Holy Trinity's first African-American head coach out after eight historic years
Holy Trinity announced Monday that Nate Hooks will no longer be its head football coach.
Hooks has been leading the program since 2014, when he became its first African-American head coach. The 1982 Cocoa High graduate was the second-longest-tenured head coach in Brevard County, and he said Monday afternoon he was "really disappointed with the decision" that was not his own.
"I was looking forward to another great year with the players, especially after just going 10-2 last season," he said. "I was told by the head of school (Katherine Cobb) that there were parents that complained about development of players. I'm really struggling with that. I do not agree with it."
He recalled his first team meeting in 2014, attended by four students, and the growth to the current state of the program, with four of his Tigers having been included in the 247sports list of top 300 football recruits in the nation.
Under Hooks, the Tigers got their first FHSAA regional playoff win in program history in 2018 at higher-seeded Cardinal Newman. They earned their first home playoff victory last November, defeating Father Lopez. In his time there, the program grew from a roster numbered in the 20s to one with more than 40 players last season.
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The coaching change marks the sixth in Brevard since the 2021 season. MCC, Merritt Island, Satellite, Titusville and Viera also changed head coaches.
Hooks, a Tennessee Tech graduate who also earned a master's in human performance biomechanics from the University of Tennessee, will continue as a faculty member and said he hopes the team has another great se
Those interested in applying for the open coaching job should e-mail athletic director James Phillips at jphillips@htes.org.
Workouts will continue under coach Vincent Martins. A release from the school said Phillips was "confident Holy Trinity’s football program remains in a solid position to continue its winning tradition and excited about the new chapter that lies ahead for our varsity Tigers."
Contact McCallum at bmccallum@floridatoday.com. Follow @321preps on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to subscribe to FLORIDA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Holy Trinity of Melbourne seeking new head football coach after Hooks
