The Athletic program at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School has a reputation for greatness, so it was not surprising when the man who sits at the helm, Coach Twan Russell, was named the 2026 Florida Coaches Coalition Southeast Region Athletic Director of the Year. Coach Russell was once in the shoes of the STA students as he is an alumni graduating in 1992. He later went on to play college football at the University of Miami from 1992-1996. After that, he played for the Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, and the Atlanta Falcons and retired in 2004.
After retirement, Coach Russell wanted to give back to his community coaching for his school and would later become the athletic director. Being the AD for St. Thomas Aquinas is a difficult job to take on, but Coach Russell had no problem as he kept the school a top running program in the country, winning 30 state championships in five years. Asking Coach Russell about his accomplishment, he feels that it was a shared accomplishment stating “ We have a motto at St. Thomas Aquinas, You Go We Go. Individually, we do our jobs, and we all have success together: we strive to be the best in class in all we do.” This shows the selfless traits of Coach Russel as he accepts one of the most prestigious awards at his position and he continues to include others in his achievements. Some of the things that Coach Russell takes pride in to be such a superior leader, is keeping students on top of their grades, staying available to coaches at all times, and keeping everyone in the school community on the same page. One thing that made Coach Russell stand out from others is his spiritual drive: “I am most proud of the spiritual growth within our athletic programs. This year, 60 percent of our teams participated in weekly team devotionals, up from 30 percent last year.” He said that he did not organize these groups, but he definitely is a great influence, constantly instilling spiritual drive in the students.
Asking Coach Russell about his future goals as the athletic director he said “I have many goals, but at the core, I want Aquinas Athletics to be the greatest high school athletic program ever, not only in championships, but in culture, faith, and impact. We are working to build an indoor practice facility that will enhance year-round development and safety for our athletes.” Overall, it’s not just Coach Russell’s drive to win championships, but his drive to make others around him greater, which makes him such a successful person. It is great to watch him lead the community, and the best is yet to come!
