Just over a week after the departure of Robert Paxia from the Raiders’ football program, the school announced that James Booth had accepted an offer to coach the team. Coming from 8A stalwart Manatee High School, Plant City presented an opportunity that the Hurricanes’ offensive coordinator couldn’t pass up.
Eight years after twin brother, John Booth, got his start as a head coach, James Booth has gotten the chance to run his own program.
“I thought that would be a great position to really start as a head coach, at a place where I feel I can win … and win immediately,” James Booth says.
James Booth, a Bradenton-area native, played wide receiver while at Manatee High in the late 1990s, and recalls playing against the Raiders during that time. After high school, he attended MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, getting a degree in history and education with a minor in psychology.
He broke into the high school coaching scene upon returning to Florida, first spending three years at Palmetto High on Raymond Woodie’s staff. He coached running backs and wide receivers for the team until Woodie’s departure in 2009, and then followed his brother to Bloomingdale High. With the Bulls, James Booth served as offensive coordinator and coached wideouts, offensive linemen and running backs.
The Booths spent five seasons rebuilding the program and, four years after going 0-10 at Bloomingdale, finally brought the team above .500 with a 6-4 record.
In 2014, John Booth was tapped to replace longtime Manatee head coach Joe Kinnan. Once again, James Booth was brought aboard his brother’s staff to run the offense and coach several offensive positions. This time, the brothers found success quickly: the Hurricanes won 28 games from the 2014-15 season through the 2016-17 season, appearing in the playoffs each year.
James Booth wasn’t expecting to leave Manatee at all. That was before he saw the Plant City opening.
“It’s kind of funny how it happened,” James Booth says. “I never really thought of leaving Manatee. I was enjoying coordinating, calling plays, working with my brother. I’ve kind of always followed (Plant City). I always knew of the talent and reputation at Plant City High School. When I saw the opening, it was an intriguing thought to go there and see what was the plan.”
James Booth figured that Plant City was most likely looking to promote from within, but still inquired about the job. To his surprise, he was quickly brought in for an interview on Tuesday, April 4. By Thursday, April 6, unconfirmed rumors that he had gotten the job were circulating around town. On Friday, April 7, the school confirmed his hire and brought him into the weight room for a proper introduction.
"I'm so excited at what the potential of this could be," he said in his introductory speech to players, coaches and administrators.
James Booth credits both his wife and his brother for giving him full support, and adds that lessons learned from his brother’s eight years of being a head coach will be applied with the Raiders.
“We’ve kind of been doing this thing together for a long time,” James Booth says. “I’ve gotten to see him grow as a coach, his first year at the high school level all the way through Manatee. I’ve seen how to deal with parents, how to deal with fundraising, I’ve seen how to hire coaches … We have similar philosophies as to how we like to coach and what we see as important.”
For now, James Booth is commuting to Plant City from Bradenton to run practices. He says that he and his wife will move the family into town soon after the Manatee County school year ends in early June, and that he will start teaching world history in the school’s social studies department in the 2017-18 school year.
Many of the school’s incumbent assistant coaches have expressed interest in staying on the staff, according to James Booth, though he has not yet been able to speak to the off-campus coaches to gauge interest. He wants the current coaching staff to stay on at least through the spring before making the decision to stay or go.
“As of now, it’s been very positive … just as the kids are learning me, the coaches are, as well,” he says. “Hopefully we match, we blend well and we can keep a great coaching staff together.”
James Booth also confirmed that he is bringing Manatee wide receivers coach Anthony Rozier onto his staff, and that he is currently searching for a defensive coordinator who may or may not wish to bring another coach aboard.
He has high hopes for what the offense could be — a balanced, fast-paced, no-huddle attack — but is focusing on base concepts and schemes throughout the spring as he gets a feel for the team, and vice versa.
Between now and the team’s Thursday, May 18, spring game against Armwood, the number one thing James Booth wants to see from his new players is an active, competitive spirit.
“We need to be competitive,” he says. “We need to compete with each other in a positive way. That’s the only way you get better.”
It’s what he’s preached since he first entered the high school’s weight room, addressing dozens of players going on their second, third or even fourth head coach in as many years, unsure of exactly what to expect. “Compete” is the word he hopes the program rallies around, now and in the future, as it attempts to become and remain another perennial playoff contender.
With that attitude, he says, everything else will take care of itself on Friday nights.
“I want these kids to play with confidence,” James Booth says. “I want them to feel valued, that they’re a valuable part of our program. If they feel (that) what they do is important … they’re going to want to be a part of this.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.