Weber: Sanctions won't deter Indians

The night was sleepless and the morning was hectic for Immokalee football coach John Weber, who returned to the high school Friday two days after finding out the Florida High School Athletic Association would take away his team’s 2005 district title and an opportunity to make the playoffs in 2006.

Weber said he met with athletic director Linda Ayer to discuss ways to field a successful football team this season and beyond, despite the circumstances.

“We’ve been one of the best programs in the state for the last eight years and we’re proud of that and the community’s proud of that,” Weber said during a telephone interview. “We’re going to do what it takes to keep it that way.”

Weber said he hasn’t met with the team yet.

But once he flies out of Las Vegas and into Tampa next Wednesday for the Indians’ summer camp, Weber wants that encounter to be a precedent-setting moment, one where members of the team rally around one another.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said. “We’re going to prepare just like we always prepare. We’re probably going to have a chip on our shoulders. ... We’re going to go after people just like we’ve always went after people, maybe with a little bit more vengeance.”

Since being named Immokalee’s head coach in 1998, Weber has fashioned himself as someone who wants to mold the kids on his teams into young men, not just good football players. And that side was on display as Weber said his players mean more than whatever backlash comes from the FHSAA’s ruling.

“This community and these kids are very special to me,” he said. “The ruling, I can’t do anything about. The only thing I can do is try to protect my kids ... and people better be a little cautious about what they have to say.”

One thing that has been on Weber’s mind is the upcoming senior class and how those players will handle the penalty.

He also said the possibility of someone wanting to transfer has been bothersome, but, in the end, Weber said the players will want to remain in a family-type atmosphere.

“We’ve always done things right and we’ll continue to do things right in this program,” he said. “We are certainly going to stress the fact that we’re going to do everything in our power to continue to win, because that’s what we have to shoot for.”

While he was out of town in Tallahassee for the past few days, it was the football team’s assistant coaches who protected the players, Weber said.

“I’ve got great assistant coaches,” he said. “This hurts my assistant coaches as much as it hurts the kids. Very few people realize, unless you’re in this, how much time is put in the offseason and during the regular season. Some people think you go to practice and you’re done at five and you go home and you come back on Monday.

“Nobody realizes that you’re there on Friday nights until two in the morning and you’re knocked out there until seven on Saturday, and you’re probably back out there on Sunday. The assistant coaches, who make practically nothing, they put this time in for one reason because they care about the kids, and the playoffs become very important to them.”

Weber added that the community is going to continue rallying around the team because it believes in the program.

“We did nothing wrong,” he said. “We’ll be ready to play come fall. We’re going to do exactly what we’ve always done, and we may get after it a little bit harder than we probably normally would. I think the kids are going to be (ticked) off and I think they’re going to play with a lot more emotion because of that. Now, I say that ... but we’ll have to see.”