Sayville football coach Reade Sands stepping down to spend more time with family
Sayville coach Reade Sands awaits the start of the Suffolk Division III football game against Half Hollow Hills West in Dix Hills on Saturday, October 29, 2022. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Reade Sands has stepped down as the head coach of the Sayville football program.
Sands, 49, of Sayville, said it was a difficult decision but that his focus has turned toward spending more time with his family. He leaves one of Long Island’s winningest programs.
Sayville won the Suffolk Division III title in 2024 and just missed a perfect season, finishing with an 11-1 record. The Golden Flashes lost to four-time defending champion Garden City in the Long Island Class III championship game, 31-28.
“I want to have the freedom to spend quality time with my family, and that’s just not possible when you pour your life’s work into coaching,” Sands said. “I played football right through college and started coaching immediately after I graduated. I don’t know what summers and falls look like without football.”
Sands, who met his wife, Kerry, in college, has four boys and coached them through youth leagues and high school. He’ll be able to watch two sons play college football this fall.
“We started dating my senior year at college and we’ve never had enough free time,” he said. “I love coaching, but it demands a commitment to do it right. I felt like it was time to step aside. And I’ll get to see the boys play.”
Sands led Sayville to eight consecutive playoff appearances in his eight years at the helm between 2017-24. He directed the Golden Flashes to four Suffolk Division III titles, a Long Island Class III championship in 2022 and three Rutgers Trophies (2020, 2022, 2024). His career record of 74-11 includes a 22-game winning streak spanning the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The Golden Flashes’ last regular-season loss came against Miller Place in 2018.
“The Sayville athletic department will miss Coach Sands’ unwavering commitment to the student-athletes in our football program,” said Ryan Cox, the director of athletics for the Sayville School District. “He’s been a dedicated coach for almost 20 years.”
Sands, a two-time All-American selection and standout linebacker at Pace University in 1995-96, started coaching in 1997 at the Fordham Preparatory School. He joined the Sayville varsity staff as defensive coordinator in 2006. He helped the Golden Flashes earn seven divisional titles and five Long Island crowns in the next 11 years before accepting the head-coaching position.
“It’s been quite a run,” he said. “And it might be a short hiatus from coaching. I might come back. It’s going to be different in the fall when I’m not in the middle of the grind. I just hope the family keeps me so busy that I don’t think about it.”
Sands joked about people who find the time to read a book. “I might read a good book,” he said, laughing. “I see people sitting there reading books and I don’t know what that’s like to have that kind of freedom to relax.”
Sands will coach one more time before he hangs up his whistle, whether it’s a permanent move or not. He’ll serve as a defensive coach for the Long Island senior all-stars when they play New York City in the National Football Foundation’s All-Star Classic on June 21 at Hofstra.
With Andy Slawson
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
