It is crystal clear how big of an impact North Fort Myers High coach Ron Hoover had on Deion Sanders’ life.
Sanders, who was Hoover’s most decorated player at North Fort Myers (Florida), reflected Friday morning on his former high school coach, paying tribute to Hoover, who died Thursday at age 88, and Hoover’s coaching style that helped him rack up 117 wins across 18 seasons with the Red Knights.
“Coach Hoover really was the first person that I truly understood discipline and leadership, and it came in those consecutive terms,” Sanders said. “He disciplined me, which turned into leadership for me. And I never looked back.”
Sanders played for Hoover at North Fort Myers from 1982-85 before heading to Tallahassee to play for the late Bobby Bowden at Florida State. Before that, Sanders had to deal with getting kicked off the team his junior year of high school for being suspended from school. That’s when things changed for the better for the Pro Football Hall of Famer.
More:Legendary North Fort Myers football coach Ron Hoover dies at age 88
“Coach Hoover’s reputation preceded him,” said Sanders, the Jackson State football coach. “Before you even got to North and got on the practice field, you understood he was no-nonsense, and he was a tough football coach, but a fair football coach. You knew that coming in. He had rules, he had things established. It wasn’t going to be and he wasn’t going to compromise those rules, and one of them was if a player was…
