Matanzas Pirates

Crooke, a physical education teacher at Indian Trails Middle School in his 11th year of teaching (six in Flagler County), replaced former head coach Pawel Slusarz as the Matanzas High School girls soccer team's interim head coach after Slusarz was removed from his position shortly after Christmas break. Prior to his appointment, he spent the last three years as part of the Matanzas coaching staff and over five years coaching middle school students at Indian Trails before that. "The term coaching is synonymous with teaching, and I am extremely passionate about teaching," Crooke said.

Matanzas threw down the gauntlet on Jan. 21 in their home game against visitor Pine Ridge. Ending the game with a final score of 5-2 in favor of the Pirates, the team picked up their sixth win of the season (now 6-8-2 on the season.

The girls soccer teams of Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high schools went head-to-head on Dec. 18. The afternoon game that drifted into the early evening saw the Bulldogs emerge triumphant, winning the game over the Pirates in a score 3-1.