Inside HS Athletics W/Ribault AD William Griffin

We dive into new rules that will impact student athletes for the 2026-2027 school year, what it’s like running an Athletic Department on the Northside and much more on this episode

0:00 - Introduction

0:53 - New FHSAA Transfer Rule

1:52 - Mandatory Heart Screenings

2:44 - Personal meaning to being Ribault AD

3:36 - Preparing for a home game

5:44 - Sport at Ribault that deserves more love

6:52 - Challenges running athletics at Ribault

7:53 - Hiring a Head Coach

9:00 - Wish List

9:54 - Impactful people for Ribault Football

11:35 - Jacksonville Public Schools lack of Football State Championships

13:31 - Vibe in the school playing Northside Rivals

14:46 - What makes The Northwest Classic Special

17:15 - Unsung Hero in Ribault Athletics

18:49 - What he wants his Legacy to be

20:39 - Sportsmanship Crisis

22:48 - How to get in touch with him

Twitter: @behindTW904

Transcript

Introduction

Coach Moss 0:01

On Friday nights, you see the helmets and the hype. But the person Keeping Ribault athletics moving all year is my next guest. William Griffin who is the athletic director at Ribault High school. At a place with tradition like Ribault that chair means something. From football to girls basketball, from track to volleyball. He oversees the Trojan's across the board. Before becoming AD, he was an assistant football coach at Ribault for over 10 plus years. He understands what it takes to run programs on the north side and gets Trojan athletes to the next level. From budgets to buses, eligibility to facilities. If it touches Ribault sports, it runs through him. It is an honor to introduce y'all to a person who is my mentor and someone I've known for over 10 years. Coach Griffin, welcome to Before Behind the Whistle 904.

Coach Griffin 0:48

Hey, I appreciate that, Coach Moss. Thank you so much for the introduction. How are you today?

New FHSAA Transfer Rule

Coach Moss 0:52

I'm doing good. So we were talking a little bit last week, but um, can you talk about the new rule that's coming into play as far as transferring in July?

Coach Griffin 1:03

Absolutely. Um so right now it's on the governor's desk. Um it's uh bound to be signed into law. But uh what I want to do is kind of get the word out to um all the athletes in high school um that in the state of Florida, uh, whatever school you start out for that year, that's uh pretty much the only school you can play for athletically for the entire um school year. So if you move in the middle of the year, um there has to be uh one of three different scenarios, um, and that'll be like military, you're in a military family that moves, um, a court order that takes you from one house to another house, um, or you're in the foster care system. But other than that, it's a case-by-case basis that has to go for the FHSAA in order to try to regain your eligibility. But I want to uh make it clear to athletes that again, um, wherever you start the school year off is where you're gonna have to stick to for that entire year.

Coach Moss 1:52

Yes, sir. So are there any other rules that parents should be aware of as far as that goes into that will go into effect for this next year?

Coach Griffin 2:00

Uh that's another great question. Um, there's also gonna be heart screenings are gonna be required. Um, they're starting with the eighth grade class this year. A lot of the middle schools have been pushing it, um, that they are going to uh their students are gonna have to get um a heart screening in order to play athletics in in high school. Um I know Duval County has a free event on June 1st uh coming up. I'll I'll have more information. I'll put that on all of my social medias, um, and and I'll pass that on to you to put out on your social medias as well, um, so that student athletes can begin the process and make sure that they're ready because if I have a new eighth grade student or I guess upcoming ninth grader that comes out in the in the uh summertime for workouts, um if they don't have their heart screening, they cannot participate.

Personal meaning to being Ribault AD

Coach Moss 2:43

Oh wow. So you're AD at Ribault, that name kind of carries weight in Duval, especially being on the north side. What does um being an athletic director at this school mean to you personally?

Coach Griffin 2:56

Um for me, it is an honor because um I've been at the school for 20 years. Um I I follow in the footsteps of, you know, Coach Al Austin, who has not only been a mentor to me, but has been such a legendary coach that even as an athletic director, he's he sat down and told me that there's anything I ever needed, you know, come to him, have a conversation with him. But to be in charge of a of a s of an athletic program that means so much to so many people, um, I can only look at it as an honor and I take it as a huge responsibility that I try to make sure that I um do the best that I can to keep that legacy going.

Preparing for a home game

Coach Moss 3:35

Yes, sir. Thank you for that. So I I know personally, but can you walk through fans that they think that just being an athletic Director is just you just tell people what to do? Can you kind of walk me through like a Thursday before like a Friday night home game what all you have to do that fans don't realize?

Coach Griffin 3:53

Um, that's another excellent question. Um, so if if I had a uh a Friday night game, that Thursday night I've got to make sure I've double checked everything. Now that work for that game didn't start on that Thursday. It started probably months ahead during the summertime or when the schedule was made. Um, but the things that you gotta make sure that you've you've uh knocked off your checklist include uh making sure that the tickets are up, making sure that you have the personnel in place um for when fans are entering into the facility, uh, making sure that you have, in our case, signs up that tells uh fans what they can and cannot bring into the stadium. Um we put that on the GoFan ticket as well. Um we have to make sure security is present. Uh those are things that we have to get um put in place before the game starts. And again, that's usually before the season even starts, lining that up. Um God forbid, not God forbid, because it's a big deal, but um if it were like the Northwest Classic, that's even a whole nother uh ball of wax. That's something that takes six, six months of planning with not only the schools involved, but with um JSO and school police and and sometimes the mayor's office. So you have a lot of moving parts that have to come into place by the time you know the uh the football game comes. Those things include making sure that the visiting team has a place to park and they know where to go. Um what do you do if there is lightning in the area? Where are the teams supposed to go? Uh we know where the home team goes, but where is the place where the visiting team is gonna go? Do you have your officials? Um, do your officials have a place to park? Um, who's gonna escort them to the locker room uh at the beginning of the game and escort them out to the field and then back to the locker room at halftime and you know back out and back in at the at the end of the game? You know, it's it's uh it's a lot of moving parts um that have to work in order for a Friday night event to happen, especially if you want it to happen seamlessly.

Sport at Ribault that deserves more love

Coach Moss 5:43

Yes, sir. So as as as we kind of know, Ribaults known for hoops and track too, but what is the program right now that isn't getting enough love but should be, in your opinion?

Coach Griffin 5:56

Um, well, I have to say that uh volleyball is taking a major step forward. Um, it is not um in that realm of where we're talking about state championships, but when you talk about a program that um has been, I don't want to say underserved, but it hasn't been one of the popular programs um in on our side of town. But for us to send a student athlete to college on a on a college scholarship um in Fort Valley State last year, that was a huge deal for me because this again, this is a program where you know we don't have a lot of students that come in saying, hey, I can't wait to play volleyball. You know, that might happen at the Mandarins or the Fletchers um or the Sandalwoods, but at Ribault that hasn't been the case. And so um I have a coach right now that is has put in the work and has uh dedicated herself to trying to build that program up. So that is one of the programs I would say that that has kind of been overlooked um recently.

Challenges running athletics at Ribault

Coach Moss 6:51

Yes, sir. So um we're gonna kind of get into maybe some challenges that you may experience. So what would you say is the biggest challenge running athletics at Ribault that people that's maybe outside of Northside don't understand?

Coach Griffin 7:06

Um I would probably say this is probably uh par for the course for any um athletic program, but the biggest thing is always gonna be money. The biggest challenge is always gonna be money. Um it takes money for whether it's uh uniforms, whether it's equipment, um, whether it's travel to the games, all these things take money, and um we don't have like unlimited budgets. You know, it's something that I've I've talked to with my coaches, it's something I've talked to with my principal, um, where we we like to think that um because it's the school system, well, of course the money's gonna be there. But that's not always the case. And so that is one of the challenges that we have to face. And again, that's not only Ribault, that's that's Raines, that's uh any school on the North Side, any school In Duval County Public Schools, and uh, and I'm I'm assuming across the nation, that's majority of the schools as well.

Coach Moss 7:53

Yes, sir. So now we're gonna kind of shift into like how you how your your philosophy as far as building programs. What's one of the main things that you look for when you're hiring a head coach at Ribault?

Coach Griffin 8:05

Uh I look for somebody that cares about not only the the kids, obviously, because I don't think you can lead someone if they don't feel that you love them, um, but also somebody that is knowledgeable about the sport, um, that is pumped up and excited about it. Um, there have been times I talked about where as a student, when I was a student, um, I didn't care about a particular subject, but the way that the teacher was enthusiastic about that subject when they were teaching it to me made me say, oh, well, let me see what's so exciting about this. And it would make me want to pay a little bit more attention, even though going into it, it wasn't something that I was excited about. And so I always think a coach has to have that that that vitality, that, that, um, that hoose fah to make uh students say, Man, I I can't wait to get to practice today because Coach X, I don't I want to see what they have in store for us today. So that that's a huge thing. If you you gotta love the kids and you gotta love the sport that you're that you're um coaching.

Coach Moss 9:00

Yes, sir. So if you had one upgrade tomorrow for Trojan athletes and just for the facility, what would that be and why?

Coach Griffin 9:09

Man, that's a that's a very interesting question. Um obviously the the the number one thing I would say is like just give us a million dollars. But um even even then, you know, that doesn't necessarily uh guarantee success. Um but if if I could just have have one upgrade, what I would like to do is have a unlimited budget when it came to professional development for the coaches. Um if if I could just be able to send coaches to clinics all over the state or all over the country and just get them, you know, pay for the hotel rooms, pay for the clinic fees, uh, pay for bills, but just give them an opportunity to build and grow their knowledge in the sports they love, I think that would be one upgrade that would not only benefit those coaches, but would benefit every single student athlete that came uh underneath their leadership.

Impactful people for Ribault Football

Coach Moss 9:53

Yes, sir. And as I know you've been an assistant coach at Ribault as well as athletic director. Would you is there like a person or certain a number of players that you feel like you've seen that made the biggest impact as far as school-wise or on the field and off the field as well?

Jacksonville Public Schools lack of Football State Championships

Coach Griffin 10:11

Um uh person-wise, like in the coaching realm of things, um, Coach Anthony Flynn um taught me so much about how to be a leader, how to be uh somebody that cares for kids, how to do things the right way. So sometimes I didn't agree with the way he did things, but he always had a reason, and it seemed like he was way more right than he was wrong. Like he'd be right 95% of the time. Maybe he was wrong 5% of the time, but it was it was his core values and of who he was that he stuck with, and that always stuck with me that no matter what's going on, you know, be who you are and stick to the values that you up that you uphold, and and things tend to work out. Um, we've seen uh or I've seen a ton of great players uh come through there, whether it's been the Rennia Davis's, the Javon Bells, the DJ Gillins, um it's so many more than I can even name that I don't want to get into just naming them all. Um but what I would say is that um the the trait that I've seen in those athletes, other than just having that God-given talent, was that they were hungry. And and that is what I think I'm seeing less of nowadays, and maybe that's just the world that we live in now, but it's rarer now that when you see um student athletes who um are willing to give up everything and sell out to be the best player that they can be, and I hope that we can kind of turn that trend around as well.

Coach Moss 11:35

Yes, sir. And going from being an assistant coach to being the athletic director, you kind of see the program as far as the whole program, not just one sport. Um Especially like I know you have monthly AD meetings where you're talking with other ADs across the city. As far as as it relates to football, Jacksonville is known to have a lot of talent. But why do you think as many there hasn't been as many state championships in the public schools as it probably should be as if you look at the talent that Jacksonville puts out every year?

Coach Griffin 12:08

Uh well shout out to Reigns um for bringing home the state championship this year in football. Um a school that has done it four times uh in Duval County and then Mandarin uh also doing it one time. But I agree with you wholeheartedly that for the amount of talent that that this city puts out, um, we don't have the number of state championships that I in football that I think that I think we should. Um I think part of the reason is uh the number of schools. You have so many schools in Duval County Public Schools or in the Gateway Conference that it kind of it divies up the talent. Um and when you divvy up the talent, you don't have that powerhouse. Like, and and I I I'm gonna sound a little ignorant because I'm not down there, but I see in Miami, like you'll see uh pockets where um there's a three or four-year stretch where kids are all going to Central and Central has a has a nice little run. Or there's a three or four-year where kids are all going to Miami Northwestern and they have a they have a little run. The same thing with Booker T. Um, we don't have that in Duval County where um all the football players are like, okay, I'm gonna go to this to school X, and then that school is gonna be on top for a while and then we compete for a state championship. Whether that's right or wrong, I don't know. But um that's kind of what I've seen is down south, they they they almost have like a different rule book or a different uh culture than we have here in North Florida.

Coach Moss 13:31

Yes, sir. So I know the Northwest classic is kind of a different animal as far as how this how it is during the school because it's a whole week tradition. But like when you play like some other like North Side rivalries like Jackson, First Coast Riverside, can you kind of feel a different atmosphere as far as in the school?

Coach Griffin 13:49

Absolutely, absolutely, because um those those those games match up schools where the student population, they are, you know, friends and relatives with the students that go there. Same thing with our players. Our players are friends and relatives with other players, and they've been teammates with those uh student athletes for a long time. They played in middle school together, and so you do feel a different atmosphere. The community comes out, you know. Um, you see, like when we play a first coast, I'm gonna have kids from Ed White that are coming to the game. I'm gonna have kids from Fletcher that are coming to the game, even if their school is playing their game, because um, you know, I like to think it's because they want to see good football. And so, you know, I know part of it is, you know, my friends go to these schools and that's kind of the place to be. So you do feel like a different atmosphere. You do feel um that the game has a little bit more significance when it's those rivals when we play against Jackson, when we play against Riverside, or we play against the First Coast.

Coach Moss 14:46

Yes, sir. So just kind of going to the Northwest Classics specifically, um, what why do you think it's it brings so many people out as far as like even if they went to college or graduated from ribault, they come back for that game or alumni that don't that don't come to any other reball or reigns game, they come to that game. What kind of makes it special where it kind of has a college homecoming feel?

Coach Griffin 15:09

Man, uh so I let me apologize in advance for kind of like a long-winded answer, but I I want to tell you the first moment that I saw this game, not being a uh a native of Jacksonville, um, I I moved into town in 2001. Um I had a friend, uh actually it's Coach Peyton's son, David, um, that was like, hey man, you gotta come check out the the Northwest Classic is something different. So I'm like, okay, whatever, man. I the game was at raines that year, and I think this was like 2003 or four or something like that. Um I go to the game, it's un it's unlike anything I've ever seen for a high school game. And this is before I knew about all the week, you know, long stuff that went on. Um I go there and I'm like, it it looks like a college tailgate going on. Um and I'm just floored because again, this is a high school game. Um and now that I'm on the inside of it, I've I've kind of seen the importance of it. You know, I've talked to families who have siblings that have gone to, you know, one school and the other at the same time. So they had a brother at Ribault and a sister at Raines or something like that. Um and so you see how big this is. I mean, these schools are competitive with each other in everything, you know, competitive in getting the school grade, competitive in in football, basketball, whatever, um, when it comes to sports, competitive in just about everything. Who's 5,000 role models are the best? You know, we we are going back and forth. Who had the better Mr. and Mrs. Raines or Mr. and Mrs. uh Ribault uh pageant? Um and so just kind of be on the inside. It's just a different mentality um amongst the the alums that went there. And the biggest thing I think that that makes this so special is that you have alums from both schools that love their schools and they love them passionately. And when you have that, that takes on some because uh uh to be honest with you, the kids nowadays, they don't really, you know, they know raines is a big game, but they don't feel it as as as much as maybe the somebody from the class of 98 feels it when it comes to this. Um now maybe over time they will, but that's what makes it so special is that everybody that graduated from these schools is pumped about this game.

Coach Moss 17:15

Yes, sir. Thank you for that answer. It was it was long, but I think it was very informal informative. So, as far as um running ribault athletics as far as on a day-to-day basis basis, who's one person in ribault athletics that's not a head coach that keeps this place running?

Coach Griffin 17:31

Oh, that in this case it'll be the bookkeeper, and that's Ms. Bacon. Um, I am so blessed to have a bookkeeper that um that I can work with, that is um very receptive to my ideas, but that also knows how to say no, nope uh Dean Griffin or Coach Griffin, that's not gonna fly. Um, because you do need that, you do you do need someone there who um has an understanding of what it takes to run an athletic program, but also has an understanding of what it takes to run things um when it comes to the budget. And so she has been just an amazing, amazing blessing for me. As a matter of fact, we're gonna be sitting down uh in the next few weeks to uh get our budget together for the next school year. But um that is someone besides my uh my coaches that that I lean on a lot. Now, I also want to give a shout out to my principal, Dr. Bostic, um, who also gives me a ton of leeway in doing what it is that I need to do. Um he doesn't stand in my way. Now he he will uh you know uh lay the law down if he has to, but for the most part, he allows me to run the athletic program as I see fit, and I really do appreciate that.

What he wants his Legacy to be

Coach Moss 18:35

Yeah, that's big having support from the principal, because at the end of the day, if they say no, it's nothing really you can do about it. Correct. So one of the last things I want to talk to you about, and then we'll get you out of here. So as far as your legacy, so 10 years from now, when people say William Griffin was the AD at Ribault, what's one thing or a couple of things that you want them to remember about you?

Coach Griffin 18:59

Um, the first thing I I would like for them to remember is that uh he did his best to do right by the student athletes that um were under his charge. Um I now there's some things I definitely need to work on. I gotta work on promoting like social media-wise, uh promoting my athletes and my games. Um, and that's something that I continue to work on. But I want um not only the student athletes, but their parents and the community to say, man, when it came to when it came to sports, that that guy was at as much as at every event he could possibly be at. He was cheerleading his his student athletes on, and um, he made a difference in their lives. Um I want the uh sports to be fun for my student athletes. I want them to look back on their time 10 years after they graduate and say, man, I really enjoyed my bowling season, my senior year. We had a great time. Um that to me means the world because that's how I look at sports. I look at sports based on um, man, I was super excited about, you know, looking back at, you know, the time I spent in high school playing, playing whether it was football, track, baseball, whatever the case may be. Um The other thing I I do want to be real for, I'd like to win a couple state championships. You know, I want to win it in multiple sports, um, but I definitely want to win that football one because that is the one that is kind of like the gold standard in the state of Florida. Football is king. You know, but I also want to win it in boys' basketball, girls' basketball. I want to win one in volleyball, I want to win one in softball. But uh I know that's gonna take a lot of work, but that's why I think I've been put in this position because I'm not afraid of the work and I'm looking at I'm actually looking forward to doing the work.

Sportsmanship Crisis

Coach Moss 20:38

Yes, sir. So is there one last thing that you want to that you want people to know, whether it's the students, the student athletes, the parents, community, anyway?

Coach Griffin 20:49

Um, absolutely. Uh, thank you for this question. Um, so I would be remiss if I didn't say that uh we're having like a sportsmanship crisis. Um we're having a crisis amongst uh sportsmanship when it comes to the players, the coaches, the fans, uh, sometimes the ADs. You know, um we'll be rating officials to the point that that people are getting out of officiating. We we have a deficit of officials. There have been times when we schedule a game. I've had a uh the commissioner of a certain sport might have called and said, hey, can you move your game to this day? Because I don't have enough officials to cover your game as well as all the other games that are going on in the city. And so I just implore the fans, the coaches, the the um the uh players. Um I and I I get it. People make bad calls and you do get upset because you put in all this work and you uh you felt like somebody cheated you out of something. But I also understand, I just remember that these are human beings, they're gonna make mistakes the same way players make mistakes, the same way coaches make mistakes, the same way athletic directors make mistakes. Um if we can all get on that same page and try to make sports fun again. Like right now, it seems like a lot of times it's just a uh a tension-filled, you know, environment. I mean when you go to uh some of these sporting events and people aren't just having fun, they're just waiting to they're waiting to complain, they're waiting for the mistake to be made, they're waiting for somebody to make a bad call. And I want to kind of get away from that and get back to when it was fun again, when the people were cheering, yelling, and yeah, you can boo uh boo officials and say that's a terrible call, but leave it at that. You know, don't cross the line. But that that that's my little soapbox uh thing about sportsmanship, um, because I like I said, I I think it's gonna be a grave day when we have to start canceling games or postponing games because officials don't want to either work at that uh that school or they just don't have enough of them to work them all.

How to get in touch with him

Coach Moss 22:37

Yeah, I think that's probably a big thing that a lot of people don't really s see until it's on the news or something about the issues that happen as far as as it relates to sportsmanship. So, Coach, um if anyone wants to reach out to you as far as if they want to see how they can support the program or anything they can do to assist, how can they get in contact with you?

Coach Griffin 22:57

Um, the easiest way is uh my email address, uh Griffin G-R-I-F-F-I-N, W and then the number one at duvalschools.org. Um I'm I'm I'm always open to anybody that's willing to assist. Uh, or just, you know, if they have something that they that that they think we can do better as a school, um, me as an athletic director, hey, have you thought about this? Um, I was at your game. I I I didn't like this part, or I thought maybe you could have done this a little bit better. You know, I'm open to constructive criticism as well.

Coach Moss 23:28

Yes, sir. Thank you again for coming on and and joining me today.

Coach Griffin 23:33

Coach Moss, it was a pleasure. I appreciate you for having me. Thank you, brother.

Coach Moss 23:36

Yes, sir. Well, folks, that's a wrap. Shout out to our guest, Coach Griffin, the athletic director at Jean Ribault High School, for coming through and keeping it real. You've been listening to Behind the Whistle 904. Please remember to download, rate, and review, and turn on that notification bell so you don't miss an episode. See you next time.