Winning the ‘carrot’ for teens learning life lessons

By LOIS KINDLE

Travis Combs sees coaching as a tool for reaching young people and helping them grow. For him, beating an opposing team is simply the motivation.

“He doesn’t only care about winning, he cares about the team and each of us personally,” said Abby Elwell, star quarterback of the Lennard High School girls’ flag football team. “His coaching makes us not only better on the field but also better people off the field.

“His greatest strength is his dedication,” she continued. “No matter how things are going, he’s always there for us. His dedication is truly unmatched.”

Apparently, Combs’ steadfast commitment to both his players and the game have been a winning combination. His team recently came within one point and four seconds of winning a state title this season.

“I met the coach when Abby was a freshman on the team,” said Carrie Elwell, the teen’s mother. “From then on, I could tell how invested he was in his athletes. He’s great, tough on them but very respectful. I’ve seen a variety of coaching, but his is my favorite.”

Elwell said Abby grew athletically, but also as a leader, thanks to Combs.

“Her mental toughness, her ability to gather herself never faltered,” she said. “My hope is she will take that into college and then the rest of her life.”

Before Combs became the flag football team’s head coach five seasons ago, its record was 28 wins over 13 seasons. Since then, including a shortened three-game season in 2020, his teams have had a win-loss record of 66-17.

Next season, a half-dozen seniors will be missing from the team.

“I’m losing six high-level-functioning young women who are like ‘daughters’ to me,” Combs said. “All of them are going to college this fall. Five were part of our collegiate program, and the sixth is headed to USF with a 5.0 GPA.”

The coach will miss them, both as players and people, and the feeling is mutual.

At the team’s postseason banquet in June, the seniors surprised their coach by presenting Combs with a $1,000 scholarship to Hillsborough Community College to help him continue his ongoing education. The funding will be used for two Spanish classes he’ll need to earn a Bachelor of Education degree at either St. Petersburg College or USF.

“I’ve followed the team’s journey the past two years, and I could see the connection between him and his players and their parents,” said Melanie Davis, executive director of the Greater SouthShore Chamber of Commerce. “After talking with some of our scholarship committee members, we decided to fund his scholarship through the chamber’s annual scholarship fund.

The players presented it to him in both English and Spanish.”

Combs, 34, is earnestly grateful to his players and the chamber. He hopes to teach at the college level one day, when flag football goes to Division I schools.

“I need a four-year degree for that, and I don’t want to be left behind when it happens,” Combs said. “If it doesn’t, I want to teach at Lennard.”

Combs got into coaching football back in 2013, after Riverview High School head coach Mike Thornton asked him to work with his linebackers. He held the job until 2016, when he became the Sharks’ defensive coordinator for its girls’ flag football team. In late 2019, he was invited to coach girls’ flag football at Lennard and started there during the following spring.

“At first it was something different and fun to do,” Combs said. “But as I got into it, I saw girls need the same life lessons boys do, are more receptive to coaching and more eager to learn. I could coach them with the same passion, and they were more appreciative of being coached.

“I don’t do it for the money,” Combs continued. “My end result and reward are building young people first and winning from there.”

About Travis Combs

Born and raised in Ruskin, Combs’ life was scarred by trauma from an early age.

His parents divorced when he was 1.

He attended Cypress Creek Elementary School, Eisenhower Middle School and East Bay High School, where he played guard and defensive tackle on the Indians football team. He graduated in 2007.

Three years earlier, when Combs was 14, his 18-year-old brother P.J. was killed by a drunk driver, and playing football became his therapy.

“It helped me work through my stress and anger,” he said. “My mom was devastated at the time, and I didn’t want to be an added burden. So I became her rock, and that made me mentally tough. I was determined to be good for her.”

In 2009, Combs’ dad killed himself.

“It was totally unexpected, and I still don’t believe it or know why,” he said, noting the community, his coaches and football got him through it.

“There is a difference between living with loss and not living,” he said. “Young people today don’t want to deal with adversity. As coaches, we teach them to go through it, regardless of its nature, to help them build character. There are always winners and losers in life.”

Combs lives in Ruskin with Rascal, his 9-year-old Min-Pin, and has owned his own business, Lawn Barbers, since 2011.