VENICE — When Brian Wheatley decided to leave Venice High School, there weren't many positions he would consider, especially at the high school level.
When Auburn City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kristen Herring approached him with an offer to coach volleyball at Auburn High School and an elementary school principal position for Mr. Wheatley's wife, Lisa, it was almost unbelievable. That was it.
“We love Auburn and ultimately wanted to live there,” Wheatley said. “We weren't pursuing anything. Some of the things they offered us we really couldn't turn them down.”
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Wheatley initially had doubts about the move.
“I was very against it. I always said there was one high school in America that I would at least listen to if an opening was available and the timing was right, and that was Auburn High School.” he said. “Auburn is a lot like Venice, once people get on board, they stay there. It's very unusual for both positions to be available.”
Wheatleys may be retiring from the state after 30 years in Florida, and “that was very important.”
The Wheatley family had a desire to retire at Auburn at some point.
“As a principal and a high school coach, there is no better way to get involved in your community as a leader from the beginning,” Brian Wheatley said.
Auburn volleyball finished last season with a record of 22 wins and 22 losses.
“Auburn has never really won at the state level,” Wheatley said. “It's like a sleeping giant. There's definitely interest. It's going to be a fun challenge.”
Wheatley, 53, won at Venice, building a record of 721-203 and winning six state championships, including in 1998 and 2022. Venice also was a state runner-up twice.
Wheatley was inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2017.
“We're not going to be ghosts here,” Wheatley said. Mr. Wheatley plans to rent his house in Venice and become a “snowbird.”
Wheatley was hired in May 1994 at the age of 23 by then-Principal Dan Parrett and Director of Athletics Larry Sandberg.
“The community and the school have been very good to us,” Wheatley said. “That's the only job I've ever had. I couldn't have asked for more. All those kids, and all the relationships I still have with all those kids, that's what I… That's the kind of thing that I think about. And the relationships I have with coaches across the state, with coaches in the area, and with coaches at Venice High School.”
Wheatley is set to leave Venice within a month and is likely to leave his mark, with his vacancy being filled by assistant Jay Lanham. Wheatley joins Manatee High School football coach Joe Kinnan, Southeast High School football coach Paul Meshtl, Sarasota High School baseball coach Clyde Metcalf, and Southeast High School girls basketball coach who coached in Sarasota/Manatee County for decades, not years. He joins a group of coaches like John Harder.
“I was either going to retire in Venice or get a college job or go for one of those three things. And this is the only high school position I was at least going to listen to. Just It seemed like the right time,” Wheatley said. “I don't think there's any other opportunity like this because both of these jobs are open and you can do it.”
Wheatley, who had already scheduled Venice High School for the 2024 season, hopes to be invited to participate in Venice High School's Battle at the Beach Volleyball Tournament in 2025 and beyond.
He informed the Venice players of his intentions on his return on Tuesday.
“They were upset,” Wheatley said. “They were in shock.”
For the first time in 31 years, the head coaching position for the Venice High School volleyball team will be held by someone other than Brian Wheatley.
“We felt like this is where God was leading us,” said Wheatley, who still harbors ambitions to coach at Auburn University.