Wellington named former Apopka assistant coach Danny Mendoza as its new football coach Thursday, according to athletic director Robert Callovi.
“I’m super excited,” Mendoza said. “I’ve been getting prepared for this process when I got into coaching. This is something I wanted to do. I’ve wanted to do this since I was a high school player, myself.”
Mendoza is a graduate of Kean College in New Jersey, and most of his coaching experience is in that state. He was the offensive coordinator at New Jersey’s Red Bank Regional High for four seasons, helping lead the team to a state runner-up finish in 2015 and the state semifinals in 2018.
Mendoza has coached in Florida before, spending the 2019 season as the wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator for Apopka, helping the Blue Darters reach the state title game, where they lost to Miami Columbus. Mendoza was the offensive coordinator for JFK Memorial High in New Jersey for the 2020 season; the Mustangs went 1-5 in a pandemic-shortened season.
“We are thrilled to welcome Danny Mendoza to Wellington High School,” Callovi said. “His coaching background at [New Jersey] Red Bank and Apopka have prepared him to be an impactful leader for our football players. We are excited about the energy coach Mendoza will bring to our football program and our student-athletes to prepare them for success both on and off the field.”
Mendoza said he’s noticed some differences between Florida high school football and New Jersey high school football from his time coaching in both states.
“One thing I’ll always say is that Jersey is tough, and they’ve got tough boys and it’s a different mentality up here,” Mendoza said. “I’ll always say Florida is the No. 1 football state in the country. Some of the best athletes (in the country) are from the state of Florida. I know it first-hand.
“Me being able to bring that Jersey toughness, mix it with that Florida talent, that Florida speed, I think will be a great recipe for success.”
Mendoza takes over for Tom Abel, who spent nine years as the Wolverines’ coach before stepping down in January. Abel went 51-36 in his tenure at Wellington, winning two district titles and reaching the playoffs four times. Wellington went 3-4 last year.
“He left a solid foundation there,” Mendoza said. “He definitely did a lot of good winning there. He did a lot of good things with the program. It feels good to go where it’s established, and I’m thankful for what he’s done there. It’s time to kind of go build our own path and show these kids the right way to play football.”
