John Palmer, a renowned high school football coach, has been inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Palmer’s coaching career, which spanned multiple Florida high schools, including Hernando High School in Brooksville, earned him this prestigious honor.
Palmer’s journey to the Hall of Fame began at Hernando High School, where he played as a two-way football player in the early 1980s under the guidance of his father, Willard “Dub” Palmer. The elder Palmer, a highly successful coach with a 33-year career, never had a losing season and won five state championships. John Palmer credited his father for inspiring him to become a coach, saying, “Playing for my dad was a really good experience to learn and see how he coached. I learned a lot from him on the field. But I learned even more from him at home afterward. Being in the same house, I had a chance to find out why he did things a certain way. Obviously, he was the reason I wanted to be a coach from as early as I can remember. He’s the one who put me on the coaching career track.”
Following in his father’s footsteps, Palmer enjoyed a successful coaching career at five different Florida high schools – Bronson, Eustis, Port St. Joe, Hernando, and Chiefland. He won two state championships at Port St. Joe and was inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame, joining his father as the only father-son duo in the FACA Hall of Fame. The Florida Athletic Coaches Association also awards the “Dub” Palmer Lifetime Achievement Award to a deserving coach each year.
Palmer was one of 33 coaches from around the nation to be inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the ceremony on June 30 in Corrallville, Iowa. He was accompanied by his wife, Amy, daughter Morgan Hamilton, sister Mary Eberhardt, and several other family members.
Originally reported by Hernando Sun
Sources: Hernando Sun
