LAKELAND — Whoever the kid in the van was, the Lake Gibson wrestling owes him a debt of gratitude.
When it became apparent during the winter of 2001 that the Lake Region wrestling head coaching position would become available with then-coach Kris Hayward accepting a position at Fort Myers Riverview, a young assistant coach named Danny Walker appeared to be a likely candidate to fill the position.
But Walker, now 40, had never been a head coach and a disgruntled Lake Region wrestler let him know just what he thought about the idea of him taking charge of the young-but-thriving program.
“I was sitting out in the van, I will never forget it, between breaks at the regional tournament, and there is this young man who said, ‘If you become the head coach next year, I am never going to listen to anything you have to say,’” Walker recalled.
Walker, who had also been approached about the vacant Lake Gibson head coaching position, began to have second thoughts all together about coaching, but Hayward urged him to push forward after the Thunder finished second at the state tournament to perennial national-power Brandon.
“A month went by and I didn’t know what I was going to do. Coach Hayward said, ‘Look, you have too much to offer kids to not go on coaching. Why don’t you reach out to Lake Gibson tomorrow and see if that job is still open?’” Walker said.
“So I called, and it was open. I told them I would like to interview for it so we went to Chili’s and talked and the next day they called and said 'If you want the job, it is yours.'”
Walker accepted.
During the next 16 seasons, he has produced 11 teams with top-five finishes at the Florida High School state tournament, which include state runner-up finishes in 2017, 2013, 2012 and 2011 and 12 county championships.
In the process, he has produced 12 individual state champions — some with multiple state titles, 59 state medalists and guided 27 wrestlers into college athletics.
Brent Jorge, a former state runner-up at 119 pounds during his sophomore season at Lake Gibson, has been a member of Walker’s coaching staff since the 2014-15 season. He wrestled collegiately at Duke and Campbell University — both NCAA Division-1 programs in North Carolina.
“He will push you to be your best, and now I see something in him that the kids just want to perform for him and get better,” Jorge said. “He has definitely been an influence on the man I am today and he made a lot of phone calls to coaches at the college level for me.
“Walker leaves a lasting impact. It’s not like you have him for four years in high school and then you never talk to him again. Whether you go off to college or stay home, he has a lasting relationship with his athletes.”
Despite all the state finals success and county dominance, Walker said he has most enjoyed watching his wrestlers move on to the next level.
“The highest of the highs for me is every year putting these kids into college,” Walker said.
DUAL CAREER
While his wrestlers are attending class, Walker is not in the classroom teaching like many high school head coaches. He has a dual career, one that includes a position with the city of Lakeland as the supervisor at Lake Bonny Park, where he maintains fields for Lakeland High School softball and junior varsity baseball teams, soccer practice fields, a skate park, jogging trail and a multipurpose field.
“It was a great opportunity that opened up,” said Walker, who also started that career 16 years ago, but this time at the bottom as a grounds keeper.
“I explain to my kids that it is OK to start from the bottom. Just stay with it, and just work and work and work and you will build yourself up in to something. Today, in society, kids are looking for instant gratification. “
Walker started at the nursery plant, and though he works his wrestlers hard, he got a good dose of his own medicine with some very hard labor during his beginnings with the city.
“I hired him as a seasonal employee and he has been promoted two or three times. It is kind of funny that he also works for my wife (Debby Donahay, assistant principal) at Lake Gibson and me at the city.”
So Walker stories can arise at the dinner table.
“We both have Danny stories,” laughed Donahay, who had two sons wrestle for Walker. “But if I need something done, I can pick up the phone and he is going to get it done. Danny puts the same energy into taking care of the park that he does into wrestling. The people who work for him think the world of him and we do, too.”
Lake Gibson is a family affair for the Walkers. His wife, Ashley, is the girls' volleyball assistant coach. She played at Lake Gibson during her prep days and then competed at Polk State. The two met when she was in college and he was living in the apartment above her.
The Walkers have one daughter, Alexis, 14, who is also a volleyball player though she was involved in cheerleading for several years before finding her way onto the court.
“When my daughter came home and said she wanted to get into the cheerleading, I said, ‘Yeah, but they don’t keep score.’ So, I told her I wanted her to be in competitive cheer and she did it for many years and fell in love with it. But when she came home and said she wanted to play volleyball instead, I was very happy.”
Ironically, though Walker spends much of his time working with wrestlers to cut weight, his favorite past time is eating.
“I love to eat. It’s one of my favorite things. I love college football. I am die-hard Florida Gators fan ever since I was born. There are two things you are in our family. You are a Florida Gator fan and a Boston Red Sox fan. You don’t get to pick and choose or you will be outcast.”
Walker took in two games at Fenway Park in Boston in 2016 to check off his bucket list — one of them was against the New York Yankees and the other against the Miami Marlins.
“It was a wonderful experience, he said.
Walker said don’t laugh, but an unchecked item on his bucket list includes a visit to Wimbledon and also the Masters — where they both keep score.
“Wimbledon just seems like a cool place. My bucket list is more like a pail. It’s not that deep but I did get to go to Las Vegas for my 40th birthday. That is checked off.”
Bill Kemp can be reached at Bill.Kemp@newschief.com; follow him on Twitter @BillKempSports