By LARRY GAGE
Special to the PRESS
Current assistant Port Isabel Tarpon football coach Johnathan Bodden is entering his sixth season as a member of the Port Isabel High coaching staff. He played Varsity football as an offensive lineman for the 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons. He visited with the Press recently and recalled what it was like to not only play for, but also to coach alongside of and against Monty Stumbaugh, who was the Tarpon head coach from 2001 through the 2016 seasons.
“It was awesome,” Bodden said. “I worked my butt off for him. I respect him a lot. If you bought into his program, you’d succeed.”
“When he needed to reprimand us he did, and it was fair,” he said. “I love that man and it was just great working for him. He was a great guy, fair and honest.”
After graduating from Port Isabel High in 2009, Bodden attended Texas State University in San Marcos. He graduated there in December 2013 with a degree in criminal justice. He became a volunteer assistant football coach under Stumbaugh for the 2014 season and served in that capacity for two years.
“I moved back down here, didn’t know what I wanted to do. He (Stumbaugh) told me I could volunteer to coach and I got a para-professional position. I stayed two years as a para, and my third year I was hired as a P.E. (Physical Education) coach at Garriga.”
Bodden added, “I had to go through the Alternative
Certification Program to get certified as a teacher. Then you have to pass your P.P.R. exam. Then I could teach Special Education, 4 through 8 grade, and P.E. at any grade level.”
Currently, Bodden is listed as the Fullbacks and Tight Ends coach, Assistant Offensive Line coach, and is in charge of strength and conditioning.
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