Beach takes over as LHS athletic director
Published 12:00 pm Monday, July 10, 2017
- Mark Beach is the new athletic director at Lafayette High. The Hornets have had two athletic directors in the past 32 years. Taylor McGrew was AD from 1985 until 2007 and Mike Harris held the job the past 10 years.
MAYO, Fla. — Lafayette High School will have a new athletic director at the start of the 2017-18 school year.
Mark Beach is the new Hornets’ AD, replacing Mike Harris, who held the position for the previous 10 years.
“Coach Harris and coach (Tayor) McGrew have set a high standard,” Beach said. “The community cares about sports. I’m going to try and continue that high standard.”
Beach, who is also an assistant football coach, is stepping into familiar territory. He was the athletic director at Graceville High in 2012 and then AD at Marianna High from 2013-15.
Before taking over AD and head football coaching duties at GHS and MHS, Beach spent seven years as an assistant football coach at Lafayette. He returned to LHS last year for the 2016-17 school year.
The longtime coach is excited to be back in Mayo. He’s also looking forward to stepping into the role of athletic director at a school with a lot of sports history.
“No matter where you are in the state, Mayo is well-known in athletics,” Beach said. “There is a lot of pride in all the D-1 athletes produced from Mayo, as well as some of the greats like Reggie McGrew, Kerwin Bell and Herbert Perry.
“Stewart Hancock has given me a great opportunity to come back. We’ve got great coaches here. This is where I want my kids to go to school.”
