VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- Tyler Noe spent 12 years as an assistant coach at Frank Cox. 2023 is seeing him get the chance to move into the big chair.
A fixture of the Falcons' coaching staff for more than a decade, Noe now gets takes the lead whistle. He offers the players some familiarity, taking the reins of a program that has been a constant presence in the playoffs during his tenure.
"It's better having a guy that I know at the head coaching position than another guy who just randomly came in and got the job," noted senior edge Gerard Johnson. "I'm way more comfortable with Coach Noe there."
"They definitely know how to win and they have the expectation to win," Noe said of his group. "It drives these younger kids to have that same expectation and want to put the work out on these practice fields so we win on Friday nights."
One of those players who knows how to win is senior quarterback Gage Trefry. He's kicking off year two at the top of the depth chart and can elevate the offense after a year of starting already under his belt.
"A lot more comfortable," Trefry said of what a year of experience has done for him. "It's basically most of the same stuff we ran last year. It's just familiar, most of the same guys as last year."
"We're putting a lot more on Gage because we know he can do it," added Noe. "He's very smart, can sling the ball and he can run, so it's just great having a coach on the field as well as a great leader Gage is."
The other side of the ball features one of the top players in the state in Johnson. The Virginia Tech commit is gearing up for his final high school season and is one of those guys who can make his teammates better as well.
"He just demands that ACC Football on the practice field and it's great for these kids to see," Noe pointed out. "He's been up to Tech for practices and everything so he brings that back from Blacksburg to this practice field."
"I definitely lead by example on defense," said Johnson. "I'm not really like a rah-rah guy on defense, but it's just me making plays and me making plays makes the guys around me want to make plays so I really take that responsibility on defense."
The Falcons aren't looking too far ahead. Noe plans to take things one day at a time and develop his players on and off the field, but the possibilities for this season have the new head coach pretty excited.
"The potential is to play on Thanksgiving and further," he said. "We have so many returners coming back. We know what we lost and the Beach knows what we lost, but we have kids that are very well developed and they know what the expectation is with me as the head coach and our coaching staff."
Cox kicks off the season on August 24 at home against Princess Anne.
