Despite cancer, Lakewood Ranch High coach remains committed to his players

There are good days and bad days for Scott Paravicini. He has his fair share of both while undergoing treatment for colon cancer.

Sometimes, the Lakewood Ranch High football coach feels energetic enough to direct spring practice. Other times, it’s exhausting for him just to walk around the field and blow his whistle.

He’s shown up anyway. He said he will continue to show up.

"I feel like my health is at a point where I can be out here,” Paravicini said. “I’ve made a commitment to these guys to be their head football coach, and that’s all I’m doing.”

Spring football began April 27 for the Mustangs. It will run through mid-May, including an intra-team scrimmage at 6 p.m. May 8 and a scrimmage at Bayshore, scheduled for 6 p.m. May 15.

Instead of asking someone else on his staff to serve as interim, Paravicini chose to oversee this period of player development himself.

The fourth-year coach has nine rounds of chemotherapy remaining, as of April 29. His PET scans and tumor markers are clean — there’s no cancer presently in his body — but he’s moving forward with chemotherapy to minimize the chance of it returning.

“He doesn’t have to be here. He can be home,” said junior running back Elidrick Berry. “Him coming out here shows us that, if we’re out here, we should be putting in as much effort as he is to support us as our coach."

Photo by Jack Nelson

Paravicini has heard from plenty of people who have applauded his decision to coach through cancer, and who deem it an impressive feat.

That’s simply not how he sees it. He said coaching the Mustangs is a responsibility he will fully embrace unless he is physically unable to do so.

Such humility is admirable, but regardless of his perspective, the truth is that Paravicini’s perseverance is, indeed, worthy of a standing ovation.

Chemotherapy comes with multiple side effects, and constitutes no small challenge. Fatigue, hair loss and nausea are most common.

Then there’s the mental toll cancer takes — how the mind wanders when up against this country’s second-leading cause of death behind heart disease. Colon/rectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in men, per the American Cancer Society.

Paravicini doesn’t just fight his battle in the hospital or in his home. He fights it on weekday afternoons at Lakewood Ranch’s football stadium for spring practice.

“We’re just trying to come together and help him and his family,” said sophomore safety/linebacker Aric Cleveland. “It’s a lot for him to come out here, and it shows dedication.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

On Feb. 9, a GoFundMe online fundraiser began, to help Paravicini pay for his medical expenses. Caua Magno de Almeida, a senior defensive end/kicker, and Rhiannon Hutchinson, the president of the school’s booster club, were the co-organizers.

The fundraiser has collected $21,398 en route to its $22,000 goal, as of May 2, thanks 220 donations — an average of nearly $100 per donation.

That’s a powerful reflection of the culture of care Paravicini has instilled at the program.

“If you go back and look at the beginning of the GoFundMe, it’s all $5, $10, $15 donations from our players,” Paravicini said. “Nobody asked them for that. I didn’t ask them for that. They did that on their own.”

Culture is the backbone of what he’s tried to accomplish with the Mustangs, but the on-field product matters most. Part of the reason he remains focused on football — despite having every right to prioritize his health — is because of underwhelming results.

The team finished 4-7 in his first year but improved to 6-4 in his second. Last season, though, was a step back to 4-6, and that season featured a five-game losing streak. 

Lakewood Ranch appeared in the 2023 FHSAA then-Class 4S-Region 4 quarterfinals, but after losing 53-6 to Venice, hasn’t returned to the regional tournament since.

Paravicini and his staff are now in the process of developing a team which, they hope, will play complete, error-free games this fall.

“We’ve done an OK job and we’ve been competitive in games,” Paravicini said. “But down the stretch, we make one or two mistakes. We’re not seasoned in terms of finishing games and figuring out ways to win games that are close.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

No number of wins is worth sacrificing his health. Staying on top of his treatment plan is, of course, first and foremost.

His battle against cancer will be waged for another nine treatments, and as he gets closer to the finish line, it won't be much easier.

What Paravicini has done warrants serious kudos.

Even if he won’t admit it.

“I’m not doing anything special,” Paravicini said. “Am I tired? Yes. Do I not feel good some days? Yes. But at the end of the day, I’ve made a commitment to these guys."