Francine Houston's Victory Signals Significant Leap Forward in Basketball Career
The former Southeast High star basketball player now directs her effort to coaching and mentoring young players at Manatee PAL
Ralph Bryant remembers when he met Francine Houston. A respected Manatee County Sheriff’s Deputy for 33 years, he’s an influential presence as Director of Programs at Manatee Police Athletic League where he’s spent 28 years. So he’s seen thousands of kids come and go through PAL’s 37-acre complex on 13th Avenue East in Bradenton.
But, as the man known as “Coach Ralph” found out, there’s only one Francine Houston. “She came through the doors, just came up, got right there in my face, and said, ‘I’m going to call this home and be the best thing to ever come out of this building. ’ She actually told me that.
She was 14. ” Twenty nine years later, Francine Houston is still there. She’s been PAL’s Director of Basketball Operations for a decade.
Oh, she’s been away from PAL for stretches of time, understand. For instance, the 5-foot-4 dynamo point guard, a 2025 Southeast High Hall of Fame inductee, went off to play college basketball at Florida State and the University of Central Florida, then played two seasons professionally in Europe. But PAL has always been her calling.
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