Ex-bouncer Martin found his dream job
Frank Martin’s life changed late one night in 1992.
He was 26, working as a bouncer at a Miami nightclub, the latest in a series of odd jobs he held. He got his first job at age 12 at a Dairy Queen in Little Havana. He worked in a pool hall. He tended bar. He washed dishes. He cooked in a greasy spoon.
On this particular night, he did what bouncers sometimes do. He broke up a fight and kicked out the troublemakers. At 2:30 in the morning, one returned with a gun and started shooting.
Martin made the decision right then that something had to change.
Twenty-five years later, Martin is coaching South Carolina in the NCAA Final Four, the school’s first-ever appearance.
“I’m just out of words,” said Martin, 51.
It might be the first time that Martin has had nothing to say. Last weekend in New York, as the Gamecocks beat Baylor and Florida, his heart was on his sleeve and his emotions were on his face.
Martin is a rare blend — emotional and irrational on the court; thoughtful, introspective, reflective and appreciative off it.
He is a first-generation Cuban-American raised by his mother, Lourdes. After cutting down the nets Sunday, he found his 74-yearold mom.
As he hugged her, he said, “Mommy, please don’t cry,” as tears streamed down his own face.
Lourdes worked as a secretary, raising Frank and his sister. Every other Friday, Lourdes took her children for a family meal at Wendy’s or Burger King.
“I made her cry one time when I was a teenager because I made the wrong choice. I’m never making her cry again for making the wrong choice,” he said. “When you make your mother cry for joy, it gives her more life.”
Martin, who never played basketball past high school, started his coaching career with the junior varsity team at Miami High.
He got his physical education degree from Florida International in 1993 and became varsity coach at North Miami. He went back to Miami High and won three consecutive state titles, though he was fired because of illegal recruiting.
Martin’s dream of being a college coach seemed over. But he eventually landed another high school job, then a string of college assistant positions: at Northwestern, at Cincinnati, at Kansas State. When Bob Huggins left K-State for West Virginia, Martin’s dream came true.
On April 6, 2007, the former bouncer became head coach at Kansas State. Now he’s in his fifth season at South Carolina.
He is a coach who is more apt to chew out one of his players instead of hugging him. Last week, he made news saying that kids haven’t changed, that adults’ low expectations of kids is the problem.
Martin said he tells kids and their parents this when he recruits them: “You guys might be mad at me sometimes. I’m OK with that. But the one thing you never have to worry about me is that I’m going to lie or cheat your child. Neither of those two things are ever happening. And that’s who I am.”
He brings that kind of passion to everything in his life, including his wife, Anya, who turned him down seven times to go on a date.
“The day she made the mistake on going out on a date with me, I never let her go,” Martin said.
Anya will be in Arizona for the Final Four. So will Lourdes. And so will every memory Martin has getting there — every former player and coach and teacher, and even the guy who returned to the club in Miami with a gun.
“I’ve got four core values I live my life by and I run my teams by and I run my family with: Honesty, loyalty, trust and love,” Martin said. “The only way you get to love is if you experience the other three. When you get to love, that gets strong. I don’t care what storm comes through, you’re not breaking love.”