Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Surge Academy hires Battle to start its boys basketball program
Surge Academy, a small Christian school in Hollywood, hired a well-known local basketball coach to start its program.
Fred Battle, who has coached at American Heritage, Deerfield Beach, South Broward and more, was named the school’s boys basketball coach for the program’s inaugural season. Battle said the chance to jump-start a new basketball program from the ground up drew him to the Surge Academy position.
“Just the opportunity to build something from the start that I can kind of put my stamp on and do it the way I want to do it and make sure it’s done the right way,” Battle said.
Battle’s last head coaching position was at American Heritage in 2018-19. The Patriots went 16-10 before Battle was let go due to disagreements with the school administration.
Surge Academy was founded in 2019, but Battle said he welcomed the challenge of building a program from the ground up at a new school. He said he thinks his first year with the team will be the most difficult.
“That’s a challenge, but I’m up for the challenge,” Battle said. “Just let people know it’s there and getting the word out, and after that is trying to get kids to apply and get accepted in. [The] first year will probably be the most challenging, but I think after that, once everybody knows it’s there, you get the pub, and this first year goes by, I think it’ll be good.”
Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has made things more difficult as the school tries to get the fledgling program off the ground. Battle said he plans to play as an independent this year before looking to join the Florida High School Athletic Association later.
“That’s the problem because I didn’t get a chance to at least try to get the kids in an open-gym setting, let them come and just play and watch,” Battle said. “You don’t have that, so you can’t do that. … Those coaches or those schools that have been established and have returning players, they’re kind of ahead of the game because they know their players. With me, I have no idea.”