Seabreeze Red and White scrimmage highlights community and camaraderie

Head football coach Mike Klein used the event to showcase his players’ efforts and build relationships.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 2:57 p.m. May 22, 2025
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Seabreeze football coaches and players welcomed family, friends and the community to the annual Red and White spring scrimmage on Saturday, May 17, for a fun-filled day of football, hot dogs and friendship. 

Head coach Mike Klein said the goal was to host a family event that would support the efforts of his players and showcase the work they have put into the program. He said it was an excellent opportunity for people to begin building a relationship with the Seabreeze family.

For us to be a great team, we have to love one another as brothers. We’re not always best friends … but we have to be able to love one another, care about one another and work with one another to reach our goals. For our program as a whole to be successful, we need our parents, our families, our community to be on that exact same page.
— MIKE KLEIN, Seabreeze football coach

“For us to be a great team, we have to love one another as brothers,” he said. “We’re not always best friends … but we have to be able to love one another, care about one another and work with one another to reach our goals. For our program as a whole to be successful, we need our parents, our families, our community to be on that exact same page.”

Gary Yeomans Ford established a partnership with Seabreeze when Tucker Harris became the principal three years ago. They have been instrumental in supporting athletic and academic programs at the high school. Prior to the game, Harris presented the Volusia Partner of the Year award to assistant football coach Nello Faulk who accepted it on behalf of the dealership where he works as a finance manager.

Klein and his coaches ran the players through position drills before the scrimmage. Quarterback Jayce Gainer, a rising senior, took turns throwing passes with last year’s JV quarterback, Michael “Bear Hog” McDonough. 

“Right now I think Gainer is ahead — he is slotted as our starter,” Klein said. “We have a great, young backup coming up behind him — Michael McDonough,” Klein said. “He is showing a lot of potential. It is competitive. There are no spots that are given. There are no freebees out here. Everything is earned.”

The competition between players this year is great, Klein said. 

“That’s the one thing that this year we have that I didn’t feel last year we had as much,” he said. “Across the board, offense and defense, in just about every position, we have great competition. That’s really a driving force. We say it all the time, ‘iron sharpens iron.’ That competition is making us better.”

Gainer has been a quarterback since his freshman season. He started playing football when he was 12 years old and previously played outside linebacker and safety. He said he likes that his teammates are always there to support him when he is not doing his best.

“Our team is getting a lot better — fixing a lot of mental errors, but we’re going to get there,” he said. “I’m training myself mentally to be prepared (for the spring game). I like being able to take agency and run the offense. I like my coach (Mike Klein) — he pushes me. He’s a good person and he wants all of us to do our best to succeed as men and as football players.”

Seabreeze will travel to Crescent City for a spring jamboree with University at 6 p.m. Friday, May 23.

Last season, Seabreeze had 10 seniors and 31 underclassmen. Klein said the beauty of having a young team was the players who were not quite ready to play varsity got that experience early.

“That experience means a lot,” he said. “We have a lot of guys going into this year as seniors, juniors and sophomores who have already had a lot of varsity playing experience last year. That experience is a big reason why our leadership and focus have been so great because a lot of those guys went through the fire last year. Now we’re ready for the work.”

Klein has made some additions to the staff — secondary coach Zeke Adkins, offensive line coach Bob Bodine and offensive coordinator Matt Dickmann.

Bodine brings a plethora of Division I college experience. Dickmann was the head coach at Harrison High School when it won the Class 6A state championship in Georgia. 

“He is an offensive guru,” Klein said of his new OC. “As a man, he is the kind of man that we want here to help build our young men and help lead in this community. We have a whole new offensive system. It’s a winning, proven system.”

Off season training started in the weight room in January. Klein said the players have been extremely focused and have gotten bigger, faster and stronger.

“Just really proud of the guys,” Klein said. “We’ve had a great offseason. They are working hard together and pushing each other. Everything is very competitive. Practices are fast and fun and we’re having great improvements because of those things. As we wrap up spring, I hope the guys have a great showing in the spring jamboree when we go over to play Crescent City and University.”

 

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