The King’s Academy’s 2025 varsity football team has a tough act to follow, but head coach Dan Burack feels that this year’s squad can have an even better season than last year’s team.
TKA’s 2024 varsity football team had an outstanding season last fall. The Lions went 10-3 and advanced to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 2A regional semifinals, eventually falling to Sarasota’s Cardinal Mooney Cougars, 56-28, last November.
Throughout this summer, Burack and his assistant coaches have overseen a series of summer workouts that have made their players stronger, sharper, fitter, faster, quicker, more alert and, hopefully, better football players.
“We’ve had 45 to 50 athletes show up to the daily workouts. I am projecting 68 players on our varsity roster this fall,” said Burack, now entering his third year as the head coach at TKA. “At every workout, we focused on speed and agility for an hour, followed by an hour of weightlifting, followed by sessions of fellowship. During the speed and agility workouts, we focused on form running, change of direction and contact prep.”
To add value to the summer workouts, Burack utilized a contact with the U.S. Army football team who knows one of the coaches with New Zealand’s internationally known All Blacks national rugby squad, who shared the coaching philosophy employed with the All Blacks, currently the second-best national rugby team in the world, right behind the Springboks of South Africa.
“The All Blacks coach opened up and gave us details on what they do with their players to make them better rugby players,” Burack explained.
Burack added that 37 members of the middle school football team also participated in the summer workouts, alongside their varsity counterparts.
The first official day of practice for the fall season is Monday, July 28. Burack and his corps of assistant coaches have a daylong agenda for the players.
“The players will be with us from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 28,” Burack said. “We will have a full workout filled with speed and agility drills, followed by lunch and a detailed film session.”
One of the biggest holes to fill on the roster this season is at quarterback. Last year’s starter was Joe Dailey, who has graduated and is now playing college football at West Virginia State University. There are four players competing for the job as the team’s new starting signal caller — sophomore DJ Beneby, sophomore London van Rensburg, junior Donovan Maffi and freshman Fletcher Hodges. Maffi is a transfer from William T. Dwyer High School, while van Rensburg is a transfer from California.
Of the 22 starters from last year’s offense and defense, there are six returning starters on offense and eight on defense. One of those returning members of the defense is middle linebacker Levi Champion, who had 176 tackles last year and was a finalist for the Palm Beach County Player of the Year Award.
Burack likes the look of his current team.
“I have a group of really hardworking guys,” Burack said. “Our offensive line is good, and our defense will be strong. We have really good guys who have built a really good culture here at King’s.”
The Lions open their season with a kickoff classic game on Aug. 14 at Park Vista High School. The start the regular season Aug. 22 on the road in Boca Raton against St. Andrew’s School.
