Taylor Layner

[📽️ 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐊. 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐨𝐧🎙 @BradKRicha88]

So to round out this long post, I’d like to thank everybody that has helped me along my journey. You know who you are, and without you none of these memorable moments and achievements would have been possible. I hope for all our alumni, and of course our seniors in the class of 2026, that I’ve made a memorable season for you guys each and every game. I hope I have done a good job. What’s my next step going forward? Frankly, I don’t know. But for the time being, I’m always at home at #BrinkerField as a voice of @WarhawksBB (and a few other sports). From talking about how the concession stand is county famous, doing starting lineups for both teams, thanking our sponsors, and of course, the occasional ceremonial first pitch, it’s always good to come home. I think Lou Gehrig said it best, “Today I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” Congrats class of 2026 and to all of the alumni and families past and current….thank you. #WarhawkWay

@nsritchie1 @j_fehr27 @p_mazz14 @moravick22 @MattWalker09 @baysinger_jj @Mack_McGinnis @Brett_Phillips8 @AlexEspaillat2 @KendallHoffman9 @CarterDough27 @BraylonBalcer09 @JacobAmerman @Austin_Duffy14 @PrepsTime @Andy_Villamarzo @PalmeseNoah @Cole_Worley8 @tylerrsaunderss

[📽️ 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐊. 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐨𝐧🎙 @BradKRicha88]

Great interview with @LargoBaseball⚾️ on the Tampa St. Pete Sports Connection. Riley Lube' '28, Jorge Morales '26, Mason Zilius '28 and Dimaggio Coletti '29 talk about the 2026 season, the Packer Invitational and their nail biting win over @DunedinBaseball. They also discuss team brotherhood, game day traditions and staying locked in and hyped during a tough game. Plus they talk about the teams they are looking forward to facing this season. Largo faces the Lakewood Spartans this Monday at 7pm. @PrepsTime @LargoAthletics @LaynerTaylor @briancoletti

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

A big district needs to set the example. Long overdue.

[Florida Coaches Coalition @PayFLCoaches]

🚨 BREAKING 🚨

SB 538 PASSES the Florida Senate.

38 - 0. UNANIMOUS.

Let that sink in.

Florida coaches have been heard.

1 vote left in the Florida House.

1 vote between years of sacrifice and historic change.

This is not momentum.
This is inevitability.

#PayFLCoaches

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

Long time coming!

[Florida Coaches Coalition @PayFLCoaches]

🚨🚨 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 🚨🚨

The House of Representatives Companion Bill has officially been filed. HB 731 is here. Thank you @ShaneAbbottFL and @AdamAndersonFL for standing up for our high school coaches in Florida.

Why this matters: a companion bill means the same legislation is moving through BOTH the House and the Senate at the same time. That matters. It streamlines the process, speeds up negotiations, and increases the likelihood of meaningful legislation being implemented. This is how real change happens.

What is in the bill: HB 731 includes language addressing student transfers, but more importantly, it directly engages the issue of coach compensation. This bill forces the conversation that has been avoided for decades. It acknowledges the time, labor, and responsibility coaches carry and pushes compensation into the legislative arena instead of being ignored at the local level. The bill also ensures that athletic directors are formally recognized as ADMINISTRATORS, reinforcing their professional standing and role within our school systems.

What we are hearing: coaches across Florida are excited. Coaches outside of Florida have inquired about coming back home. Unions are quivering. But real questions remain. Many coaches are rightfully concerned about leaving compensation solely in the hands of school districts who, historically, when given a choice, have ignored coaches. That is why we will continue to advocate for guaranteed minimum wage for every single hour worked. Period.

What happens next: committee hearings, amendments, negotiations, and public input. Presence matters. We will be back in Tallahassee in January and we will need as many coaches with us as possible. We will be releasing more information over the next few weeks, but now is the time to start making plans. This is our time to shine 🌟

And make no mistake, regardless of the final outcome of this bill, this is historic change that has NEVER been seen in Florida. We commend the legislators who listened, learned, and took the time to understand this issue. This will create historic, generational change and permanently change how coaches in Florida are treated and respected.

@PayFLCoaches will continue to fight for every single coach in Florida until the coaching profession here becomes the standard for the rest of the United States.

Florida does not follow. Florida leads. We are not chasing standards. We are defining them.

Please like and share for expanded reach 👊

https://t.co/8xoJ6EYGDX

#PayFLCoaches

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

Long overdue.

[Florida Coaches Coalition @PayFLCoaches]

SB538 is moving forward. 🚀

The bill has officially been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, which means it is advancing through the formal committee process and getting closer to a full Senate vote. 🏛️

Judiciary looks at the legal impact, alignment with Florida law, and any potential legal challenges.
Rules determines when and if the bill gets placed on the calendar for a full vote and what amendments need to be considered.

Clearing both is required for this bill to move.
This does not have to happen before January 9, but the earlier the bill clears committees, the stronger its chance of reaching a vote. ⏳

Next up:

We wait on committee action and whether the House files a companion bill. A companion bill is simply the House version of the same bill. Both chambers must pass the identical final version before anything becomes law.

And again, no bill survives the committee process without changes. That is normal. That is expected. And we expect those changes to strengthen the bill for ALL coaches in Florida. 💪

Now, coaches… let us be very clear.

STAND BY!

We are entering the part of the fight where your voice becomes the difference between progress and another fifty years of silence.

If you have ever complained about low supplements, long hours, being undervalued, or being treated like a volunteer babysitter instead of a professional…

This is the moment where you show up.

This is the moment where you get loud.

This is the moment where you stop letting other people write your story.

We are not backing down.
We are not quieting down.
And we are not letting anyone water this down.

Now… to the band and chorus crowd already chirping. 🎺🎶

Respectfully, we value music education. This is not an attack.

But let us not pretend the workloads are the same.

Band directors and chorus instructors teach a full day of THEIR classes. That is their primary job.

Coaches teach a full day AND THEN take on a second job with practices, film, scouting, supervision, games, travel, safety responsibilities, parent management, athlete development, off season work, community engagement, and risk that never shuts off. 🏈⚾🏀

There is no school in Florida where kids take seven periods of football class.

There is no “Basketball One, Volleyball Two, Baseball Three” all day.

Coaches carry TWO jobs every single day.

If someone truly believes a coach grinding sixty to eighty hours a week should be paid the same as someone working a standard teacher schedule…

They are proving exactly why this bill is needed. 🚨

We are done being dismissed.

We are done being compared to unrelated professions.

We are done letting people who do not understand our workload dictate our value.

To our elected officials 🏛️

We stand with the members of the Florida House and Senate who are fighting to fix a problem ignored for almost fifty years.

They listened.
They understood.
They acted.
That is leadership.

Coaches, the next few months will define our future.

⚡️ What happens when coaches FINALLY realize their value? Change. The kind that sends shockwaves through every district office in Florida. ⚡️

#PayFLCoaches

(Please like and share for reach).

[Florida Coaches Coalition @PayFLCoaches]

We did everything we could. We showed the data, the stories, and the truth.

Now it is in the hands of our elected representatives. We trust 100% they will do what is right for these hardworking men and women.

It's not a matter of IF anymore... its when.

#PayFLCoaches

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@FlaHSFootball @Biggamebobby @polk_way @BigCountyPreps1 @RoyFuoco @PinellasHSMedia @SuncoastPreps @NorthSuncoastFB @PascoCountyFB @GCSNBroadcasts @TampaMoose @PMOWriter @VJPortell @NewsPressDan @NP_AlexMartin @flsportsscene @ESPNTop63 @PatBernadeau @SportsBrevard @TheNachOnSports @PressboxOT @tampaball @AbsolutelyKfish

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@AbsolutelyKfish @AbsolutelyKfish @tampaball

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@AbsolutelyKfish Can say this for AAU/Travel & High School too. Parents oftentimes live through their kids & cannot handle allowing their son/daughter to fail or to have something "go against" them.

Overcoming adversity is becoming a lost skill.
What about the real world once sports are gone?

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@tampaball Curious when a big county fully just disassociates themselves from FHSAA and gives SSAA a legitimate run.

Similar to other business's if there is no competition- what reason is there to improve? There is none. Rinse & repeat.

Weirdly enough! I know a big county :)

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@gary_kifer7525 @john_p34 @PayFLCoaches @VeniceIndianFB @FloridaEA @HuskerDave8 @AdamAndersonFL @AndrewRamjit @JeffGierke @coachwaldrop @jwentworth42 @coachob11 @mcgriff_tyrone @WHCoachWhite @RealNews102 @RonDeSantis Also would like one. Large

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

On a weekend in August...Season is 5-6 months away, so why? Because- how else would it get done?

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

Appreciate what you do for kids in Pasco. Been watching from Pinellas for years. Sad to hear.

[PascoCountyFB @PascoCountyFB]

As many know, I have been running PascoCountyFB for fun since 2013 and have never made a penny from it. It actually cost me about $2000 a year to operate the website and for travel expenses. So, I have spent $25K to promote high school football for this county, and again, I have never made a penny. I cannot even quantify the time I spend every year of my free time to do this.

I used to love Pasco County football, but it’s so different today than when I started, so I am here to announce this is my last season of covering high school football, and that’s if I make it through the season.

At the end of the season, I will reach out to those coaches who I admire and respect, and thank them for allowing me to cover their teams, players, games and attend practices while I lived in the area.

It’s a relief to make this announcement and I will try my best to provide as much coverage as possible this season.

Unfortunately, I will begin to shutdown the website to avoid any additional costs.

Sincerely,

PascoCountyFB

[Florida Coaches Coalition @PayFLCoaches]

Happy first day of school, Florida coaches! 🏆

You are leaders, mentors & the heartbeat of our schools.

We see your sacrifice. We know your value. We’ll keep fighting for your respect, fair pay & voice.

This season, we play for more than wins 💪

#PayFLCoaches

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

This is important. Can't be retweeted enough.

[Florida Coaches Coalition @PayFLCoaches]

🚨 Perhaps the best interview yet on the #PayFLCoaches movement.

🎙️ @JeffGierke breaks down the Florida Coaches Coalition cause in a way every coach, parent, and legislator should hear.

⏱️ Take 8 minutes and watch — it’s worth every second!

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@tampaball I know we're in HS, but wouldnt this mess up other sports? Other HS Sports, club/AAU, etc? Agreed that fall weather is not ideal for Football though. Most FB teams will lose a few days because of the heat we have right now in the state. Not sure there's a true "correct" answer.

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@tampaball We need districts that are not based on enrollment first- HA

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@PayFLCoaches @JeffGierke @coachwaldrop @jwentworth42 @coach_ecullen @mcgriff_tyrone @coachob11 @WHCoachWhite @AndrewRamjit @FlaHSFootball @unclelukereal1 This is from yesterday, July 17. Our season isn't until the end of January..

This is a yearlong job.

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@AbsolutelyKfish It's good this is getting publicity, there's a problem in Florida with HS Sports. Needs to be corrected.

That being said- schools have been stripped of titles, probation, etc-for far less..

State has really put themselves in the spotlight.

[Taylor Layner @LaynerTaylor]

@PayFLCoaches How many total across all sports?