By Rene David Basulto - Monsignor Edward Pace HS
Photographer: Rene D Basulto
Members of the Msgr. Pace High Spartan football team get instructions from John Roll, Pace's defensive line coach, during pre-season conditioning.
MIAMI GARDENS | Joseph Zaccheo is a well-known name in South Florida high school football. As the head coach of the Msgr. Edward Pace High Schoolfootball team, he led the Spartans to their first football state championship in 2003. In 2005, Zaccheo was named Pace athletic cirector and retired from coaching until the 2015-2016 season. He has returned as head coach of the football team in a move that has excited both the local and Pace community.
His goal is to make Pace a major player in Florida high school football once again. “We want to be competitive at the highest level in the state,” said Zaccheo.
Even as he continues working as Pace’s athletic director, Zaccheo has been making moves and reinventing the team with young players. His coaching staff is a mix of old and new coaches that include former professional and college football players. Fifty-three student athletes took part in pre-season conditioning. For the upcoming season, Zaccheo expects the starting varsity team to be 80 percent freshmen and sophomores.
Full training started Aug. 3, but the team worked pre-season conditioning for weeks before. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, players come in the morning to the school’s newly renovated weight room to build up their strength by following a regimented system. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, the team builds on their speed, agility and explosiveness on the field.
“We’re getting kids to be consistent: to do things the same way, the same time, every time they do it,” said Zaccheo.
One of these new players is Khwan Mickens, an incoming freshman from Masters Prep who will be playing safety and receiver. He had heard that Zaccheo was an outstanding coach and a father figure, and said that the group was already working more as a team.
Kory Fleming, a Pace senior entering his fourth year playing for the Spartan football team, said, “Our team’s attitude towards the season is much more serious.” He added that Zaccheo has been instilling in his team that “hard work gets you to where you want to be”.
In the first week of August, the team attended Camp Zaccheo, an overnight multi-day camp on campus which featured a spiritual retreat, team-building exercises, and football practice. Camp Zaccheo ended Aug. 8 as the team of young Spartans showed off their skills to Pace football alumni at an inter-squad scrimmage that highlighted the first annual Pace Football Reunion. This free inaugural event was spearheaded by Zaccheo to have generations of Spartan football players reconnect with old teammates and give advice to the current generation of Spartans.
The Spartan football team will be playing their first game of the school year with the pre-season Kick-Off Classic against Coral Reef, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Pace football field. Admission is $5.
