Eagles plan to field football team
MONTVERDE
FRANK JOLLEY | Sports Editor
frankjolley@dailycommercial.com
Montverde Academy is home to three athletic programs with national reputations. It might soon host a fourth.
Officials have announced the school would field a football team, beginning with the 2012 season. The incarnation of the program is set to coincide with the school's centennial.
With a boys basketball team that is considered one of the best in the country, a boys soccer team that also earns national accolades, and a baseball program that produces potential major leaguers, Eagles' fans hope the "Friday Night Lights" that illuminate Lake and Sumter counties in the fall will shine a little brighter in their tiny corner of south Lake County.
After announcing that football would come to Mont-verde Academy, Headmaster Kasey Kesselring wasted little time hiring Brian Treweek, a high-school teammate of Kesselring's on back-to-back undefeated teams in the 1980s in Maryland, to be the Eagles first coach.
Prior to signing on at Montverde Academy, Treweek was a coach at Ocala Lake Weir, and helped the school earn its only two playoff appearances (2008 and 2009).
Treweek took the next step towards building his program last week when he announced that former South Lake coach Walter Banks would join his coaching staff as offensive coordinator.
"I've known Walter for years," Treweek said. "When I was at (Ocala) Lake Weir, we were in the same district as South Lake for weightlifting, and I spent some time with him then. When I learned that he was no longer coaching at South Lake, I definitely wanted him on my staff. Football people in Lake County know him, and his reputation for working with kids and getting them to the next level is tremendous.
"Having Walter Banks would be an asset to any coaching staff, but to have him as part of a brand-new program is a big plus for Montverde Academy," said Treweek.
Banks became available to Treweek after South Lake High School principal Rob McCue chose to replace him following a 4-6 season in 2011.
In five years as head coach, Banks compiled a 22-27 record at South Lake.
His tenure at South Lake began as an assistant coach in 1999. During that time, Banks worked tirelessly to find college scholarships for his student-athletes, and was successful at finding colleges for more than 60 South Lake football players.
Among those who benefitted from his tutelage were Carlton Medder and Jeff Demps, who won national championships at the Uni-versity of Florida. Former South Lake offensive lineman Jonotthan Harrison also signed a national letter of intent with the University of Florida, while defensive back Nick Waisome and placekicker Roberto Aguayo signed with Florida State.
"I wanted to win football games, but part of my job as a high-school coach is to get players to the next level," Banks said. "I want them to have the opportunity to go to college, and football is a vehicle that I can use to help them get there. I'm proud of what I accomplished at South Lake in terms of taking care of our student athletes."
Banks said he is looking at his new post at Montverde Academy as a new challenge. He has never been part of building a brand-new program before, and Banks believes that Treweek wants to create a program the "right way."
Treweek's dedication to the program and work ethic has already been established.
"Brian drives from Ocala every day to teach at Mont-verde Academy and to oversee conditioning drills," Banks said. "That's the kind of person you want running a program. He will do whatever it takes to help Montverde Academy become at winning team ,and he wants to see our players succeed.
"If you're a parent, it seems to make that you would want your child to play football at Montverde Academy for someone like Brian Treweek," said Banks.
Treweek said the process of growing the Eagles' program will take time. He said at least 20 players are showing each day for conditioning drills, but many of them have never played football. At least five of his potential players are international students.
"Some of them, especially our international student athletes, have never even put on a football helmet," Treweek said. "With a lot of them, we are starting from square one. Not only will we have to teach them the rules and how to play football, but we're going to be teaching how to put on a football uniform."
Said Banks, "Spring practice is going to be like the ultimate football laboratory."
Treweek said there are no plans for the Eagles to play a spring game, but he has managed to schedule an opponent for the school's first-ever Kickoff Classic in August. He also is more than halfway towards putting together a complete 10-game inaugural schedule.
"As of now, we've got seven games on our schedule," Treweek said. "It looks like we're going to play Wildwood, along with Orlando Christian Prep and Melbourne Central Catholic. At least four of those games should be home games and will be played at our state-of-the-art athletic complex.
"It's a respectable schedule against quality opponents and should go a long way towards helping to establish our program."
For now, Treweek said he is helping to get his potential players familiar with the game through conditioning drills. He continues to make the daily commute from his home in Ocala and teaches six classes every day at the school before focusing on football.
At some point during the summer, he hopes to find a home closer to Montverde Academy for hime and his wife, which will help him physically and fiscally.
"I've already given up driving my truck from Ocala," Treweek said. "I'm driving my wife's car now because of gas prices. It's all worth it, though, because I believe we're building something very special at Montverde Academy.
"We have a long way to go before we're on a level with our boys basketball, soccer and baseball teams, but because those programs are so successful, we have a lot of support to help us get there."
Friday, February 17, 2012 - www.dailycommercial.com/021712eagle