By:  J. Daniel Pearson

Saying the timing was “just right,” Gateway Panthers girls basketball coach Justin Marino announced he was stepping down from his duties after eight years to focus on family.

“Although coaching my daughter for the past four years has been one of the greatest joys of my life, I could not help but feel my two sons were getting the short end of the stick,” the highly successful head coach said.  “People who are not directly involved with a high school basketball program have no idea what it takes to run a successful program. After the season, you go into AAU basketball, one or two summer leagues and the normal off-season training. It is essentially a 12-month grind.”

Few have been as successful as Marino. Taking over a program that went 22-75 over the previous five seasons, he posted a 17-9 record and reached the regional round in his first year (2018-19). He followed with a 16-10 mark in year two—the only season his teams recorded double-digit losses.

From there, the numbers were simply staggering.  Four additional district championships, two regional titles and two appearances in the FHSAA State Final Four would follow.  His teams averaged 20.5 win per season and posted four 20-win years.

For his eight-season career, he was 161-59.   About the only thing that took a while to check off on his resume was an Orange Belt Conference county championship, that arch- rival and long-time nemesis St. Cloud owned from 2019-24.  Marino the Panthers ended the drought, winning back-to-back OBCs in 2025 and 2026.

With his daughter Alyssa Marino starting as a freshman, his 2023 team went 24-7, beat Jones in the district final and blew out River Ridge in the regional final to advance to the school’s first ever Final Four appearance.

During Alyssa’s senior year, while playing a tough schedule to get ready for the post-season, the Panthers posted a 26-4 mark.  They beat a tough New Smyrna Beach team in the district finals, posted regional wins by 40 and 33 points, before taking a 10-point regional championship win in a rematch with New Smyrna Beach.  The season would come to an end in the Final Four with a 54-41 loss to eventual state champion Booker T. Washington.

The timing of Marino stepping down was slightly odd, given that two of the region’s top players in Ashlynn Day (rising junior) and YaYa D’Amore (a freshman last season) were two of several talented Gateway players scheduled to return.

“During the season, I really thought I would be coming back next year,” Marino said.  “But when I stepped off the court at the Final Four this year, I started to have a change of heart.  You hear coaches talking about checking the boxes off all the time.  We won OBC championships, we won district and regional titles and we made it to two Final Fours.  It just dawned on me that all the boxes have been checked off–some multiple times.”

Chad Ansbaugh, the St. Cloud coach, who faced Marino many times, had nothing but respect for Marino.  “What Justin did at Gateway was not only incredible but was nearly impossible in my book,” he said.  “He took over a program in ruins and found a way to win and win big there.   The other thing is that it has been really interesting to watch how he evolved as a coach.  Out of necessity and numbers they started off just pressing you all the time.  As the years went on, they still pressed a lot, but they started to find other ways to beat you.  I have nothing but respect for Justin and it is a huge loss for Gateway.”

Gateway Athletics Director Travis James said a search was underway for a replacement.  “To say we have some big shoes to fill is an all-time understatement,” James said.  “It’s going to be difficult to find someone with his passion and dedication for excellence.”

Marino added that he was not saying goodbye to Gateway or the Panthers.  He will remain a teacher at the school and hopes to help out with the football program.  He said he will also try putting his sports science and exercise degree to work by possibly coaching the school’s weightlifting teams.

“Watching and coaching Alyssa and watching her earn a college scholarship was the highlight of my career, so stepping away from basketball after she graduated made some sense to me,” he said.  “Now its time to spend time with the boys and help them achieve their athletic aspirations.”