A fixture in the Port Orange basketball community for the last decade, Travis Norfolk will get a long-awaited chance to lead a high school varsity program next season.

Norfolk, 41, was hired Thursday afternoon as Atlantic's boys basketball coach, he told The News-Journal. The Daytona Beach native and Warner Christian grad, spent the previous nine seasons as a top assistant on David Howard's staffs — five at Atlantic and the last four at Spruce Creek.

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"It has been something that always interested me, even when Howard left the first time," Norfolk said. "When I came with him to Creek, my daughter went here. I wanted to stay with her through her four years and now that she's graduating and the job popped up, it felt like everything was aligning at the right time."

Norfolk takes over for Justin Vallejo, a former standout center for the Sharks who went 28-19 over two seasons in charge. Atlantic last qualified for the FHSAA playoffs during the 2016-17 season.

"My vision is getting Atlantic basketball to what it was between 2014-18, a team that plays super hard. Even if we don't win a game, teams are going to know they played us," Norfolk said. "It's instilling core values of working hard and doing things the right way. Things aren't going to be easy in the beginning; we're going to hold the kids to a super high standard."

Howard expects Norfolk to thrive in his first head coaching opportunity and to take the Sharks forward. Spruce Creek's coach since May 2019, Howard guided Atlantic to 137 wins and four postseason berths in a six-year tenure.

"Man, I think it's a great opportunity for Travis," Howard said. He's served his time and paid his dues as an assistant coach, and I think it's time for him to branch out and test the waters as a head coach. He's given a lot to the game, to the kids he's coached at Atlantic and Spruce Creek. It's time for him to head his own program and start his own journey."

In addition to coaching and teaching ESE classes, Norfolk will continue his graphic design business, Athletic Vision Designs, that provides social media content for various high school and college athletic programs.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FHSAA boys basketball: Travis Norfolk named coach at Atlantic