Tom Bergeron
Rivals High Senior Editor

Some coaches motivate players with a carrot, such as increased playing time. Others go the other way, promising pushups or sprints if things are not done correctly.

Police and school officials still are trying to sort out just what happened at Kathleen High School in Lakeland, Fla., when a longtime volunteer assistant football coach tried to motivate the players last week by threatening them with a pocket knife at practice.

Christopher Michael Campbell, 30, was arrested by Polk County sheriff deputies last week and charged with two felonies after he brought a locked-blade knife to practice.

According to the arrest report, Campbell told the players, "Don't try me today," while brandishing a small pocket knife that he took out on various occasions during the practice.

According to the report, players said he pointed the knife in a threatening manner several times at one of the students/football players, poking him and tapping him on the chest and on the helmet with it while also verbally threatening him. At one point, he told a player he was going to "(mess) him up as he did the boy last year," without giving more specifics, according to the report.

These actions were witnessed by at least two other students/football players.

Campbell has been charged with one count of assault with deadly weapon without intent to kill and one count of exhibiting a weapon within 1,000 feet of school property.

Both charges are 3rd degree felonies, potentially punishable by jail time, even for a first time offender. Michael Cusick, the felony intake director at the 10th judicial circuit in Florida, said it's too early to speculate on a potential sentence. His office, in fact, has not determined if it will prosecute the case.

Whether Campbell's actions were a motivational ploy that was horribly inappropriate is unclear.

Campbell, who is no longer with the team, had an unlisted phone number and could not be reached. But he does have the support of his athletic director, Gary Lineberger.

Lineberger told Keith Morelli of the Tampa Tribune that Campbell, a former student and longtime assistant, is "as quality a kid as I've ever been around."

Lineberger could not be reached for comment.

A spokesman at the 10th judicial circuit said it expected to receive the report next week and will then begin the process of determining whether it should be prosecuted.

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