“If that tree doesn’t come down on the first swing, just keep chopping.”
It’s one of Greg Meyer’s favorite sayings.
Meyer led the Plant City Raiders football team in its best-ever season last year. This year, the last thing players, fans and school wanted to hear was that Meyer was stepping down as head coach because of health reasons. The announcement was made Monday, June 20.
Offensive coordinator Robert Paxia has been named the new head coach, and he isn’t going to abandon the formulas that brought so much success in 2015.
“The way it came about is unfortunate,” Paxia said. “Coach Meyer’s a very good friend of mine. We’ve spent a ton of time together in the last year, trying to put the program in the direction we wanted it to go.”
Paxia, 26, got the nod after one year of calling the offense and coaching the quarterbacks for the Raiders. He was brought on in May 2015, shortly after Meyer was promoted to replace Wayne Ward, and helped the offensive scoring output improve 10 points per game over the 2014 season. He’s been rewarded for his efforts with the chance to live his dream.
“This has been my goal for a very long time — to be a head football coach,” Paxia said.
ALL ABOUT THE GAME
Paxia, a Palm Coast native, always knew he wanted to make a living with football.
He played fullback at Flagler Palm Coast High and spent some time playing guard in his senior year. He was also known as one of the strongest guys on the squad: in 2008, Paxia won the FHSAA Class 2A state title in weightlifting, recording a total of 725 pounds between a 415-pound bench press and a 310-pound clean and jerk.
Paxia played over a year of college football as fullback at Webber International University, but his playing days were ended early in his sophomore year, when he blew out his knee for the second time since high school. He immediately transitioned into coaching, transferring to Daytona State College to finish a business degree. He began coaching running backs at FPCHS.
He jumped into teaching upon graduation, remaining at FPCHS for three years to coach football and weightlifting. Paxia served as the team’s running backs coach and run game coordinator before moving to Brooksville-Central High School to take on his first role as an offensive coordinator.
Before Plant City, he spent one year at Starke-Bradford High School as the Tornadoes’ defensive coordinator. After the year, Paxia linked up with Meyer through a mutual friend and decided to move his young family to Plant City to settle down.
Both Paxia and his wife teach at Plant City, and their 2-year-old son is enrolled in the school’s daycare program.
“Everybody in Plant City has been extremely supportive of us the entire time we’ve been here,” he says. “I really can’t say enough about the Plant City community.”
HOLDING STEADY
One of the biggest concerns for Plant City is ensuring last year’s success can still be replicated.
When Paxia was promoted, the entire staff was retained. He says everyone involved with the program can expect to see the same kind of culture Meyer established in his lone season as head coach. The team’s on-field philosophies will stay put.
“Any time you bring a new coordinator on board, you’ve got to make sure that your philosophies fit,” Paxia said. “We sat down and talked philosophy and program direction and vision for a long time, so none of that stuff is really going to change.”
The other thing working in Plant City’s favor is that this will be the first time the offensive players have used the same playbook two years in a row. Since Paxia is banking on the development of senior quarterback Corey King, the consistency will be crucial.
“I think the development of Corey King is going to be instrumental to what happens,” Paxia says. “His understanding of the offense, you could really see it as we progressed throughout the year … We’re hoping that he can continue that improvement.”
The only other notable change to the program is that Paxia’s movement to renovate the weight room has been successful. He had been hoping to modernize the room since he arrived at the school and, with help from the boosters club, recently wrapped up a $20,000 makeover that added new equipment.
With the school’s full support, a familiar staff and a deep talent pool, Paxia is hoping that everything will work out as planned.
“We’re going to continue to try and put a quality product on the field, to give the people of Plant City something to be proud of,” he says
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.