How do you become the best? By learning from the best. Lake Highland’s coaches and training staff emphasize competitive mental and physical toughness to help build student-athletes’ development on and off the field. But this isn’t something any coach can teach; it takes an experienced and dedicated athlete to share these skills. Ms. Angela Palazzo and Coach Randy O’Neal have been empowering Highlander student athletes on and off the field, teaching them the lessons in physical and mental toughness in school and in competition, bringing their experience from winning in Power 5 conferences to winning a World Series, their athletic careers have taken the next step to bringing Lake Highland athletes and athletics to the big stages and beyond. Even though their dedication to our athletes and hard work at each training session is undeniable, so was their success as college and professional athletes.
Assistant Coach Palazzo is no stranger to national rankings, from her time playing soccer at Florida State women’s soccer to now being an assistant coach for Lake Highland’s wrestling team. Coach Palazzo can take her talent and hard work to any program. Last year, Palazzo and other FSU women’s soccer alumni were honored during the FSU halftime show for 30 years of FSU women’s soccer. With Palazzo’s experience competing in a championship culture, her shift from playing Division One soccer to coaching the wrestling team was not too far a stretch, as she brought her lessons and experiences of leadership, hard work, teamwork, and resilience to the team, helping shape the team’s competitive culture. During practice, Coach Palazzo emphasizes mental toughness on and off the mat by teaching the team lessons in accountability, preparation, and consistency that shape the culture that makes Lake Highland’s wrestling program one of the nation’s best. Even though transitioning from one sport to another is difficult, Palazzo demonstrates lessons in resilience to the team by serving as a mentor and a role model to her athletes, teaching how skills from one sport can be applied to others.
Coach O’Neal is a leader who knows how to win at every stage, from winning the University of Florida’s first SEC Championship in 1981 to winning a World Series in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers in his first MLB season. Coach O’Neal not only trains his athletes for success but also with lessons in patience and resilience. Although Coach O’Neal won a World Series in 1984, he had to wait over 41 years until he could finally get his ring. Even before O’Neal got his first start in the Major Leagues, he had spent 3 ½ years pitching with Detroit’s Minor League team before being called up for his first start. Unlike other pitchers before his game, O’Neal walked “shopping mall for 3 hours to get the pre-game jitters out” before reminding himself that “he had played 3 1/2 years of minor league baseball to prepare himself to perform and [O’Neal] was ready to go. [O’Neal] overheard people on the radio questioning why [O’Neal] was allowed to pitch such a key game and vowed to make sure they knew that at the end of the night, [O’Neal] was worthy enough” before delivering a seven-inning scoreless debut where he struck out six batters to win 3-0. With an unforgettable first season, he was in for the longest wait of his life, but no one saw it coming. This taught him not to give up on what he had worked so hard for, nor did his teammates, as they campaigned for him to receive his ring despite being called up midway through the season. The resilience and determination of his teammates to help him make sure he got his ring taught him that “The things that you believe in the most, are worth waiting for and worth fighting for, and make them even more precious to you because you have earned them…” Now O’Neal teaches this lesson to all of his athletes, reminding them not only to work for what they want but also to work for the team as well.
With elite competitors who now help train and coach our athletes, both Coach O’Neal and Coach Palazzo bring competitive toughness, mental resilience, and pride to Lake Highland’s athletic department through their hard work and recognition for their success at the highest levels of competition. At each practice, they help strengthen the competitive culture at our school and raise the competitiveness, preparing our student athletes for each competition and preparing our athletes for the collegiate level and beyond.
