It's a bird... It's a plane...

It's University of Georgia's head football coach, Kirby Smart!

Coach Marshall McDuffie and UGA Head Football Coach, Kirby Smart

The faculty, staff, and students at Carrollwood Day School experienced something new this afternoon. University of Georgia’s head football coach, Kirby Smart, landing on the Patriots midfield by helicopter. Hot off his National Championship win over Alabama, Smart was on the CDS campus to visit Football Head Coach, Marshall McDuffie, about the CDS football program and his goals for the future. Marshall was able to take Smart on a tour of our campus and athletics facilities, while they spoke at length on how to create an impact on players, coaching staff, and fan base alike.

Marshall joined CDS in 2020 as both the Varsity Football Coach and Strength & Conditioning teacher at CDS. He has trained and mentored over 100 athletes who have gone onto collegiate athletics as well as 7 ESPN Top 100 athletes. Marshall also served as the AVID coordinator at Armwood High School where he managed a team of 15 faculty in helping at-risk and first-generation aspiring college students to complete their academic programs and apply for university admissions.

With several new coaches added to the rosters for the 2021-2022 season and 23 sports for athletes to choose from, CDS athletics is one of the premier athletics programs in Tampa Bay. Since 2020, we have had 23 CDS student-athletes commit to play at the collegiate level and our girls basketball team won the state championship. This season our Patriots have gone to states and regionals in swim, girls golf, girls volleyball, and football. We have had state records broken in swim and wrestling, with a four-time state champion amongst them. The future is bright for CDS student-athletes and the entire CDS athletics department.