- June 30, 2026
Seabreeze and Calvary Christian Academy of Ormond Beach are two of just seven high schools from around the state to win first-place Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Awards from the Florida High School Athletic Association.
Seabreeze won the award for Class 5A schools while Calvary Christian won for Class 1A schools.
For Seabreeze, the award was both very intentional and very much a surprise.
Two years ago, Seabreeze had four or five ejections across sports and were fined a total of $2,500 by the FHSAA, Sandcrabs athletic director Anthony Campanella said.
So, Campanella had a meeting with all of his coaches before the 2025-26 school to stress the importance of sportsmanship.
“Yes, we want to build great athletes,” Campanella said. “But sportsmanship is important. It's a direct reflection of our school, the players, their parents and the community. And our coaches did a great job relaying that message to their student athletes.”
Still, Campanella was surprised to receive a letter from the FHSAA last winter saying that so far Seabreeze had not received any unsportsmanlike conduct fines and it was eligible to apply for the Sportsmanship Award.
On June 22, the FHSAA announced that seven high schools and one middle school had won first-place sportsmanship awards and five high schools and a middle school received runner-up awards.
The Sandcrabs received a plaque and a cash award of $2,500, ironically the same amount they were fined the previous year.
We educated our players and our coaches, and they bought in. The coaches did a great job stopping behavior before it happened. This is pretty great for our school.
— ANTHONY CAMPANELLA, Seabreeze athletic director
“We educated our players and our coaches, and they bought in,” Campanella said. “The coaches did a great job stopping behavior before it happened. This is pretty great for our school.”
The award, which is named after former FHSAA Commissioner Fred Rozelle, has been presented annually since 1991.
“High school athletics provide invaluable lessons that extend far beyond competition,” FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon said. “The schools being honored as the 2026 Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Award winners exemplify those values every day. Their student athletes, coaches, administrators, parents and fans consistently model respect, integrity, and character, reflecting the very best of educational athletics.”
The other Sportsmanship Award winners were Baker (Rural), Tampa Cambridge Christian (2A), Tampa Berkeley Prep (3A), Mount Dora (4A) and Lake Bunea Vista (6A).
