By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com   

             Mark Farriba can coach, which has been pretty evident since his journey began on Aug. 29, 1985, with a 26-7 win over Mount de Sales and legendary head coach Mike Garvin.

            He can keep a secret pretty danged good, too.

            Months before the start of the 2021 season, and before Stratford’s ended with a 21-19 loss to Savannah Country Day almost three weeks ago in the first round of the GHSA Class A Private playoffs, Farriba was almost the only person who knew what was coming.

            The end of that long journey.

            After a meeting Thursday morning with his team, Farriba announced with a Stratford social media post that his 30th year as a head coach was his last year as a head coach.

            What surprised many at Stratford and in the local coaching circles had been a done deal.

            “I decided last summer,” the 64-year-old – for 10 more days – said before lunch and after a chunk of texts and calls. “Just the right time. Just time. There’s a time for everything, and it just felt like it was the right time.”

            And he kept it to himself. Seriously.

            “I didn’t tell anybody but my spouse until this fall,” Farriba said.

            After 44 years, the coach’s wife will keep an eye on the former coach.

            “She’s a little worried about how I’m going to handle everything not doing it,” Farriba said. “I told her I think I’m going to be able to handle it fine. She’s a great wife. She ain’t worried about her, she’s worried about me.”

            He wanted to make the decision in his heart and head before the season started, and didn’t want to tell anybody, so things would be as clear and uncomplicated as a high school football season – or high school anything – could be.

            “I didn’t want anything to happen that was going to change my mind,” he said. “It didn’t matter how the season went. None of that was going to matter. I wanted to do it on my schedule.

            “This was the right time.”

            Farriba finishes his head coaching career – he won’t say “never” about coaching, but does infer “never” as a head coach, with “I just don’t want to be the head of anything anymore” - with a 214-134-3 record, twice at FPD and twice at Stratford with a stint at Prince Avenue Christian, covering 30 seasons overall as a head coach.

            He went 78-51-2 at FPD, from 1985-90 and 1992-96, 95-57 at Stratford, from 2003-06 and 2013-2021, and 42-26-1 at Prince Avenue Christian from 2007-2012.

            Farriba has one GHSA and five GISA region championships, and the 2004 Class AAA GISA state championship on his resume. In 30 years, he had nine losing seasons, and cracked the 10-win mark eight times.

            Farriba graduated from Stratford in 1974 after a three-sport, All-State career, and went on to play football at Georgia, where he was part of the 1976 SEC title team.

            He was inducted into the Stratford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010 and into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame three years later.

            His coaching career started as an assistant under Bobby Brown at FPD. Farriba succeeded Brown as head coach in 1985 and began his career with a 12-1 record and a Southeastern Association of Independent Schools, the precursor – along with the Georgia Association of Independent Schools – to the Georgia Independent School Association in 1985 state title.

            In 1991, he took a year away to serve as a graduate assistant at Kentucky under head coach Bill Curry, Farriba taking the spot at the behest of Rick Rhoades, a longtime college coach who is still coaching at 74 at his 23rd new employer.

            “It was just an opportunity that kind of came up, and I wanted to do it, because I felt like I needed to get somewhere where I could see somebody do something a different way.” Farriba said. “I wanted to go learn and grow.

            “It was one of the best things I ever did.”

            Brown took over the Vikings for that 1991 season, going 6-7. Farriba returned to FPD for five more seasons before stepping down.

            “It was time,” he said.

            He then moved up the road to his alma mater as an assistant to Rodney Collins, who he would replace in 2003. And then in 2013. In between, he was head coach at Prince Avenue Christian, taking over the young program to start its third season.

            Farriba went 18-22 in his first four seasons, and 24-4 in his final two seasons with a semifinal and final trip.

            His first season back at Stratford in 2013 was another 10-win season, the Eagles going 10-3 but losing to Westfield and longtime head coach Ronnie Jones in the GISA Class AAA state title game, Stratford’s final game before moving to the GHSA.

            Farriba was at peace with a final season that didn’t end with a win, one that could’ve been better than it was – 7-4 - but was better than most expected.

            “We graduated 19 seniors last year, and there were a lot of people that thought we weren’t going to be very good. I thought they did a great job and really exceeded expectations and overachieved, and could’ve been even better.”

            The Eagles lost in overtime to Tattnall, by a touchdown to FPD, and by two points in the playoffs to Savannah Country Day, playing without standout Keondre Glover (broken hand in regular-season finale) and losing starting center Brigg White in the first half.

            “I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

            Ironically, his final game at Stratford a few weeks ago was the school’s final game in the GHSA, the Eagles part of a group of smaller private schools leaving the GHSA for a new athletics venture – still lacking details – under the GISA umbrella.

            Farriba has been vocal about assorted issues with the GHSA and private schools, and been for a move from the GHSA in the past few years, especially after the group separated public and private schools in regions for the regular season, then adding an attendance zone private schools had to adhere to, among other moves.

            But no, he has no plans to take on any role in the new GISA venture, though he’s certainly around to offer any thoughts, if asked.

            Farriba has no timetable as to how long he’ll remain as athletics director, but doesn’t seem in a hurry to get out of the high school athletics arena just yet.

            The Farribas have three children: son Jones is a farmer living in Iowa, son Rob is a coach at Oconee County, and daughter Sarah works at disability service ESP (Extra Special People) and is soon moving to Rome, Ga.

            Now that he has August to December – along with a chunk of the spring and summer – wide open, how long is the to-do list?

            Not very.

            “Yeah, I think there’s something I want to do,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure what it is.”

            He does, in fact, sort of have a couple plans, one an extension of his activity during spare time now

            “What I like to do is go to the beach and play pickleball with my wife,” he said. “And go sit on the beach. That’s what I like to do.

            “I love the beach, and I love pickleball, and I love my wife. Those three things, that’s all I need.”

            The Farribas’ pickleball schedule will now grow.

            “Exactly. Exactly,” he said. “I’d love to qualify and go some national tournament in the senior division, or something. I really like competing. The best part about pickleball to me is it’s giving me a chance to actually be a player again.

            “My window is closing pretty quickly on that.”

            The other is a little more vague, but very impactful.

            “The one thing I do want to do is I would love to help people, in various ways,” he said. “If I can help people, then that’s what I want to do. Anything. Whatever it is. I just want to be in a position where somebody needs some help, yeah.

            “I don’t have to coach again. I do want to help people.”