Sports
Laurel High Names New Head Football Coach
Todd Sommerville, an assistant coach for four seasons at Parkdale, takes on a new challenge with the Spartans.
Laurel High announced Friday morning that Todd Sommerville has been named the new head varsity football coach.
Sommerville, a graduate of Franklin High School in Baltimore County, has been an assistant coach at Parkdale High in Riverdale for four seasons and was the defensive coordinator during the 2009 season. Sommerville teaches physical education at Parkdale and he played football at Franklin High and at Division II Catawba College in North Carolina.
Sommerville was one of seven candidates interviewed on Thursday, according to long-time Laurel Athletic Director Terry Parfitt. All seven are or have been assistant or head coaches in Prince George's County schools, according to Parfitt. The four-person search committee included principal Dwayne Jones, who played football at Laurel High and was the boys' varsity basketball coach at the school in the 1990s. Sommerville and Parfitt both said keeping athletes eligible in terms of academics will be a big part of the challenge for Sommerville.
Find out what's happening in Laurelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Sommerville takes over for Brian Moore, who had a record of 6-24 in the previous three seasons. The school now has had five coaches since Chuck Hickes stepped down after the 2000 season. The Spartans have not had a winning season since 1997 and have not been to the playoffs since 1992. Laurel won its only state title under Hickes in 1987.
"Part of my interview with [Parfitt] was about academics," Sommerville told Laurel Patch on Friday. "Laurel has been loaded with talent. We just have to get them there in the program. If the kid does not have the grades we can not get them to play."
Find out what's happening in Laurelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Sommerville, who learned Thursday night he had been hired, is slated to meet again with Parfitt on Tuesday and discuss possible meetings with parents and students. Parfitt said Jones hopes to get Sommerville a position as a physical education instructor at Laurel High by the fall but that is not a sure thing.
"He is very enthusiastic," Parfitt said. "He seems to be as passionate as can be about football. I think he will relate to the kids well. The committee was impressed with the whole package. We think he can turn it around."
