important for him to spend more time with his wife and the rest of his family. He says the thing he tells young coaches now a days is how much of a time committment it takes to build a championship program.
"When I look back, I often regret the things I did not do with/for my own family because of the time and energy I gave my team. Luckily, my wife and kids were always on board with me and they each gave me the love and support I needed along the way. I just wish I could have given them more in return. Life is full of difficult choices, and once they're made that's it."
Boza would like to thank everyone for their loyalty, kindness and generosity over the years to himself and his wife and that it has blessed them more than words can express. A winner in the sport and in the community that his how Boza hopes he is remembered.
"I hope people remember that I was driven to win, but I tried my best to temper that passion with kindness and generosity to those around me."
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