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Goose Creek Memorial names Daniel Ragsdale as new head coach.
PATRIOT NATION: Ragsdale tabbed new head coach at Goose Creek Memorial
Daniel Ragsdale has been named the new Goose Creek Memorial Patriot head football coach.
Ragsdale has been the interim coach since previous coach Shannon Carter took an Abilene Christian University assistant coaching job over the holidays. Ragsdale was the offensive coordinator for the Patriots the past few years.
“Becoming a head football coach in the state of Texas is one of the greatest honors bestowed on a coach,” he said. “It’s a tight fraternity. I’m ready to build what’s in front of me and take this thing as high as I can.
“It’s going to be a pretty seamless transition as it relates to a program stand-point. The kids know what to expect, so when I was announced, it was just right back to work.”
Ragsdale has learned from the best in the business. He played for and coached under Jacksonville High School coach Danny Long (Now Conroe ISD AD). Then he was an assistant at North Shore for coach David Aymond, then coach Brian Ford at Summer Creek and back to North Shore with Jon Kay.
“I’ve been so fortunate to be around some great programs and leaders,” he said. “God has put me in the right places at the right time.
“Each has taught me something different. Coach Long taught me how to become a man and how to treat people at all levels. He was like a dad to me. When I got to North Shore under David Aymond, he gave me so much administration responsibility. I learned program organization. With coach (Jon) Kay, I learned overall program structure and what tremendous program success looks like.”
Now that he’s at the helm of his own ship, what will he change?
“On the field, I want to be more explosive on both sides of the ball and attack, attack and attack. It’s about the tempo in which we work all the time.
“We are going to continue to win over our community,” he said. “The only way to do that is to pay it forward and get down to the feeder pattern – the elementary and junior highs – to build a true Patriot Nation.”
Martinez named AD at Goose Creek CISD
Lee Martinez was named the Goose Creek Consolidated ISD athletic director… in an unprecedented year of a pandemic.
But maybe that's a good thing. Martinez was an assistant AD at GCCISD for two years before being named the AD in early September.
"It's a challenge don't get me wrong," he said. "Other ADs in the past were able to lean on the AD who was leaving. I learned a ton from Dr. Bernie (Mulvaney) but he's taking another position and has his own job to do.
"But what is so different about this situation is that it's new for all ADs in Houston and across the state. We are ALL working together. We are all giving each other advice like – how to handle volleyball or JV football or junior high athletics? We are learning from each other."
Martinez has had an interesting path to this post. He played and then coached at Milby High School. He then coached football and baseball at Galena Park and North Shore High School, winning a few state titles along the way.
"When I was a player, I knew I always wanted to coach," he said. "It was just on my heart. When I became a coach and saw people like Ed Warken running Galena Park ISD, I knew I wanted to be an AD. I learned a lot from him, and he persuaded me to get my Masters."
"What better job can you have? You are around athletics and kids and get to mentor coaches. It's perfect."
Martinez will begin to put his stamp on the district in due time. For now, he's just holding on for the ride.
"This comes with the job," he said. "You never know what is going to come up and we've never had to deal with anything like a pandemic before. But I'm thrilled to be here and can't wait to see what the future holds."