Interim Booker football coach brings discipline to program

Booker head football coach Dumaka Atkins took off his cap and used the brim to scratch the back of his head, then wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow. His face scrunched when the sunlight found his eyes.

Atkins had been asked to talk about the Tornadoes’ 28-6 victory Sept. 30 over Bayshore, the team’s first win of the season and his first win as a head coach. He took a second to think before uttering one word.

“Disappointed.”

“We were the first team to let them score,” Atkins said. “I did not want Bayshore to score. But I was happy for the kids because they were excited. They earned it.”

Feeling disappointment after his first win verifies that Atkins expects more from his players and his program.

He grew up two blocks from Booker’s football stadium and he has memories of going to games with his father, Fredd Atkins. He said it was a blessing to coach the team he used to watch every Friday night and eventually played for himself.

“I could hear the band and the announcer," Atkins said of his Friday night memories. "I could smell it. I could feel it. My father, he was a Booker guy. I was the one who was always following behind him, grabbing his shirt, grabbing his hand at all the Booker games. It’s special to me.”

The start of Atkins’ tenure as coach was challenging. The team had lost its first two games under previous coach Recharde Goodwyn to Riverview and Sarasota by a combined score of 100-26. Four Booker players were involved in brawl at the end of the Sarasota game and ejected.

Goodwyn stepped down as coach on Sept. 6., and the school hired Atkins, a full-time social studies teacher at Sarasota, on an interim basis. He had 10 days to get a feel for the roster and implement changes before the team took on district-leading Hardee at home. They lost. Up next was a road game against then-undefeated Port Charlotte. Another loss.

Then, the turnaround began. Booker played Bayshore, and won easily, 28-6. The Tornadoes did the same to DeSoto County, 42-6, and Lemon Bay, 30-15. Suddenly, the Tornadoes were one win over Southeast on Oct. 28 away from clinching a playoff spot for the fourth time in a decade.

The Tornadoes went up 15 points on Southeast in the first half before they “beat themselves by playing selfish football,” as Atkins said after the game. A blocked punt set up the Seminoles in great field position for an easy score, and Southeast’s game-winning touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter deflected off the palms of a Booker defensive back. The Tornadoes lost 28-21.

Atkins isn’t satisfied with his first season at the helm.

"We're not headed to the playoffs,” Atkins said. “We're not undefeated. No, I'm not (happy), but we have made some strides. These kids have grown, they have learned a lot, and I'm proud of them. They have taken a rough situation and smoothed it out as best as they could. They have been fighters, man. I've said it time and time again. This is a resilient bunch and the cogs in it just keep turning."

Atkins graduated from Booker in 2004 as a big-time offensive guard recruit, holding scholarship offers from Florida State, Ohio State, LSU and Michigan, among other top programs. He ended up with the Seminoles. After going through three offensive line coaches in three years, and injuries hindering his 2007 season, Atkins left FSU as a graduate transfer for Tennessee State, where he finished his college career.

Atkins said his goal while coaching is to have each and every kid fulfill his potential and become the best he can be, whether that’s on the field, in the classroom or in the community. Accountability and discipline is a big difference between Atkins’ program and Booker programs of the last few years, according to Booker Athletic Director Philip Helmuth. Helmuth also praised Atkins for increasing the morale of the team, which was low after starting the season 0-4.

Senior linebacker and fullback Deron Davis agreed with the notion of Atkins instilling more discipline into the program.

“A lot of kids are focusing more and just paying attention and showing up," Davis said. "The atmosphere changed and people are grinding. He (Atkins) just laid down the law. A lot of kids here expect to go to college, so he keeps it at a college level.”

Atkins wants to create “Booker guys,” just like his father and brother, Baraka Atkins, who played football at Miami and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Both Helmuth and Atkins said that talks about Atkins taking the position full-time are ongoing, but no decisions will be made until after the season.

If Atkins does return, he made it clear what his dreams for the program will be.

“You want to be the district champ,” Atkins said. “You want to have an opportunity to make some noise in the state playoffs and become a state champion. I don't think that's too far-fetched over here as we move forward. It's time to have more lofty goals."