Jeff Lloyd looked into the faces of his

Manassas Park

players Wednesday afternoon and he realized two things: This was going to be

harder than he thought and he would never coach them on a football field again.

Lloyd has agreed to lead the football program at the new

School in Fauquier County next fall when the school opens its doors.

"That was more difficult than I thought it was going to be," Lloyd, 39, said

Friday when asked about addressing his team for the final time. "Looking in the

faces and eyes of those players that have given all they have. It was hard."

The Cougars' most successful coach in the school's 31-year history explained

his reasons for leaving to the players and that he expected nothing less than

full effort from them for whoever replaces him.

Lloyd also wanted his charges to know his decision had nothing to do with

what he called "two sub-par years" during which Manassas Park went 5-5 in 2006

and 4-6 this season.

"I [also] wanted them to hear it from me because it had leaked out already,"

he said. "I just told them sometimes changes are needed in life and I thanked

them for their effort."

He added that he would be available to any of them, particularly the seniors,

if they ever needed something.

Lloyd was the head football coach at Manassas Park for 10 years, posting an

81-33 record and leading the Cougars to five straight playoff appearances from

2001 to 2005.

In 2004, Manassas Park won the Group A Division 2 state championship and

finished with a 14-0 mark. Lloyd and the Cougars reached the final again a year

later in 2005, but fell to Giles, 35-34.

"I have a ton of memories but I guess I have two favorites," Lloyd recalled.

"One was winning the region title in 2004 and making the state finals. The other

was the state championship, walking onto the field, knowing we were one of only

two teams left."

Lloyd praised the administrative staff that he has worked with during his

tenure, adding that he will miss the people in the building more than anything

else.

"There are too many things to list that I'll miss. Every article of clothing

has Cougar Football on it somewhere or it's black and gold," Lloyd said.

With the ending of his coaching career at Manassas Park comes a new beginning

at Kettle Run, a prospect Lloyd is excited about.

Lloyd said he had turned two down two other opportunities to become a head

football coach else-where over the last two years. He declined to name the two

programs, but said he decided to accept the Kettle Run position because it was

the right time for a move.

The Group AA program will participate in an independent varsity schedule (no

in-district opponents) in its first year as opposed to playing junior varsity

teams.

Kettle Run will have no seniors but will have freshmen through juniors and

will join the Northwestern District in 2010 for football.

"I get to start a program and the thing that's appealing to me is that for

all the kids the system is brand new," he said. "It'll be fun to see two years

down the road where they've gotten to."

Lloyd also said another reason for leaving was the demographic change at

Manassas Park High School.

"That demographic change has hit the football program hard," Lloyd said. "The

large percentage of kids in the school don't play football. And in a small

school, it is tough."

In addition, Lloyd, who lives in Bealeton, said one of the biggest factors

for making the change was that his wife, Tonya, was ready to start working again

with their youngest child, Trent, beginning kindergarten.

The Lloyds have four children with twins, Kimberly and Megan, in fifth grade

and his eldest daughter, Ashley, set to attend Kettle Run as a freshman in

2008.

Despite the family ties to the move, some were upset about the decision.

"[Our] twins weren't happy," Lloyd said about telling his kids. "One said, 'I

hope you lose every game and I'm booing.' She's feeling better about it now,

though."

Lloyd has taught at Manassas Park for 16 years and spent three years as the

school's athletic director. He coached the baseball team for 12 years and led

them to a state tournament appearance in 1998.

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