- May 6, 2024
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Every muscle in Kyle Minckler’s body is sore after a long football practice at Spruce Creek High School.
When the Hawks’ signal caller takes off his helmet, unloads the heavy pads from his shoulders and bids his coaches and teammates farewell, he doesn’t head home for the day. He’s going to his next job — as a football coach.
The 17-year-old is the offensive coordinator for the Port Orange Hawks, a local Pop Warner team. He's coached the Hawks for almost four years and also helped lead an 8-on-8 team to a state championship.
“He’s very smart when it comes to football,” said Kyle’s father, Floyd Minckler, whose youngest son, Kevin, is a running back for the team. “I just don’t understand how he can read the defense so well from the sidelines. It started ever since he put the pads on. He just sees everything, and he makes the right calls. He’s just got it.”
Spruce Creek, where Kyle has been the starting quarterback for the past three years, is undefeated to start the season, toppling its first four opponents by a combined score of 182-13.
With a sharp arm, keen eye and quick feet, Kyle has been a major catalyst for the Hawks’ offense. In Spruce Creek’s 63-0 win over rival Atlantic on Sept. 1, he accounted for six of the Hawks’ nine touchdowns.
Spruce Creek head coach Timothy Price said Kyle’s knowledge of the playbook and ability to read defenses has been a major advantage for the Hawks this season.
“Kyle is a coach on the field, literally,” Price said. “That’s what he is. It’s like me being out there.”
It's also a huge safety net.
“It means that I can call a play and that if it’s the wrong play call, that he’s going to fix it on the field,” he said. “He’s almost always right on the field.”
Kyle is currently in talks with Stetson University for a potential football scholarship. To be able to lead a college football team as the team’s starting quarterback has been a dream of his ever since he first put the pads on at the age of 6.
“My dream is to go to college and play ball,” Kyle said. “I’ve worked on it my whole life.”
However, when his days of running across the gridiron come to an end, both his father and his coach agree that Kyle will most likely find a career on the sidelines, commanding the respect of a team as a head coach.
“Kyle’s going to graduate from high school with an understanding of almost every offensive football concept there is today,” said Price, who has 19 years of experience as a head coach. “He’s so much further ahead than where I was at his age that I would love to see him be a coach, and I think he would be a phenomenal one. He’s made for it.”
But no matter his future plans, Kyle is focused on the present with only one desire gaining all of his focus.
“I just like to win,” he said. “That’s it.”
