South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Coaching friendship flourishes
Chaminade-Madonna’s Jones huddles with icons Harris, Smith
MIAMI — They say to be successful, surround yourself with successful people.
For ChaminadeMadonna football coach Dameon Jones, after tasting state-championship success for the first time in December, he’s got the right people around him. As his Lions aim to march to a second consecutive Class 3A title this season, he has grown relationships with South Florida coaches that already own multiple rings.
Before Friday night’s game between the Lions and Miami Booker T. Washington at Miami’s Curtis Park, Jones got a chance to take in the UM-FSU game the previous Saturday with the opposing coach, Booker T.’s Tim “Ice” Harris, and Miami Central’s Roland Smith in a high school coaches’ section at Hard Rock Stadium.
The three ran into each other at the 28-27 comefrom-behind Miami victory — Harris, formerly on UM’s coaching staff, and Smith, once a Hurricanes cornerback, were wearing Miami’s orange and green, while Jones sported his Chaminade 2017 state championship shirt. They talked football together and, before going their separate ways, posed for a photo of three coaches that have thus far combined for eight titles and impacted at least three more — in addition to the lives of several more young men in South Florida communities.
Harris has won three with the Tornadoes (2007,
2012-2013, the last of which was also a national championship) and left a lasting foundation for two other Class 4A champions that followed when he joined the Miami Hurricanes staff for a second time before returning to Booker T. for a third head coaching stint at the Overtown school.
Smith has four championships to his name, three with Central from 2013 to
2015 and a 2006 title with Miami Northwestern. He too set the stage for a team that followed his tenure – the 2007 national champion Northwestern Bulls.
“They’re legends down here in South Florida because they have won multiple state titles,” said Jones ahead of Chaminade’s 35-28 win over Booker T. on Friday night. “That’s what I’m striving for. Those guys aren’t hesitant to pass on advice on what to do and the path to get there.”
Despite Jones being the most “new school” of the group, Harris and Smith can still pick his brain for advice, especially after seeing him win it all in his second season leading the Lions and reaching the championship the year prior after taking over the weekend ahead of teams reporting for fall practice following Jason Milgrom’s shocking resignation that summer.
“He can get a program back going and then win a championship in a short period of time. That’s a part of leadership,” Harris said. “All of us have ability to learn from each other. When it comes to leadership and Chaminade-Madonna football coach Dameon Jones, left, at the Miami-FSU game on Oct. 6 with a pair of high school coaches to win multiple titles in Booker T. Washington’s Tim “Ice” Harris, center, and Miami Central’s Roland Smith.
putting a good staff together, putting some student-athletes together, assemble a great team to win a state title in the state of Florida, he has a lot to be able to offer me.”
Added Jones, who also is close with St. Thomas Aquinas’ Roger Harriott (three titles between University School and Aquinas) and Deerfield Beach’s Jevon Glenn (a promising candidate to win his first soon): “The game changes, so we’re always looking for new ways and sometimes the old way works. … Knowledge is knowledge and wisdom is wisdom.”
The bond for Jones with the two Dade County coaching icons goes back some time. Before Jones took over Chaminade, he had a strong, near-decadelong run leading Hallandale. As a young head coach in 2007, the Chargers were actually in the same district as Booker T. Washington in Class 4A. Later in 6A, they faced Smith’s Rockets in a 2014 regional semifinal.
Jones and Smith first established a relationship when they each accompanied their star prospects to a camp in Los Angeles at USC – Jones with safety John Battle (now at LSU) and
Smith with running back Dalvin Cook (FSU, Minnesota Vikings).
“I see the same potential [to win multiple championships] in Dameon,” said Smith, thinking back to their playoff meeting. “We were in a dogfight up there, and after that game, I told him, ‘Hey, man, you just keep doing what you do. You’re going to do a tremendous job with your program.’
“He’s got a bright future. He’s doing some good things [at Chaminade], and I respect what he does over there.”
Last year, Jones’ Lions
split matchups against Smith and Harris, dropping the opener to the Rockets but winning against Booker T. later on en route to the 3A title. On Friday night, Chaminade again edged the Tornadoes, holding off a late rally in a game that was once led 28-7.
Harris summed up the South Florida coaching brotherhood well.
He said, “We compete well against each other, but we also have great relationships and respect for each other.”