In any sport, it’s the athletes who make the plays and score the points to win the game, but there are always coaches on the sidelines or behind the bench, providing the game plans and advice to guide the way.
For the Gatewood Gators, Jeff Ratliff has been there for 12 years, with the last 11 spent as head coach making the calls. Ratliff stressed, however, that he relies heavily on four official assistant coaches: Tyler VanDusen, Josh Ringer, Andrew Ringer and Mike Kelly, though he mentioned there are several other important volunteers at every Gators game, too.
Ratliff said VanDusen has been with him as an assistant since he took over as head coach and currently serves as the Gators’ defensive coordinator.
“I actually coached Tyler when he was in school back at Tattnall,” Ratliff says. “I was the assistant coach at Tatnall and Tyler, I taught him and I coached him and he’s been with me a long time now. He does the defense now and he helps scheme up the blocking each week. He’s just a fantastic coach, really good at what he does.”
Though technically the team’s offensive coordinator, Ratliff said he couldn’t manage that role without Josh Ringer serving as his eyes in the booth above the field.
“Josh coaches the wide receivers, but he’ll move over and he’s been our assistant D-line coach the last several years, too,” Ratliff said. “But he’s calling things from the booth and most of the time I stick with his call. When I’ve got things in my head, I sometimes stay with my pattern, but Josh understands that role and he’s a tremendous asset on a Friday night.
“Then during the week, he coordinates all of our passing game, works a lot with our wide receivers and he’ll be on the D-line this year, too, with the run game. Another fantastic coach.”
Another longtime assistant to Ratliff is Kelly, a former track star at Florida State who was inducted into that university’s track and field hall of fame. Kelly also serves as an assistant to Ratliff’s head coach role with the Gatewood T&F team each spring.
“Mike handles the team’s conditioning and he’s just a track guru. He really didn’t know a lot about football when he started, but he’s a great coach and now he handles my special teams,” Ratliff said. “A couple of years ago, I put him in charge of kickers and he’s very detail-oriented. He researches, does all the homework, and now, all of a sudden he’s a pretty good kicking coach. So, he handles those guys for me during the week.
“But primarily he’s in charge of our conditioning and he does a fantastic job. He really takes offense if we start cramping, he takes it personally," he added. "I mean, his number-one goal is we’re going to be in shape. Really, Mike is just a good dude, and he knows a little bit about everything out there. He can pick up the subtleties that most people don’t even notice.”
The most recent to officially join the Gators’ sideline crew is Andrew Ringer, Josh’s older brother and also a Gatewood graduate.
“When I first got here, he was on the previous head coach’s staff, too,” Ratliff said. “And ironically, he helped me with coaching track when I first got here. But since then he’s gotten married, had kids, and had to step away from coaching for a while, but now he feels comfortable enough and I asked him in the off-season if he would come back and help us, so it’s worked out really well.
“I really couldn’t do this without these guys and everyone who volunteers and helps out around here,” Ratliff added. “They’re all so important to the team and the program in general.”