May 1, 2023 • 38 mins
Xavyer Arrington is a two-time state champion in weightlifting and a dominant defensive lineman for Coral Shores High School. With five college offers before his senior season began, the multisport star has committed to play football for the U.S. Naval Academy. And before graduating, he closed out his high school weightlifting career with a second consecutive state championship, bringing home gold in the Olympic category of the Unlimited weight class on April 15. Listen as host Sean McDonald talks with Arrington about his path to the Naval Academy, what it takes to be a state champion, and how special Coral Shores football fans are. The episode also treats listeners to a breakdown of postseason baseball and softball for all three Keys high schools.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome back, everybody to the Keys weekly sports wrap podcast
with coach mcdonald, your place for Keys, sports news and history.
Check us out every Thursday, keys weekly dot com. Or
you could just search up Keys, weekly sports wrap podcast
and you could find all 36 of our episodes. Can
(00:29):
you believe that we started in August? We already have
36 episodes once a week going strong
just letting you guys know what's going on in Monroe
County and today on today's podcast, we're sort of gonna
have a little profile of a Coral Shores athlete, uh,
Xavier Arrington. So you're gonna have to hold on a
little bit for that because we had a lot of
(00:50):
things going on in Monroe County at all three of
our high schools just starting out with some results from
last week, you know, in softball, marathon softball loss to
gulliver 9 to 4.
Um, let's see, marathon softball won a forfeit against the
Hialeah Educational Academy. Um, Key West had some softball games
(01:13):
last week, they beat Westminster Christian 8 to 6. Key
West softball is coming off of a great year last
year where they went to the final four. Coral Shores
baseball last week was able to beat a quality team
in Lasalle 15 to 8. Good job Coral Shores.
Um Key West baseball lost to Sherman Douglas 13 to 2.
(01:36):
We're gonna talk about that one a little bit later
on in the podcast today. Uh Key West girls lacrosse
lost to American heritage, uh Coral Shores baseball, lost to
university school. Uh, they went up there and played Key
West baseball was able to bounce back and beat South
Dade high school. Another big time school over there in, uh,
a little bit north of Homestead. 4 to 2.
(01:58):
Marathon. Baseball. Had a big week. They won 10 to 1.
They beat South Homestead. Um Marathon baseball, also beat Redlands
Christian 18 to 9 marathon. Baseball. Also beat Westwood Christian
18 to 0. A lot of stuff going on in
Monroe County right now.
Spring football, you guys, you listen to the podcast. You know,
(02:19):
I'm a football coach at Marathon high School. I love
football and, and we talk about football. In fact, our
guest today is a football player. So spring football starts
May 1st. It's gonna start on Monday. I know that
I'm excited about that. I know the other coaches are
excited about that. The players, everybody's ready to go, but
we got some other things going on
marathon. This week is gonna be playing ransom in softball.
(02:41):
Key West is gonna be playing Miami high in baseball.
Key West softball, the out Western on the 28th on
the 29th, Key West baseball will be playing Miami High
and two second one of a double header. Key West
baseball then is district quarterfinals in May 1st marathon and
Coral Shores. Their district quarterfinal is May 1st,
(03:02):
um, possible district semis for Coral Shores and Marathon. And
the interesting thing is sort of could come together. You're
gonna hear it first on this podcast. What we're hoping
for is I would love to see Coral Shores and
Marathon are in the same baseball district. And I think
the way the seedings are starting to hash out that
there's a chance that there'll be a first round matchup
of key of, I'm sorry,
(03:24):
Coral Shores and Marathon playing. That would be a great
thing for Monroe County baseball to see them in the district. Um,
playoff Coral Shores and Marathon softball. Their districts are starting up, uh,
May 2nd
track just had their districts last week. Um, let's see
what else is going on track has regionals at Westminster
(03:48):
Academy on May 6th. And then, you know, let's talk
a little bit about what's going on with our baseball
teams here in Monroe County.
Uh, very newsworthy things going on. First of all, you
have marathon, their final regular season game was a road
win against Westwood. Christian Marathon had 13 hits in the romp,
(04:11):
beating Westwood 18 to nothing over five innings. The big
story with marathon baseball. This year is Dylan Seals. The
junior pitcher recorded his 100th strikeout and he ended up
getting seven more during that Westwood Christian game to give
them 100 and seven.
Um, Ryan Ibon for Marathon closed out that game striking
out four of the nine batters and allowing no hits
(04:33):
in his two innings on the mound
this week right now
is the conference playoffs for Marathon. They're in a conference
and then they'll have the district next week, the first
week of May.
Um, you know, we talked to Coach Enriquez on the podcast.
We're gonna move on to Qs baseball now and he
talked about teams wanting to come down to Key West
(04:56):
and he would never have to have a road game
if he didn't want to. And he says he schedules
two a year
so his team knows how to travel and they had
one of those and man did he schedule a team.
He scheduled Marjorie Stoneman Douglass High School. They're the defending
seven A state champions and they're number one in the
state this year. Now in Florida with athletics, the higher
(05:19):
the number, the bigger like you got a seven A
school is Stoneman Douglas. Um Key West High School is
number one in four A so seven A has a
lot more students than four A
and Key West goes up to Stone and Douglas and
plays and they lose 13 to 2. Key West struggled
to get things going. They managed to put some numbers
(05:41):
on the scoreboard in the fifth, but it would just
be too little for, to take down Stoneman Douglas Andon Rady, however,
was able to find his way around the Eagles pitching.
He had three hits in the game, Jack Haggard had
a base hit and Gabe Williams made the most of
his hit sending the ball over the fence for 1/5
inning home run.
Uh Lucky Barroso started the game lasting three innings with
(06:03):
relief from Jacob Burnham and Marlon Tako. The Conks gave
the Conchs gave up nine hits including four home runs
in the loss. But Key West able to bounce back
against another highly ranked seven. A team in the South
Dade Buccaneers. They won 4 to 2. Uh University of Florida.
Commit Felix on as on the mound for six innings.
(06:23):
Struck out five Burnham through one inning of relief. Haggard
had a single and a double leading the hitting for
Key West.
So Key West is gonna close out their regular season
against Miami High April 28th and 29th. And then they're
gonna go to the district playoff and high hopes for
Key West High School to get their 12th state championship.
(06:45):
So everybody's rooting for you guys in the Keys. So
good luck Key West High School as you move forward
in your district.
Uh, good luck to everybody. Really marathon's going into their
conference and then Coral Shores and Marathon will both be
in their district playoffs next week,
sort of record setting stuff for baseball. Also, Dylan Zeal
(07:05):
has we talked about before his 100 strikeout. He's leading
the state of Florida in strikeouts. Marathon's Brian Broch is
in the top 20 as far as stolen bases in Florida.
Koch's pitcher. Uh, Lucky Barrasso has a one hitter. I'm sorry,
he has one no hitter and one save in his
six weeks. So,
(07:25):
having a no hitter, there's, um, the highest number of
no hitters in the state is one. So he's leading
the state no hitters. There's a few pitchers with him though.
Felix Ong ranks among the top pitchers in the state
with another one with one no hitter. So Key West
has two pitchers that both have their own no hitters. That's,
that's pretty impressive. So baseball, doing big things, doing it upright,
(07:49):
softballs moving right along.
Key West High School is in the final four, last year.
Their district championship starts next week. Same with, um, Marathon.
Coral Shores is an independent in softball, so they do
not have a district tournament. So Coral Shores softball season
is over and there's still hope for Marathon and there's
(08:09):
still hope for Key West High to go to that
elusive state championship, which only a few teams in Monroe
County history can lay claim to. But
when you're talking about state championships, we're gonna have a
two time state championship on the line on the Keys
weekly sports wrap podcast. And that's coming up next and
(08:32):
to find out who stick around.
All right, welcome everybody back to the podcast. Uh We
have a very special guest today. I really enjoy this
part of the podcast when we bring some of the, uh,
prep sport athletes from Monroe County on and today we
have Coral Shores Senior. He's gonna be at Coral Shores
(08:53):
for a couple more weeks, uh, two time state champion.
He's going off to the Naval academy prep school to
be
a naval officer and a football player for the Naval Academy.
Xavier Arrington. How you doing today, sir?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I'm doing really good. Doing really good. How are you?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I'm doing great man. And you know, there's so much
to talk about with you. There's so many different avenues of,
of your life and what has happened to you at
Coral Shores High School and in Monroe County schools tell us,
you know, just a little bit Xavier about, you know,
growing up, where, where did you grow up at? Did you,
have you been in the Keys your whole life?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
No, I haven't been in the Keys my whole life.
Um I grew up in a town in Sebastian about
uh 30 minutes south from Melbourne.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And then uh uh uh
Speaker 2 (09:41):
then my sixth grade year actually I lived in, I
went to Sugarloaf middle school. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. So
I know some people who go to Key West from
my middle school years and then we moved back uh
from seventh grade up to my sophomore year, which we
moved back to the Keys and Key Largo just last year.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
So you go to Cudjoe from Sebastian, you go to
Cudjoe your sixth grade year and you, you end up
at Sugarloaf. What was that experience like for you?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Uh It was definitely different um because in my old
middle school, like we had to wear uniforms, so finally
not having to wear a uniform all year, it kind
of threw me off a little bit where I actually
had to find outfits and stuff and then making new friends.
It was, it was a really good experience. Uh my
first real experience in the Keys and I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
And then that takes you to, did you go to
Key Largo School or did you go to PKS
Speaker 2 (10:34):
uh elementary school? Actually, I spent my elementary school years
in uh Sebastian. So I went to a school called
um Sebastian Elementary.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
So when did you end up moving to Key Largo?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Uh my going into my junior year. Actually, my dad's
work brought us down here. Um He, he works at
a uh construction site in Homestead. So between that my
parents were looking at a private school and then Coral Shores.
So I really made the decision to stay, stay in
the Keys because we kind of enjoyed it last time.
(11:09):
So we went back.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So where did you start your high school? Career at,
in Sebastian.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Uh Actually I went to Sebastian River High School for
the first two years since the, the town high school.
All my friends went there. Um, a lot of, uh
big football program, pop like football is everything in that time.
That's where I really, like, found my love for football.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So, what, what sports did you, did you do anything
else besides football at Sebastian? Did you get started in
your weight lifting there?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Uh, really, I just started weightlifting, like part of the
football program. We just weight lifted, did the basic cleans
and stuff. I also did wrestling my freshman and sophomore year,
which really co, uh, correlated to football to get with
body placement, uh, controlling someone else's body being loose, being
(12:01):
able to move really well with my hips and everything
like that.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
So you end up going after your 10th grade year,
you end up coming down to Key Largo and, and going,
going to Coral Shores High School. Um, how was everybody
at Coral Shores when you got there? And, and what
was that experience? Like going to, like, it's got to
be difficult
going to a new high school right before your junior year.
What was that like?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Uh, it was really, uh, it was kind of disappointing
because I wanted to really play with my friends, like
friends I grew up with since I was in preschool, uh,
play with them. Going into my junior and senior year,
but um it was disappointed as it was, it was
a new opportunity. So I just looked at the opportunistic
side of it and really just said, hey, if I
(12:48):
can ball, I can ball anywhere.
So, coming down here, everyone's really welcoming football team was
the first day I got there already cracking jokes, treating
me like family. So it's a really, really easy transition.
Uh They really made it easier. So the coach, uh
James and coach Bryant just welcoming me having like working
with me the first day. Actually, my first day I
(13:10):
got back from vacation. I went straight to practice. That's
how excited I was just to meet everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
And then what would you say? Like the differences between
playing football in the Keys at Coral Shores High School
and playing at Sebastian River?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Uh definitely uh
the crowd aspect coming from my school, my old school
had like 2500 kids to come into a school that
has sub 1000. So it was like, really everyone really
knows your name. Like they, everyone learns everyone's name pretty
quickly even. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I had
(13:46):
the short, that was probably the best student section I've
ever had in my high school career. So that was
a real, that was a real step up from my
old school, which I really liked because
it was just, just felt more lively, like more like
a college game kind of student sections. Just going crazy
every single game.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Well, that's something about, like being in a small town,
you know, like, and, and I always equate, like the
high schools here with like Coral Shores Marathon in Key West.
It's like, those are three little small towns. So, like
everybody at Coral Shores, everybody knows every player and all
the fans that come, they all know all the players.
So you are getting a way more personalized thing than
(14:25):
if you're in a big city at a big school
and nobody knows anybody really. So it's like this sort
of tradeoff in certain ways you're gonna get
like that hometown feeling. And I know that like a
lot of the teams that we play at marathon, a
lot of the teams that, you know, you've seen it
too when you travel, like, when you go up to
some of these, like, you guys went up to sunset
last year for football, you know, I don't wanna, I
(14:47):
don't wanna knock sunset or anything like that but they
don't have the kind of fan support and the atmosphere
at their home games that we have at ours.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yeah. Yeah. Really? It was kind of like during the
day it was just like students coming out of school
just stopping for like, 20 minutes, look at the game
and then they just
Speaker 1 (15:06):
left. But like, some of the students were like, there's
a football, there's a football game today. Wait, we have
a football team, what, what, what's going on here? Yeah.
You
Speaker 2 (15:14):
know, it was kind of like, I was kind of
even looking at, I'm, like, dang, there's no crowd here.
It's kind of, it's kind of weird.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
It is. It is. And that's something that, that,
you know, sometimes maybe some of us take for granted
down here. But it's a really special thing, you know, like,
when you think about, I know, like a lot of
schools with, and I know it's with Coral Shores. I
know it's with, with Key West. I know it's with
us too. There's a lot of schools that are like, no,
we want to come down here because our students, like,
(15:42):
our players are gonna get this nice football atmosphere that
we normally don't get. So they're happy to come down.
So it's really,
you know, sort of a special place where we're at and,
and so you're in your, you played your junior year?
Did you play offensive line and defensive line? Your junior
year here?
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yes, sir. I actually majority. I played defensive line my
junior
Speaker 1 (16:03):
year and then
Speaker 2 (16:06):
going into my senior year, we had a coach at
a comeback, which
was really awesome. I love him as a coach, his energy.
It's like, it's like no other, I hope I have
the same energy in college. If I'm being honest with you,
I wish he could come coach me in college, but
he had me play, uh, offensive guard and tackle this year?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah. Did you, like when they found when they said, ok,
Coach Holley's coming back? Coach Holley is coming back. Did
you know him from before? And, and whether or not
you did or didn't, did you go check out last
chance U to see what he was all about?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Uh, actually, uh, I watched Last Chance u it was
back when I first started playing football in seventh grade.
I started watching it, then I rewatched it and when
they said coach Holly was coming, I've actually played against
him my junior year at Defen. Uh, I played defensive tackle.
He actually came up to me after the game. Uh, unfortunately,
we lost the game but he came up to me
(17:01):
and said, I have 365 days to find a way
to block you. And I just, I just smiled coming
from a coach from him because I noticed him. He
was on Last chance too. And I'm like
a college coach just told me that man, that's, that's
absolutely crazy. Then when I found out he was just
actually coming to coach here. It was like, I was
just so excited. I was like, no other.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Oh, I mean, everybody was, it's such a big addition
to Monroe County football to have Coach Holley coaching at
Coral Shores. And, you know, it makes everybody else have
to get on point and, and get their lives in
order to compete with him. Because he's doing such a
great job. And then, like,
you know, for those of our listeners out there, Coach Holly,
I think was featured on the second season of last
(17:41):
Chance U because he ends up being the defensive coordinator
over there at Scuba. Is that? That's correct. Right. Xavier.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah. Yeah, I was actually, like, when I actually, it
was pretty crazy. I actually saw, um, my teammate John
Holley when he was like, all little. It was really funny,
really funny to watch him and Eddie just run around
on the football
Speaker 1 (18:00):
field. It's crazy because, you know, going to that when
you watch it, you really see Coach Holley is just
super positive and he's has high energy
and he's encouraging everybody and he's doing a great job
and it's such a dichotomy between him and then the,
the head coach is just so mean. You know what
(18:22):
I mean?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Yeah. Yeah, I really, I was like, dang, is really,
this man is so mean. I was so bad.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
It's, it's something else but, you know, so you're, you're
coming into but before you get to your senior year, um,
obviously somebody, I don't know if you just figured it
out or someone said, hey Xavier, you need to be
on the weightlifting team. How did that whole thing work out?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Uh, so when I got to close source, they had
first thing I did, I definitely put weight lifting on
my schedule and, um, I was just in there lifting
one day and, um, Miss Hamilton, who was the, uh,
gym teacher at the time, she saw me lifting. She was, like,
have you ever done a lippy lifting before? And I
was like, I have no idea what that is because, like,
(19:08):
I was just squatting. I had, like, probably four or
five on the bar just doing sets of 10 and
then she just walked over to me. She's like, yeah,
you gotta join the weight lifting team and I'm like,
sure it's another sport. Might as well try it.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
So, what would you,
Speaker 2 (19:22):
it just, it just went
Speaker 1 (19:24):
off. Was it a, was it a difficult transition for
you to go from like traditional football weight lifting? You know,
and then to go to Olympic weightlifting? How difficult was
that for you?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Uh, it wasn't too much actually, it, it, it was
a change but it wasn't too much because in football
you already kind of do the basic power clean. And
the real difference was the snatch because I had no
idea what the snatch was at all. So I kind
of just try, just watched the Olympic from the Olympics
(19:57):
in 2020. Just watched it, tried to learn the technique,
just kept working on, it, just kept trying to perfect
it and
it just all worked out because the rest of it
was easy. I can do it clean and then clean
a jerk is just, uh, pretty much a press over
my head and then the bench of course is just,
that's a basic football 101. So the snatch was really
(20:18):
just the, the culture shock for me.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
And then like,
so going into it, your junior year is your first
year weightlifting? You know, you get through district, you get
through regionals and you actually end up in the state championship.
What was, what was that moment like for you?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
it was something like I've never felt before. It was
kind of just when they loaded the weight on the bar,
I started freaking out a little bit and I was
just like, you just gotta calm down, just live in
the moment, just zero out and focus on what you
gotta do.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
And then it had to be, I mean, was it
refreshing for you growing up playing team sports all the
time and not only playing team sports, but you're an
offensive lineman and you're a defensive lineman. So you're really
never getting noticed too much to go to something like
weight lifting where you don't have any teammates. And basically,
you know, you are the final result of whatever happens.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
It was definitely different. It was like, because you have
everyone watching you. It's not like a team sport where
everyone and like its almost equal or no recognition, depending
on the position. It's like everyone's watching me, everyone is
kind of, that's why I kind of like weight lifting.
It kind of like you're competing
(21:41):
to succeed because, you know, it means as much to
them as it would mean to you if you were lifting.
So then after it's just, everyone was just screaming, just
typing me up. And I think that's what really drove
me to hit it perfectly and it was just, it
was just such a good moment. I, I just couldn't
believe it myself.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I mean, here you are, you're a state champion as
a junior. And when do you, as for as far
as weightlifting goes, like, are you immediately in the gym
the next day? Training for next year
Speaker 2 (22:11):
actually? Yeah, I was, I was just, I had to,
I was like, oh yeah, let's see how far we
can take this. So I started next day, I was
back in, back in the office, as I say, just working,
trying to perfect it even more fine tuning the little
things that I could have done better in that lift
and then just overall just getting stronger.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Yeah, man. And then obviously that's gonna translate into football
and you know, we'll move into that a little bit.
You know, you were recruited by a number of schools,
you end up seeing a lot of interest from the
Naval Academy and congratulations to you on that. And
thank you, I am very aware of the whole idea
of the prep school and like what our to our
(22:54):
fans out there. Like, what happens is this is a
great opportunity for the academies. For Air Force Academy has
a prep school. Uh, West Point has a prep school.
The Naval Academy has a prep school and, you know,
they use it for enlisted people who want, who they see. Hey,
here's some guys that can go to the academy. We
need to get them a year of schooling.
It's a win. And I think for athletes they use
(23:15):
it as a red shirt ear a lot of the
times Xavier, you know, and, and so correct me if
I'm wrong, it's in Rhode Island.
Yeah, it's in Rhode Island. And so, but before we
get to there, let's go to like your junior year,
the summer after your junior year. What was the recruiting
process like, when did it start for you?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Uh, so actually my, probably the last week of school,
probably the last second or last or last week of school. Uh,
Stetson actually came to the school because they having coaches
come through for the spring recruiting session. And the sting coach,
I talked to him for a little bit and I
think he was my first actual offer. Like he took
me outside standing with my brother and just said we
(24:00):
want to offer you. And I was like,
there, there's no way I actually been working for this
for so long. And then actually just having the coach
tell me face to face that he offered me was
just such a such a fulfilling feeling. I was just,
I actually,
I was, like, happy for the rest of the day.
I couldn't stop smiling.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Mhm. And then, um, did you do camps? Your junior year?
What other schools started showing interest?
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Yes, sir. So, I actually, um, my junior, my junior
summer I did the FIU camp. Then I came back.
I did, so I did really good at the FIU
one day camp that they actually had me come back
for a lineman camp. And then from there, I went
to FBU Top Gun, which uh in March earlier that
year actually uh performed and got a spot to go
(24:47):
to Top Gun, which is the top 1500 athletes in
the country
up. And I'll go to Nap Nap, Naples and just
compete for um
ABC like the all American Game Award team award, like
all Camp award and everything like that. So it was from,
and actually I went to Holy Cross camp up in Massachusetts,
(25:09):
which I have family in Worcester. So it would have
been cool to go there. But uh it obviously didn't
play out that way.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
It's always funny like I saw through the recruiting process
uh with my oldest son about how sometimes regional, a
lot of these schools are, you know, like when you
go somewhere to like Holy Cross so many times they're
so interested in just regional players. You know what I mean? It's,
it's weird, they look at you they're like, you're from Florida.
What are you doing here? You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Yeah. Yeah, 100%. Actually, a couple of the coaches are like, man,
what are you doing up here from Florida? I'm like,
actually I have family right in Worcester. And they're like, oh, really?
That's absolutely crazy.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
So, you're, you're doing, you know, like the whole camp
scene and you have the summer before your senior year
and I'm sure that Coach Holly shows up, you know? Really?
I know you, you heard about him? You saw him
on TV? But what were your first impressions when he
got to Coral Shores?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I was kind of, I was kind of, I was
first skeptical. I was like, ok, so we have a coach,
him play played against me. So he probably knows what
I'm gonna do. And then as the coach, the old coaches, uh,
coach Brian coach James asked us all to come in
to the gym to come introduce him. We didn't actually
know it at first and then he walked in
and then I swear to you. When that, when he
gave his introduction speech, I was on the edge of
(26:28):
my seat. I was, I wanted to pad up right
there and just go play a football game. He, he
just has such good energy when he speaks. It's absolutely crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
And then, you know, fall camp starts and everything and,
you know, I mean, you know, your junior year, you
guys are pretty good and then your senior year, you know,
with Coach Holley comes in, you guys sort of explode
on the scene. Um, why, why was that?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I think it was because, uh, Coach Holley had more
of a,
we, we want you to play but we don't need
you to play. So everyone actually had to earn their spot.
It more like a competition. We worked harder. We got
closer as a team. Coach Holley really had a good
game plan going into the season. Uh, everyone was just
(27:14):
gun ho everyone just came to practice every day. Everyone
grinded as much as some days were worse than others.
We just kept going back, kept working, kept getting better.
And I think that's what really coach Holley just
pushing us to our max limit. I think every single
day just really kind of pressured everyone else just to
get better quicker than what we usually would have.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
So you guys explode on the scene. You start out,
you know, you guys are playing great football, you guys
are playing lights out defense offense is doing very well.
And then there's like this crazy thing that goes on
during the season where the stars align and we have
a game in Monroe County that we haven't had in
a long time and that's Key West High School versus
Coral Shores. Like, what were your feelings, you know, sort
(28:00):
of going into that game,
Speaker 2 (28:03):
uh, going into that game. I knew we were kind
of the underdog. We definitely counted out. So going into
the game, I'm like,
II, I wanted to play Key West last the year before.
So I was like, I finally get the opportunity to
play against kids who like Andre Otto, I was really
excited about that matchup all week. I was just, it was,
(28:24):
it was crazy. I was just so hyped just to
play a team who's played big opponent, big opponents. It was,
it was really good energy going into the week. We
all just were just so excited regardless of the outcome.
We were just started to play them
Speaker 1 (28:40):
well. I mean, I thought I was at that game
and I thought you guys played pretty well, you know,
to be honest with you at first, you know, looking
back at that game at, at the beginning now, a
lot of times you, the, the, the game sort of
goes that way, like at the beginning, you, you guys
like Key West is sort of doing whatever they want
to do. But then as the game goes on all
(29:00):
of a sudden, things start to really settle down and
you guys start to play well
and I thought you guys played really well that game
to be honest with you and, and the score sort
of reflected it. I mean, it was a close game.
You guys had your moments, they had their moments, but
you guys deserve to be on the field with them and,
(29:20):
and I thought you guys played really well and it was,
I thought it was a great thing for Monroe County football.
Forro Shores to play Key West, you know, and that
has to be a great memory for you moving forward.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Hm. Yeah, it was, it was going to the game,
it was senior night but it was such a, it
was such a good matchup. Just,
just keys football and it really just going back and forth. Just,
it was a, uh, actually I got hurt in the
second half but I still kept up with the game.
I tried to actually come back like I could, I
(29:53):
had to get, uh, helped over to the trainer office,
but I wanted to get back in the game. That's
how much, that's how much energy was just surrounded around.
It just the, the crowd was awesome. The teams just
fighting back and forth. It was such a, such a
good experience.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
It's so great, you know, I, you know, obviously this
podcast isn't about me, but I've been coaching in the
Keys for a long time and I've been in a
lot of different schools and I, I've seen a lot
of high school football games down here and it does,
it's so crazy because it doesn't matter like the records or,
but when Key West plays Marathon,
when marathon plays Coral Shores, when Corl Shores plays Key West,
(30:32):
it's just a completely different vibe. It doesn't, you know,
you're gonna have a packed house, you know, that everybody's
going to be on the of their seat and it's
just so great that you guys at Corl Shores, you've
got that opportunity to play, you know, to play against
Key West and hopefully it sort of can moving into
the future. It could become a regular thing where we
all play each other. I think that, that, that's just
(30:52):
great for everybody, you know. So your, your football season
is over, you're, you're coming in and I know, you know,
you really didn't do a winter sport. I'm sure you,
you're preparing for weight lifting and then weightlifting gets here.
Was there that kind of pressure that I'm the man,
everybody's coming after me at these meets. Like, did you
(31:14):
feel people chasing you? Did that drive you to train more?
What was it like going into your senior year
Speaker 2 (31:21):
going into my senior year for weight lifting? I kind,
I kind of set the bar pretty high. I was,
I already knew some people were coming after me. Uh
Actually the kid from last year, uh, who came in
second to me. He texted me like the day we started.
He's like, hey, man, I hope you're ready. And I
was like, man, let's bring it, let's go 100%. Let's
just keep working. So that kind of really drove me
(31:43):
to just be the best, best lifter. I ever can
in my second year, which really, really just propelled everything,
Speaker 1 (31:51):
man. So then
we talked a little bit before summer, before your senior year,
your recruiting process. How did that recruiting process change? You
talk about getting the offer from ST and you know,
moving into your senior year, um, did the recruiting pick up? What,
what was that like?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Uh, really what I kind of lived by was once
you get that first offer, first offer is the hardest
offer to get in my opinion.
So, um from there, uh a couple more coaches started
texting me actually, maybe with my second offer, they offered
me sometime in July, I think like a day after
my birthday actually, which was actually pretty cool. It happened
(32:31):
and then going into my senior year, um just kept
balling out showing film a lot, a bunch of schools
got came into interest. Uh US f actually gave me
preferred walk on spot. Um in October, I think,
and like from the summer, I think I got offered
by Stetson Navy Cornell.
(32:53):
Um actually from the FBU camp, I got an offer
from uh Juco, I mean, nai A in Kentucky and
then just coaches kept keeping in contact, kept checking in.
It was actually really good. I actually really happy with
my recruiting experience.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
That's great. And that's first of all, obviously for people
out there that don't understand a lot of these institutions
require very, very high grade point average Naval Academy and, um,
a lot of those other schools, a high GPA high
sat score. So, congratulations there. But it's so interesting. It's
(33:28):
so interesting. You have this, this different, uh, dichotomy
of schools that are talking to you. You know, you're
talking about us f they're offering you a preferred walk
on spot, which is, which is actually quite an honor.
I mean, that's, that's a big time. D one school.
You have the Naval Academy. You're talking about Stetson, which
is uh football championship subdivision and they're, they're that division
(33:52):
one level there. And then you talk about an nai
a school which is a college football team that's not
in the NCAA. So you have all of these different
types of schools. So you're trying to figure out everything.
I'm sure Coach Holly's trying to figure out your parents
are trying to help you figure out at the end
of the day. What led you to the Naval Academy?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Uh What really led me to the Naval Academy was
um my grandpa is the same work your work the
1st 25 years of your life and then the rest
will be a breeze. So now looking at the Naval
Academy saying,
but not just all the attributes that come with football
because the facilities and everything are just top tier. Uh
looking at it like I wanna work for 40 years, I,
(34:39):
I worry about my 44 my 40 years, not my
first four. So
coming out of my third year in the job making
six figures sounded really, really good. Being able to have
a job long term and then coming out of that
job and being able to be qualified in something else
just sounded really good in a long term game. So
that's what kind of led me to it. Also, the
(34:59):
team and the coaching staff when I went on my
visit there, I kind of, it kind of reminded me
of a coach Holley type feeling. So I was just like, yeah,
it's something I want to be a part of for sure.
So I kind of made my decision right there and
then
Speaker 1 (35:13):
it, it's amazing. And then, you know, this idea too
that you're gonna be, you know, for certain, at least if,
I mean, many times, probably, probably almost all of your
games are going to be on national television, but then
you're gonna get that big Army Navy game every year,
prime time, everybody's watching that game. You're gonna be playing
in a big time stadium. I mean, as far as like,
(35:33):
you know, this is a sports podcast and we're talking
about sports and as far as football goes, you know,
you're at the top of the chain there as far
as division one football goes. So like, congratulations on that and,
and then like a little bit we touched on, on this.
You're gonna start out at, at Naps at the Naval
academy prep school. Have they given you your date? When
(35:54):
do you leave? When do you report?
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Uh, so I actually have to be there. July 25th.
I'm gonna, yeah, so, uh, at the, I'm actually starting
the football pre workout everything I started a week ago
and it's, it's no joke. It's,
it's, it's no joke for sure, but it's definitely, I'm
enjoying the process. Can't wait to get up there and
meet my teammates. It's gonna be, it's gonna be a
(36:18):
fun four years, five years actually be a fun five years. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (36:22):
man. It really is and, and enjoy everything and, and
take it all in and you're gonna have, you know,
you're gonna be playing Notre Dame, you're gonna be playing
all of these schools, you're gonna be traveling all over
and it's great when somebody from the Keys leaves here
and gets to have these kinds of experiences, you know,
so I'm just really happy for you and, and, and
(36:45):
proud of you and I think everyone in the keys
are and, and everybody wants to just wish you good
luck and congratulations and good luck in the future, man.
And do you have any, any last word you'd like
to say on the podcast today?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Uh Just any kids who listen to this don't let
anyone count you out because I was told I was
too short to go D one but see me going
to a top tier D one school just follow your dreams,
no matter how big they are. Just
don't let anyone tell you otherwise, prove them all wrong. That's,
that's what we're here to do. Just prove everyone wrong.
(37:19):
Just live your best life.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Well, once again, thank you for coming on today and
good luck at the Naval Academy.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Thank you, sir. Really appreciate it,
Speaker 1 (37:30):
man. I really enjoyed talking to Xavier Arrington there about
his career coming in as a junior to Coral Shores.
Uh after spending a year in Cudjoe is 1/6 grader
and going back to Sebastian and it was just a
great story and
you know, congratulations to him and all the other seniors
that are moving, moving out of the keys, moving to
(37:51):
big four year universities or tech schools or trade schools
or going to the armed service. This is the time
of the graduation season and congratulations to everyone and thank
you guys for listening to this podcast and check back
in next week because we have a lot of news
to report. Thank you guys so much.
Welcome back, everybody to the Keys weekly sports wrap podcast
with coach mcdonald, your place for Keys, sports news and history.
Check us out every Thursday, keys weekly dot com. Or
you could just search up Keys, weekly sports wrap podcast
and you could find all 36 of our episodes. Can
(00:29):
you believe that we started in August? We already have
36 episodes once a week going strong
just letting you guys know what's going on in Monroe
County and today on today's podcast, we're sort of gonna
have a little profile of a Coral Shores athlete, uh,
Xavier Arrington. So you're gonna have to hold on a
little bit for that because we had a lot of
(00:50):
things going on in Monroe County at all three of
our high schools just starting out with some results from
last week, you know, in softball, marathon softball loss to
gulliver 9 to 4.
Um, let's see, marathon softball won a forfeit against the
Hialeah Educational Academy. Um, Key West had some softball games
(01:13):
last week, they beat Westminster Christian 8 to 6. Key
West softball is coming off of a great year last
year where they went to the final four. Coral Shores
baseball last week was able to beat a quality team
in Lasalle 15 to 8. Good job Coral Shores.
Um Key West baseball lost to Sherman Douglas 13 to 2.
(01:36):
We're gonna talk about that one a little bit later
on in the podcast today. Uh Key West girls lacrosse
lost to American heritage, uh Coral Shores baseball, lost to
university school. Uh, they went up there and played Key
West baseball was able to bounce back and beat South
Dade high school. Another big time school over there in, uh,
a little bit north of Homestead. 4 to 2.
(01:58):
Marathon. Baseball. Had a big week. They won 10 to 1.
They beat South Homestead. Um Marathon baseball, also beat Redlands
Christian 18 to 9 marathon. Baseball. Also beat Westwood Christian
18 to 0. A lot of stuff going on in
Monroe County right now.
Spring football, you guys, you listen to the podcast. You know,
(02:19):
I'm a football coach at Marathon high School. I love
football and, and we talk about football. In fact, our
guest today is a football player. So spring football starts
May 1st. It's gonna start on Monday. I know that
I'm excited about that. I know the other coaches are
excited about that. The players, everybody's ready to go, but
we got some other things going on
marathon. This week is gonna be playing ransom in softball.
(02:41):
Key West is gonna be playing Miami high in baseball.
Key West softball, the out Western on the 28th on
the 29th, Key West baseball will be playing Miami High
and two second one of a double header. Key West
baseball then is district quarterfinals in May 1st marathon and
Coral Shores. Their district quarterfinal is May 1st,
(03:02):
um, possible district semis for Coral Shores and Marathon. And
the interesting thing is sort of could come together. You're
gonna hear it first on this podcast. What we're hoping
for is I would love to see Coral Shores and
Marathon are in the same baseball district. And I think
the way the seedings are starting to hash out that
there's a chance that there'll be a first round matchup
of key of, I'm sorry,
(03:24):
Coral Shores and Marathon playing. That would be a great
thing for Monroe County baseball to see them in the district. Um,
playoff Coral Shores and Marathon softball. Their districts are starting up, uh,
May 2nd
track just had their districts last week. Um, let's see
what else is going on track has regionals at Westminster
(03:48):
Academy on May 6th. And then, you know, let's talk
a little bit about what's going on with our baseball
teams here in Monroe County.
Uh, very newsworthy things going on. First of all, you
have marathon, their final regular season game was a road
win against Westwood. Christian Marathon had 13 hits in the romp,
(04:11):
beating Westwood 18 to nothing over five innings. The big
story with marathon baseball. This year is Dylan Seals. The
junior pitcher recorded his 100th strikeout and he ended up
getting seven more during that Westwood Christian game to give
them 100 and seven.
Um, Ryan Ibon for Marathon closed out that game striking
out four of the nine batters and allowing no hits
(04:33):
in his two innings on the mound
this week right now
is the conference playoffs for Marathon. They're in a conference
and then they'll have the district next week, the first
week of May.
Um, you know, we talked to Coach Enriquez on the podcast.
We're gonna move on to Qs baseball now and he
talked about teams wanting to come down to Key West
(04:56):
and he would never have to have a road game
if he didn't want to. And he says he schedules
two a year
so his team knows how to travel and they had
one of those and man did he schedule a team.
He scheduled Marjorie Stoneman Douglass High School. They're the defending
seven A state champions and they're number one in the
state this year. Now in Florida with athletics, the higher
(05:19):
the number, the bigger like you got a seven A
school is Stoneman Douglas. Um Key West High School is
number one in four A so seven A has a
lot more students than four A
and Key West goes up to Stone and Douglas and
plays and they lose 13 to 2. Key West struggled
to get things going. They managed to put some numbers
(05:41):
on the scoreboard in the fifth, but it would just
be too little for, to take down Stoneman Douglas Andon Rady, however,
was able to find his way around the Eagles pitching.
He had three hits in the game, Jack Haggard had
a base hit and Gabe Williams made the most of
his hit sending the ball over the fence for 1/5
inning home run.
Uh Lucky Barroso started the game lasting three innings with
(06:03):
relief from Jacob Burnham and Marlon Tako. The Conks gave
the Conchs gave up nine hits including four home runs
in the loss. But Key West able to bounce back
against another highly ranked seven. A team in the South
Dade Buccaneers. They won 4 to 2. Uh University of Florida.
Commit Felix on as on the mound for six innings.
(06:23):
Struck out five Burnham through one inning of relief. Haggard
had a single and a double leading the hitting for
Key West.
So Key West is gonna close out their regular season
against Miami High April 28th and 29th. And then they're
gonna go to the district playoff and high hopes for
Key West High School to get their 12th state championship.
(06:45):
So everybody's rooting for you guys in the Keys. So
good luck Key West High School as you move forward
in your district.
Uh, good luck to everybody. Really marathon's going into their
conference and then Coral Shores and Marathon will both be
in their district playoffs next week,
sort of record setting stuff for baseball. Also, Dylan Zeal
(07:05):
has we talked about before his 100 strikeout. He's leading
the state of Florida in strikeouts. Marathon's Brian Broch is
in the top 20 as far as stolen bases in Florida.
Koch's pitcher. Uh, Lucky Barrasso has a one hitter. I'm sorry,
he has one no hitter and one save in his
six weeks. So,
(07:25):
having a no hitter, there's, um, the highest number of
no hitters in the state is one. So he's leading
the state no hitters. There's a few pitchers with him though.
Felix Ong ranks among the top pitchers in the state
with another one with one no hitter. So Key West
has two pitchers that both have their own no hitters. That's,
that's pretty impressive. So baseball, doing big things, doing it upright,
(07:49):
softballs moving right along.
Key West High School is in the final four, last year.
Their district championship starts next week. Same with, um, Marathon.
Coral Shores is an independent in softball, so they do
not have a district tournament. So Coral Shores softball season
is over and there's still hope for Marathon and there's
(08:09):
still hope for Key West High to go to that
elusive state championship, which only a few teams in Monroe
County history can lay claim to. But
when you're talking about state championships, we're gonna have a
two time state championship on the line on the Keys
weekly sports wrap podcast. And that's coming up next and
(08:32):
to find out who stick around.
All right, welcome everybody back to the podcast. Uh We
have a very special guest today. I really enjoy this
part of the podcast when we bring some of the, uh,
prep sport athletes from Monroe County on and today we
have Coral Shores Senior. He's gonna be at Coral Shores
(08:53):
for a couple more weeks, uh, two time state champion.
He's going off to the Naval academy prep school to
be
a naval officer and a football player for the Naval Academy.
Xavier Arrington. How you doing today, sir?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
I'm doing really good. Doing really good. How are you?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I'm doing great man. And you know, there's so much
to talk about with you. There's so many different avenues of,
of your life and what has happened to you at
Coral Shores High School and in Monroe County schools tell us,
you know, just a little bit Xavier about, you know,
growing up, where, where did you grow up at? Did you,
have you been in the Keys your whole life?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
No, I haven't been in the Keys my whole life.
Um I grew up in a town in Sebastian about
uh 30 minutes south from Melbourne.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And then uh uh uh
Speaker 2 (09:41):
then my sixth grade year actually I lived in, I
went to Sugarloaf middle school. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. So
I know some people who go to Key West from
my middle school years and then we moved back uh
from seventh grade up to my sophomore year, which we
moved back to the Keys and Key Largo just last year.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
So you go to Cudjoe from Sebastian, you go to
Cudjoe your sixth grade year and you, you end up
at Sugarloaf. What was that experience like for you?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Uh It was definitely different um because in my old
middle school, like we had to wear uniforms, so finally
not having to wear a uniform all year, it kind
of threw me off a little bit where I actually
had to find outfits and stuff and then making new friends.
It was, it was a really good experience. Uh my
first real experience in the Keys and I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
And then that takes you to, did you go to
Key Largo School or did you go to PKS
Speaker 2 (10:34):
uh elementary school? Actually, I spent my elementary school years
in uh Sebastian. So I went to a school called
um Sebastian Elementary.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
So when did you end up moving to Key Largo?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Uh my going into my junior year. Actually, my dad's
work brought us down here. Um He, he works at
a uh construction site in Homestead. So between that my
parents were looking at a private school and then Coral Shores.
So I really made the decision to stay, stay in
the Keys because we kind of enjoyed it last time.
(11:09):
So we went back.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
So where did you start your high school? Career at,
in Sebastian.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Uh Actually I went to Sebastian River High School for
the first two years since the, the town high school.
All my friends went there. Um, a lot of, uh
big football program, pop like football is everything in that time.
That's where I really, like, found my love for football.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So, what, what sports did you, did you do anything
else besides football at Sebastian? Did you get started in
your weight lifting there?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Uh, really, I just started weightlifting, like part of the
football program. We just weight lifted, did the basic cleans
and stuff. I also did wrestling my freshman and sophomore year,
which really co, uh, correlated to football to get with
body placement, uh, controlling someone else's body being loose, being
(12:01):
able to move really well with my hips and everything
like that.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
So you end up going after your 10th grade year,
you end up coming down to Key Largo and, and going,
going to Coral Shores High School. Um, how was everybody
at Coral Shores when you got there? And, and what
was that experience? Like going to, like, it's got to
be difficult
going to a new high school right before your junior year.
What was that like?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Uh, it was really, uh, it was kind of disappointing
because I wanted to really play with my friends, like
friends I grew up with since I was in preschool, uh,
play with them. Going into my junior and senior year,
but um it was disappointed as it was, it was
a new opportunity. So I just looked at the opportunistic
side of it and really just said, hey, if I
(12:48):
can ball, I can ball anywhere.
So, coming down here, everyone's really welcoming football team was
the first day I got there already cracking jokes, treating
me like family. So it's a really, really easy transition.
Uh They really made it easier. So the coach, uh
James and coach Bryant just welcoming me having like working
with me the first day. Actually, my first day I
(13:10):
got back from vacation. I went straight to practice. That's
how excited I was just to meet everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
And then what would you say? Like the differences between
playing football in the Keys at Coral Shores High School
and playing at Sebastian River?
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Uh definitely uh
the crowd aspect coming from my school, my old school
had like 2500 kids to come into a school that
has sub 1000. So it was like, really everyone really
knows your name. Like they, everyone learns everyone's name pretty
quickly even. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I had
(13:46):
the short, that was probably the best student section I've
ever had in my high school career. So that was
a real, that was a real step up from my
old school, which I really liked because
it was just, just felt more lively, like more like
a college game kind of student sections. Just going crazy
every single game.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Well, that's something about, like being in a small town,
you know, like, and, and I always equate, like the
high schools here with like Coral Shores Marathon in Key West.
It's like, those are three little small towns. So, like
everybody at Coral Shores, everybody knows every player and all
the fans that come, they all know all the players.
So you are getting a way more personalized thing than
(14:25):
if you're in a big city at a big school
and nobody knows anybody really. So it's like this sort
of tradeoff in certain ways you're gonna get
like that hometown feeling. And I know that like a
lot of the teams that we play at marathon, a
lot of the teams that, you know, you've seen it
too when you travel, like, when you go up to
some of these, like, you guys went up to sunset
last year for football, you know, I don't wanna, I
(14:47):
don't wanna knock sunset or anything like that but they
don't have the kind of fan support and the atmosphere
at their home games that we have at ours.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yeah. Yeah. Really? It was kind of like during the
day it was just like students coming out of school
just stopping for like, 20 minutes, look at the game
and then they just
Speaker 1 (15:06):
left. But like, some of the students were like, there's
a football, there's a football game today. Wait, we have
a football team, what, what, what's going on here? Yeah.
You
Speaker 2 (15:14):
know, it was kind of like, I was kind of
even looking at, I'm, like, dang, there's no crowd here.
It's kind of, it's kind of weird.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
It is. It is. And that's something that, that,
you know, sometimes maybe some of us take for granted
down here. But it's a really special thing, you know, like,
when you think about, I know, like a lot of
schools with, and I know it's with Coral Shores. I
know it's with, with Key West. I know it's with
us too. There's a lot of schools that are like, no,
we want to come down here because our students, like,
(15:42):
our players are gonna get this nice football atmosphere that
we normally don't get. So they're happy to come down.
So it's really,
you know, sort of a special place where we're at and,
and so you're in your, you played your junior year?
Did you play offensive line and defensive line? Your junior
year here?
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yes, sir. I actually majority. I played defensive line my
junior
Speaker 1 (16:03):
year and then
Speaker 2 (16:06):
going into my senior year, we had a coach at
a comeback, which
was really awesome. I love him as a coach, his energy.
It's like, it's like no other, I hope I have
the same energy in college. If I'm being honest with you,
I wish he could come coach me in college, but
he had me play, uh, offensive guard and tackle this year?
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Yeah. Did you, like when they found when they said, ok,
Coach Holley's coming back? Coach Holley is coming back. Did
you know him from before? And, and whether or not
you did or didn't, did you go check out last
chance U to see what he was all about?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Uh, actually, uh, I watched Last Chance u it was
back when I first started playing football in seventh grade.
I started watching it, then I rewatched it and when
they said coach Holly was coming, I've actually played against
him my junior year at Defen. Uh, I played defensive tackle.
He actually came up to me after the game. Uh, unfortunately,
we lost the game but he came up to me
(17:01):
and said, I have 365 days to find a way
to block you. And I just, I just smiled coming
from a coach from him because I noticed him. He
was on Last chance too. And I'm like
a college coach just told me that man, that's, that's
absolutely crazy. Then when I found out he was just
actually coming to coach here. It was like, I was
just so excited. I was like, no other.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Oh, I mean, everybody was, it's such a big addition
to Monroe County football to have Coach Holley coaching at
Coral Shores. And, you know, it makes everybody else have
to get on point and, and get their lives in
order to compete with him. Because he's doing such a
great job. And then, like,
you know, for those of our listeners out there, Coach Holly,
I think was featured on the second season of last
(17:41):
Chance U because he ends up being the defensive coordinator
over there at Scuba. Is that? That's correct. Right. Xavier.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah. Yeah, I was actually, like, when I actually, it
was pretty crazy. I actually saw, um, my teammate John
Holley when he was like, all little. It was really funny,
really funny to watch him and Eddie just run around
on the football
Speaker 1 (18:00):
field. It's crazy because, you know, going to that when
you watch it, you really see Coach Holley is just
super positive and he's has high energy
and he's encouraging everybody and he's doing a great job
and it's such a dichotomy between him and then the,
the head coach is just so mean. You know what
(18:22):
I mean?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Yeah. Yeah, I really, I was like, dang, is really,
this man is so mean. I was so bad.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
It's, it's something else but, you know, so you're, you're
coming into but before you get to your senior year, um,
obviously somebody, I don't know if you just figured it
out or someone said, hey Xavier, you need to be
on the weightlifting team. How did that whole thing work out?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Uh, so when I got to close source, they had
first thing I did, I definitely put weight lifting on
my schedule and, um, I was just in there lifting
one day and, um, Miss Hamilton, who was the, uh,
gym teacher at the time, she saw me lifting. She was, like,
have you ever done a lippy lifting before? And I
was like, I have no idea what that is because, like,
(19:08):
I was just squatting. I had, like, probably four or
five on the bar just doing sets of 10 and
then she just walked over to me. She's like, yeah,
you gotta join the weight lifting team and I'm like,
sure it's another sport. Might as well try it.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
So, what would you,
Speaker 2 (19:22):
it just, it just went
Speaker 1 (19:24):
off. Was it a, was it a difficult transition for
you to go from like traditional football weight lifting? You know,
and then to go to Olympic weightlifting? How difficult was
that for you?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Uh, it wasn't too much actually, it, it, it was
a change but it wasn't too much because in football
you already kind of do the basic power clean. And
the real difference was the snatch because I had no
idea what the snatch was at all. So I kind
of just try, just watched the Olympic from the Olympics
(19:57):
in 2020. Just watched it, tried to learn the technique,
just kept working on, it, just kept trying to perfect
it and
it just all worked out because the rest of it
was easy. I can do it clean and then clean
a jerk is just, uh, pretty much a press over
my head and then the bench of course is just,
that's a basic football 101. So the snatch was really
(20:18):
just the, the culture shock for me.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
And then like,
so going into it, your junior year is your first
year weightlifting? You know, you get through district, you get
through regionals and you actually end up in the state championship.
What was, what was that moment like for you?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
it was something like I've never felt before. It was
kind of just when they loaded the weight on the bar,
I started freaking out a little bit and I was
just like, you just gotta calm down, just live in
the moment, just zero out and focus on what you
gotta do.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
And then it had to be, I mean, was it
refreshing for you growing up playing team sports all the
time and not only playing team sports, but you're an
offensive lineman and you're a defensive lineman. So you're really
never getting noticed too much to go to something like
weight lifting where you don't have any teammates. And basically,
you know, you are the final result of whatever happens.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
It was definitely different. It was like, because you have
everyone watching you. It's not like a team sport where
everyone and like its almost equal or no recognition, depending
on the position. It's like everyone's watching me, everyone is
kind of, that's why I kind of like weight lifting.
It kind of like you're competing
(21:41):
to succeed because, you know, it means as much to
them as it would mean to you if you were lifting.
So then after it's just, everyone was just screaming, just
typing me up. And I think that's what really drove
me to hit it perfectly and it was just, it
was just such a good moment. I, I just couldn't
believe it myself.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I mean, here you are, you're a state champion as
a junior. And when do you, as for as far
as weightlifting goes, like, are you immediately in the gym
the next day? Training for next year
Speaker 2 (22:11):
actually? Yeah, I was, I was just, I had to,
I was like, oh yeah, let's see how far we
can take this. So I started next day, I was
back in, back in the office, as I say, just working,
trying to perfect it even more fine tuning the little
things that I could have done better in that lift
and then just overall just getting stronger.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Yeah, man. And then obviously that's gonna translate into football
and you know, we'll move into that a little bit.
You know, you were recruited by a number of schools,
you end up seeing a lot of interest from the
Naval Academy and congratulations to you on that. And
thank you, I am very aware of the whole idea
of the prep school and like what our to our
(22:54):
fans out there. Like, what happens is this is a
great opportunity for the academies. For Air Force Academy has
a prep school. Uh, West Point has a prep school.
The Naval Academy has a prep school and, you know,
they use it for enlisted people who want, who they see. Hey,
here's some guys that can go to the academy. We
need to get them a year of schooling.
It's a win. And I think for athletes they use
(23:15):
it as a red shirt ear a lot of the
times Xavier, you know, and, and so correct me if
I'm wrong, it's in Rhode Island.
Yeah, it's in Rhode Island. And so, but before we
get to there, let's go to like your junior year,
the summer after your junior year. What was the recruiting
process like, when did it start for you?
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Uh, so actually my, probably the last week of school,
probably the last second or last or last week of school. Uh,
Stetson actually came to the school because they having coaches
come through for the spring recruiting session. And the sting coach,
I talked to him for a little bit and I
think he was my first actual offer. Like he took
me outside standing with my brother and just said we
(24:00):
want to offer you. And I was like,
there, there's no way I actually been working for this
for so long. And then actually just having the coach
tell me face to face that he offered me was
just such a such a fulfilling feeling. I was just,
I actually,
I was, like, happy for the rest of the day.
I couldn't stop smiling.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Mhm. And then, um, did you do camps? Your junior year?
What other schools started showing interest?
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Yes, sir. So, I actually, um, my junior, my junior
summer I did the FIU camp. Then I came back.
I did, so I did really good at the FIU
one day camp that they actually had me come back
for a lineman camp. And then from there, I went
to FBU Top Gun, which uh in March earlier that
year actually uh performed and got a spot to go
(24:47):
to Top Gun, which is the top 1500 athletes in
the country
up. And I'll go to Nap Nap, Naples and just
compete for um
ABC like the all American Game Award team award, like
all Camp award and everything like that. So it was from,
and actually I went to Holy Cross camp up in Massachusetts,
(25:09):
which I have family in Worcester. So it would have
been cool to go there. But uh it obviously didn't
play out that way.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
It's always funny like I saw through the recruiting process
uh with my oldest son about how sometimes regional, a
lot of these schools are, you know, like when you
go somewhere to like Holy Cross so many times they're
so interested in just regional players. You know what I mean? It's,
it's weird, they look at you they're like, you're from Florida.
What are you doing here? You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Yeah. Yeah, 100%. Actually, a couple of the coaches are like, man,
what are you doing up here from Florida? I'm like,
actually I have family right in Worcester. And they're like, oh, really?
That's absolutely crazy.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
So, you're, you're doing, you know, like the whole camp
scene and you have the summer before your senior year
and I'm sure that Coach Holly shows up, you know? Really?
I know you, you heard about him? You saw him
on TV? But what were your first impressions when he
got to Coral Shores?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I was kind of, I was kind of, I was
first skeptical. I was like, ok, so we have a coach,
him play played against me. So he probably knows what
I'm gonna do. And then as the coach, the old coaches, uh,
coach Brian coach James asked us all to come in
to the gym to come introduce him. We didn't actually
know it at first and then he walked in
and then I swear to you. When that, when he
gave his introduction speech, I was on the edge of
(26:28):
my seat. I was, I wanted to pad up right
there and just go play a football game. He, he
just has such good energy when he speaks. It's absolutely crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
And then, you know, fall camp starts and everything and,
you know, I mean, you know, your junior year, you
guys are pretty good and then your senior year, you know,
with Coach Holley comes in, you guys sort of explode
on the scene. Um, why, why was that?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I think it was because, uh, Coach Holley had more
of a,
we, we want you to play but we don't need
you to play. So everyone actually had to earn their spot.
It more like a competition. We worked harder. We got
closer as a team. Coach Holley really had a good
game plan going into the season. Uh, everyone was just
(27:14):
gun ho everyone just came to practice every day. Everyone
grinded as much as some days were worse than others.
We just kept going back, kept working, kept getting better.
And I think that's what really coach Holley just
pushing us to our max limit. I think every single
day just really kind of pressured everyone else just to
get better quicker than what we usually would have.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
So you guys explode on the scene. You start out,
you know, you guys are playing great football, you guys
are playing lights out defense offense is doing very well.
And then there's like this crazy thing that goes on
during the season where the stars align and we have
a game in Monroe County that we haven't had in
a long time and that's Key West High School versus
Coral Shores. Like, what were your feelings, you know, sort
(28:00):
of going into that game,
Speaker 2 (28:03):
uh, going into that game. I knew we were kind
of the underdog. We definitely counted out. So going into
the game, I'm like,
II, I wanted to play Key West last the year before.
So I was like, I finally get the opportunity to
play against kids who like Andre Otto, I was really
excited about that matchup all week. I was just, it was,
(28:24):
it was crazy. I was just so hyped just to
play a team who's played big opponent, big opponents. It was,
it was really good energy going into the week. We
all just were just so excited regardless of the outcome.
We were just started to play them
Speaker 1 (28:40):
well. I mean, I thought I was at that game
and I thought you guys played pretty well, you know,
to be honest with you at first, you know, looking
back at that game at, at the beginning now, a
lot of times you, the, the, the game sort of
goes that way, like at the beginning, you, you guys
like Key West is sort of doing whatever they want
to do. But then as the game goes on all
(29:00):
of a sudden, things start to really settle down and
you guys start to play well
and I thought you guys played really well that game
to be honest with you and, and the score sort
of reflected it. I mean, it was a close game.
You guys had your moments, they had their moments, but
you guys deserve to be on the field with them and,
(29:20):
and I thought you guys played really well and it was,
I thought it was a great thing for Monroe County football.
Forro Shores to play Key West, you know, and that
has to be a great memory for you moving forward.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Hm. Yeah, it was, it was going to the game,
it was senior night but it was such a, it
was such a good matchup. Just,
just keys football and it really just going back and forth. Just,
it was a, uh, actually I got hurt in the
second half but I still kept up with the game.
I tried to actually come back like I could, I
(29:53):
had to get, uh, helped over to the trainer office,
but I wanted to get back in the game. That's
how much, that's how much energy was just surrounded around.
It just the, the crowd was awesome. The teams just
fighting back and forth. It was such a, such a
good experience.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
It's so great, you know, I, you know, obviously this
podcast isn't about me, but I've been coaching in the
Keys for a long time and I've been in a
lot of different schools and I, I've seen a lot
of high school football games down here and it does,
it's so crazy because it doesn't matter like the records or,
but when Key West plays Marathon,
when marathon plays Coral Shores, when Corl Shores plays Key West,
(30:32):
it's just a completely different vibe. It doesn't, you know,
you're gonna have a packed house, you know, that everybody's
going to be on the of their seat and it's
just so great that you guys at Corl Shores, you've
got that opportunity to play, you know, to play against
Key West and hopefully it sort of can moving into
the future. It could become a regular thing where we
all play each other. I think that, that, that's just
(30:52):
great for everybody, you know. So your, your football season
is over, you're, you're coming in and I know, you know,
you really didn't do a winter sport. I'm sure you,
you're preparing for weight lifting and then weightlifting gets here.
Was there that kind of pressure that I'm the man,
everybody's coming after me at these meets. Like, did you
(31:14):
feel people chasing you? Did that drive you to train more?
What was it like going into your senior year
Speaker 2 (31:21):
going into my senior year for weight lifting? I kind,
I kind of set the bar pretty high. I was,
I already knew some people were coming after me. Uh
Actually the kid from last year, uh, who came in
second to me. He texted me like the day we started.
He's like, hey, man, I hope you're ready. And I
was like, man, let's bring it, let's go 100%. Let's
just keep working. So that kind of really drove me
(31:43):
to just be the best, best lifter. I ever can
in my second year, which really, really just propelled everything,
Speaker 1 (31:51):
man. So then
we talked a little bit before summer, before your senior year,
your recruiting process. How did that recruiting process change? You
talk about getting the offer from ST and you know,
moving into your senior year, um, did the recruiting pick up? What,
what was that like?
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Uh, really what I kind of lived by was once
you get that first offer, first offer is the hardest
offer to get in my opinion.
So, um from there, uh a couple more coaches started
texting me actually, maybe with my second offer, they offered
me sometime in July, I think like a day after
my birthday actually, which was actually pretty cool. It happened
(32:31):
and then going into my senior year, um just kept
balling out showing film a lot, a bunch of schools
got came into interest. Uh US f actually gave me
preferred walk on spot. Um in October, I think,
and like from the summer, I think I got offered
by Stetson Navy Cornell.
(32:53):
Um actually from the FBU camp, I got an offer
from uh Juco, I mean, nai A in Kentucky and
then just coaches kept keeping in contact, kept checking in.
It was actually really good. I actually really happy with
my recruiting experience.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
That's great. And that's first of all, obviously for people
out there that don't understand a lot of these institutions
require very, very high grade point average Naval Academy and, um,
a lot of those other schools, a high GPA high
sat score. So, congratulations there. But it's so interesting. It's
(33:28):
so interesting. You have this, this different, uh, dichotomy
of schools that are talking to you. You know, you're
talking about us f they're offering you a preferred walk
on spot, which is, which is actually quite an honor.
I mean, that's, that's a big time. D one school.
You have the Naval Academy. You're talking about Stetson, which
is uh football championship subdivision and they're, they're that division
(33:52):
one level there. And then you talk about an nai
a school which is a college football team that's not
in the NCAA. So you have all of these different
types of schools. So you're trying to figure out everything.
I'm sure Coach Holly's trying to figure out your parents
are trying to help you figure out at the end
of the day. What led you to the Naval Academy?
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Uh What really led me to the Naval Academy was
um my grandpa is the same work your work the
1st 25 years of your life and then the rest
will be a breeze. So now looking at the Naval
Academy saying,
but not just all the attributes that come with football
because the facilities and everything are just top tier. Uh
looking at it like I wanna work for 40 years, I,
(34:39):
I worry about my 44 my 40 years, not my
first four. So
coming out of my third year in the job making
six figures sounded really, really good. Being able to have
a job long term and then coming out of that
job and being able to be qualified in something else
just sounded really good in a long term game. So
that's what kind of led me to it. Also, the
(34:59):
team and the coaching staff when I went on my
visit there, I kind of, it kind of reminded me
of a coach Holley type feeling. So I was just like, yeah,
it's something I want to be a part of for sure.
So I kind of made my decision right there and
then
Speaker 1 (35:13):
it, it's amazing. And then, you know, this idea too
that you're gonna be, you know, for certain, at least if,
I mean, many times, probably, probably almost all of your
games are going to be on national television, but then
you're gonna get that big Army Navy game every year,
prime time, everybody's watching that game. You're gonna be playing
in a big time stadium. I mean, as far as like,
(35:33):
you know, this is a sports podcast and we're talking
about sports and as far as football goes, you know,
you're at the top of the chain there as far
as division one football goes. So like, congratulations on that and,
and then like a little bit we touched on, on this.
You're gonna start out at, at Naps at the Naval
academy prep school. Have they given you your date? When
(35:54):
do you leave? When do you report?
Speaker 2 (35:56):
Uh, so I actually have to be there. July 25th.
I'm gonna, yeah, so, uh, at the, I'm actually starting
the football pre workout everything I started a week ago
and it's, it's no joke. It's,
it's, it's no joke for sure, but it's definitely, I'm
enjoying the process. Can't wait to get up there and
meet my teammates. It's gonna be, it's gonna be a
(36:18):
fun four years, five years actually be a fun five years. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (36:22):
man. It really is and, and enjoy everything and, and
take it all in and you're gonna have, you know,
you're gonna be playing Notre Dame, you're gonna be playing
all of these schools, you're gonna be traveling all over
and it's great when somebody from the Keys leaves here
and gets to have these kinds of experiences, you know,
so I'm just really happy for you and, and, and
(36:45):
proud of you and I think everyone in the keys
are and, and everybody wants to just wish you good
luck and congratulations and good luck in the future, man.
And do you have any, any last word you'd like
to say on the podcast today?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Uh Just any kids who listen to this don't let
anyone count you out because I was told I was
too short to go D one but see me going
to a top tier D one school just follow your dreams,
no matter how big they are. Just
don't let anyone tell you otherwise, prove them all wrong. That's,
that's what we're here to do. Just prove everyone wrong.
(37:19):
Just live your best life.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Well, once again, thank you for coming on today and
good luck at the Naval Academy.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Thank you, sir. Really appreciate it,
Speaker 1 (37:30):
man. I really enjoyed talking to Xavier Arrington there about
his career coming in as a junior to Coral Shores.
Uh after spending a year in Cudjoe is 1/6 grader
and going back to Sebastian and it was just a
great story and
you know, congratulations to him and all the other seniors
that are moving, moving out of the keys, moving to
(37:51):
big four year universities or tech schools or trade schools
or going to the armed service. This is the time
of the graduation season and congratulations to everyone and thank
you guys for listening to this podcast and check back
in next week because we have a lot of news
to report. Thank you guys so much.
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