- June 22, 2025
Tim Sandersfield will be the Pirates' assistant head coach this season. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Nelson Pardo, who will be the Matanzas JV head coach this season, has over 40 years of coaching experience. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Former Matanzas football players Devin Mathews and Jarrett Patton. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas assistant coach Jason McCoy. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Dell Arneaud has coached middle school and Pop Warner. This year, he joined Matt Forrest's staff to help coach the Matanzas JV team. Photo by Brent Woronoff
John Malone is helping out with the Matanzas JV team. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Shevon Patton is entering his ninth year with the Pirates' football program. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Several of Matanzas High School's assistant football coaches have been with the program longer than head coach Matt Forrest. Three assistants are former Matanzas players.
Kyle Johnson and Shevon Patton are entering their ninth season as Matanzas assistants. Tim Sandersfield, who will be the assistant head coach this year, is entering his fourth season. They are all highly invested in the program.
“The head coach gets a lot of credit and blame,” Forrest said. “But the whole staff deserves credit. They develop the kids not only physically, but also spiritually and emotionally.”
Forrest is entering his sixth season with the Pirates. He is the program’s winningest coach. During that time he has promoted from within. Few assistant coaches have left the program during his tenure.
“We’ve had a lot of consistency on the staff,” Forrest said. “We’re not where we want to be yet as a program, but we’ve been competitive, and that’s a direct reflection of every single person involved in our program.”
One coach, Donny LaFleur, is leaving at the end of the school year to return home to Tennessee with his family and coach again at his former school.
“It’s pretty impressive,” Sandersfield said of the staff retention. “(LaFleur) is the only coach who’s left since I’ve been here, and he’s going back because of family. We have a pretty tight-knit staff. We’re all very close, and that makes it pretty special. I think consistency is good for the kids. We do a good job preaching family. They know we’re always going to be here. Stability is a big deal for the kids.”
When new coaches are brought on board they usually come with years of experience or they are former Matanzas players like Devin Mathews, Jarrett Patton and Bryce Petellat.
Nelson Pardo is in his second year with the team. He has over 40 years coaching experience. This year he will be the head JV coach. John Malone, Dell Arneaud and Palm Coast Fire Department Battalion Chief Tommy Ascone have joined the program this year and will work with the JV team. Malone is new to the area and wanted to help out, Forrest said. He has over 20 years experience as a coach and game official.
Ascone and Arneaud both have extensive Pop Warner coaching experience in the community and are familiar with many of the players. Arneaud coached First Baptist Christian Academy’s middle school team last year. His son will be a freshman with the Pirates this fall.
“I was locked into coaching my middle school group, but I’ve always admired coach Forrest,” he said.
“At the end of the day, we always do right by the kids,” Forrest said.
