Anthony Agresta adds Sebring girls head basketball coaching post to football job
It sounds unreasonable for an incoming high school head coach to oversee two programs, but Anthony Agresta previously accepted that challenge before.
"It was when I was coaching in Louisiana," he said.
Agresta, who was named Sebring's head football coach during the winter, recently was selected as the girls head basketball coach, succeeding Sam Mathias. During June, he has overseen conditioning programs for both sports.
"Since I've done it before, I know how to organize my time," said Agresta. "We work on football four days a week during the morning and basketball on Mondays and Tuesdays later in the day. Since we're closer to the start of the football season, we need more time to get ready for football."
Agresta, 60, replaced Matt Seidel as Sebring's head football coach after holding a similar position at Steubenville Catholic Central. The last time he coached both sports was previously at Covington Northlake Christian School (La.), which is located approximately 50 minutes north of New Orleans.
"We were 6-19 my first year, then went 17-10 and 15-10 before I stepped down and became an assistant to my son, Aaron," Agresta said. "He went on to lead the team to a state championship."
Both father and son are now coaching football and girls basketball in Ohio. Aaron Agresta is the defensive coordinator at Youngstown Valley Christian under Andy Hake, the former Western Reserve head coach, and also is Valley Christian's girls head basketball coach.
There are currently no future plans for a Sebring-Valley Christian girls basketball series, because Anthony Agresta is focused on the present, concentrating on the Trojans.
"The biggest things I've tried to do this summer is getting familiar with the girls and their abilities, and working on skill development," Agresta said.
What has impressed Agresta is consistent player turnout and their willingness to take direction.
"We've had between 12-15 out and they've been receptive to coaching," he said. "They have also worked hard at skillwork, improving their footwork, their ball-handling and their mid-range shooting."
Sebring finished 3-16 under Matthias last season and graduated four-year starting twin guards Delaney and Devyn Reggi. While the Trojans went winless against Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Division powers, such as Springfield Local, Waterloo, McDonald and Lowellville, they swept both games against Orrville Kingsway Christian downed Lordstown 53-23 in a late regular-season game and several returners gained valuable playing time and experience.
Those returners include 5-foot-10 junior Blake Thomas, who scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 63-26 Division IV sectional semifinal loss to Springfield Local; junior guard Kierra Weekley and junior post Emma Seavers.
"We have a good nucleus back," Agresta said. "We want to [combine] that nucleus with the newcomers and build a foundation."
Balancing two head coaching jobs at any school is difficult, especially for a coach in his first year at a different venue. Agresta gladly credits Lorrie Agresta, his wife of 36 years, for affording him the unique opportunity.
"She's a seasoned coach's wife, who has been extremely supportive of me wherever I've coached," Agresta said. "I appreciate her support and don't take her for granted."
After meeting with the Sebring players for the first time, Agresta issued one generic message he hopes to keep stressing during the upcoming preseason, regular season and postseason.
"I told the girls we want to have a good time playing basketball," he added. "That means working hard and giving everything we have to the program. We know we have a lot of work to do, but we got off to a good start."
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Anthony Agresta will run Sebring football and girls basketball teams
