Greatest African American FHSAA Coaches

In honor of Black History Month, let’s take a look at the greatest African American FHSAA coaches.

Nathaniel “Traz” Powell, Carver (Coral Gables, Fla.) 

Arguably the GOAT of South Florida football, Traz Powell’s name is football royalty. The stadium at Miami-Dade College is named after Powell, who coached in the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Association from 1949 to 1969 and posted a record of 167-37-3. He won five undefeated state football championships at Carver, then moved to Mays in 1966 and won another football championship. 

Earl Kitchings Sr., Gilbert (Jacksonville, Fla.) 

Earl Kitchings coached one of the most talented teams in Florida during the segregation era; in 1958 his Gilbert team won the first black football state championship with an 11-0 record while outscoring opponents 254-43. Future NFL Hall-of-Famer, receiver, and Olympic gold medalist Bob Hayes was a member of the team. He was also the first coach at Raines, where the stadium is named in his honor. 

Fred Dyles, Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 

Legendary coach Fred Dyles has to be on this list. Dyles joined Gibbs, which was an all-black school in 1964, and guided the school to its first state championship in 1966. The following year under Dyles’ watch, Gibbs became the first all-black basketball team to win an FHSAA state championship. He won a state title again in 1969. He retired in 1993 as the winningest coach in Florida with a record of 674-236. 

William Bethel, Middleton (Tampa, Fla.) 

Bethel guided the school’s football and basketball teams in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, including two runner-up finishes in the National Basketball Tournament for Black High Schools in 1946 and 1947. He had a basketball record of 551-88, and his football teams went 146-72. 

Written by: Jacquez McCoy