Local coach honored by Buccaneers | Pasco County

LAND O’ LAKES — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers named Land O’ Lakes High flag football coach Shawn Millard the 2025 Coach of the Year, the team announced June 22 on social media.

Millard guided the first-year Gators to a 15-2 record that included a regular-season overtime victory over Class 2A state champion Robinson — his alma mater — and a district championship. The team also won the Capital City Flag Football Tournament in Tallahassee in March.

Despite a stellar season from quarterback Sophia Spiegel, who threw for 2,961 passing yards and had 64 total touchdowns, the Gators fell in the first round of the playoffs to Springstead. Land O’ Lakes outscored opponents 515-101.

“I am absolutely honored and grateful to win the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2025 Flag Football High School Coach of the Year Award,” Millard said. “This award is for every one of our coaches, players and support staff at Land O’ Lakes High School. These types of things don’t happen without their dedication, hard work and passion for this amazing sport.”

Millard was selected from eight other local coaches, all of whom won Coach of the Week honors from the Buccaneers during the season. The list included Robinson’s Joshua Saunders and Alonso’s Matt Hernandez, both of whom guided their teams to state championships.

The school received $4,000 from the Buccaneers, and Millard will likely be invited to a game during the upcoming NFL season.

The Gators and other Pasco County high schools played flag football at the varsity level for the first time this past school year. Players, parents, coaches and leagues — including Pirate Bay Flag Football out of Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex — lobbied the school board to add the sport.

Millard will return all but three players from this season’s team, including his daughter, Ariel, an incoming sophomore who had a team-high 82 catches for 405 yards and five touchdowns.

The program’s first flag football player to sign with a college team was senior Nevaeh Cabrera (33 catches, 328 yards, two touchdowns), who is going to Pasco-Hernando State College.