SPRING HILL- When Springstead High School started making a name for themselves on the high school football scene, one name always jumped out at people, and that was former head coach Bill Vonada.
Vonada built a legacy over at Springstead, which included opponents aware they’ll need to stop the run game and face a fierce defense. The former head Eagle is back at Springstead but this time as an assistant coach under Mike Garofano. Athletic director Dustin Kupcik and the school made the announcement via Twitter in an article and below is the statement put on the hiring of Vonada.
‘Springstead Athletics is excited to announce that Coach Bill Vonada will be coming back home to Eagle Country! He will be an assistant coach in our football program as well as taking on a marketing teaching position on campus. Coach Vonada graduated from Springstead in 1982 and then returned as a teacher and coach, totaling nineteen and half years of service at Springstead. He has 19 years of experience as a head football coach, including 15 here at Springstead where he led the program to the first playoff victory in school history. He has coached football for a total of 29 years, 24 of them at the high school level. Coach Vonada brings a level of professionalism, football IQ, experience, character, integrity and EAGLE PRIDE that is simply tough to match. Please help us in welcoming Coach Vonada back to Eagle Country!’ – Dustin Kupcik
The last time Vonada was fully coaching high school football was during the 2017 season, as a head coach at Hernando High School. Vonada after four seasons ended up resigning as the school’s head coach and moving on to become the new athletic director at Weeki Wachee High School. Vonada kept a close eye on the football program when he was with the Hornets, but never jumped back into coaching.
Vonada was Hernando’s 30th head coach in program history and was coming off a 2017 season in which he led the Leopards to a district championship and nearly pulled off an upset in the Class 5A-Region 2 quarterfinal against Green Cove Springs Clay High School. During his time at Hernando, Vonada compiled an overall record of 17-21. Most of Vonada’s best work as a head coach came during his tenure at Springstead High School, where he led the Eagles to numerous district titles and postseason appearances.
Now questions will run rampant on how the dynamic between former mentor and pupil will work, as Garofano and Vonada now work side by side once again but in different roles. Garofano guided the Eagles to the playoffs in 2019, with Springstead losing in the opening round against Lake Minneola. The Eagles face somewhat of a rebuild as Springstead lost many key playmakers on both sides of the football.
Andy Villamarzo can be reached at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @avillamarzo.
