‘This is their safe zone,’ coach says at UM visit
CORAL GABLES — The last time Willis May, the football coach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, spoke with Miami Hurricanes coach Mark Richt, horror was unfolding in Parkland.
On the afternoon of Feb. 14, May, some of his players, and two assistant coaches from Nichols College who were visiting South Florida on a recruiting trip, hid in May’s office as a gunman made his way through Douglas, killing 17 and wounding 17 others.
As May, his players and the coaches were escorted out of the school by armed police officers, his phone rang. It was Richt, who coaches Douglas alum Corey Gaynor, calling to check in.
Their conversation was brief, with neither coach yet knowing the full details of the tragedy that unfolded that day. May would later learn that one of those killed was assistant Douglas football coach Aaron Feis, who ran into the building where the shooting happened and shielded students from gunfire.
Saturday, a little more than six weeks after their last conversation, both Richt and May were at the same place — the Greentree Practice Field on the Miami campus.
While the Hurricanes went through their sixth workout of the spring, May — flanked by approximately 10 of his players — stood on the sidelines and watched as Miami’s quarterbacks threw passes and receivers ran routes under Richt’s guidance. The Eagles gawked as Cleveland Browns tight end and former Hurricanes standout David Njoku, also a guest at Saturday’s practice, put on some gloves and jumped into drills.
When practice was over, the young football players watched intently as Gaynor, who played in 10 games last season as a freshman and is expected to be a valuable contributor on the line this year, went through flexibility drills. He later spoke with some of his former teammates.
It was all, May said, one more chance for his players to find refuge in the familiarity and routine of football.
“It’s unbelievable how much it helps. It takes their minds off everything else for a minute and they just are back to being kids again, not back to reliving that day,” May told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“I know one of my kids said, ‘Coach, I’m having a hard time sleeping. I can’t get the gunshots out of my head. I constantly hear the shots.’ They’ve seen a bunch of bad stuff. I’ve sat down with my kids and they’ve told me what they saw. … When you come out here, you forget about all of that. You’re just a kid again. You just play. You get to run and catch and throw.
“This is their safe zone. I really see that in them.”
Said Gaynor via a statement distributed by UM, “It means everything. It just shows how strong we are as a community. They’re very supportive and they’re doing a great job. I’m very proud those men are my coaches.”
While Richt acknowledged he didn’t have the opportunity to personally catch up with May immediately after Saturday’s practice, he did say the Hurricanes are planning a tribute to honor the victims and survivors of the Douglas shooting when Miami takes the field Sept. 2 for its season opener against LSU in Texas.
The gesture will be the latest show of support for the Eagles. May says a number of college programs across the nation have reached out to offer condolences and support including FAU, Florida State, Alabama and Clemson, among others.
Every phone call, every message, has helped.
“People see what they’re going through … and me and the coaches know, we have to be strong through this. … People are going to watch and see how we handle this,” May said. “And it’s the same thing with [activist] Emma [Gonzalez] and all those kids that are doing what they’re doing. They just need to make sure this ain’t ever going to happen again. That’s their whole deal. They’re trying to do just whatever they think possible to keep this from happening again.”
And Richt, when practice was finished, said he was proud of the way the Douglas football team and the community as a whole has rallied in the wake of the shooting.
“Sometimes when change is needed, people have got to step up and stand for what they believe,” he said. “Everybody has different opinions on what should or shouldn’t happen, but the beauty of this country is the ability to say what you believe and have the faith and confidence that you’re going to be heard. When you do it in numbers, it makes a bigger statement. I’m proud of them for doing that.”
ccabrera@sun-sentinel .com, Twitter @ChristyChirinos