Prior to his untimely death in September, 2020, Frank Ortega devoted his life to his family, work, and youth sports. After years of migrating with his family from state to state as farm workers and graduating from Shelbyville High School where he played football and ran track as a State qualifier, he joined the United States Marine Corp. Upon settling in Hillsborough County, Florida, Coach Frank began coaching as a volunteer at the Ruskin Recreation Center. He coached flag football for 10 years, until he moved on to coach for the East Bay Buccaneers in 1999 where he coached his own son who later moved on to high school sports at East Bay High School. While most parent coaches leave the organization when their own child moves on to play in higher level of sports, Coach Frank remained with the East Bay Buccaneers and became an integral part of the organization until the time of his death. During his tenure with the East Bay Buccaneers, Coach Frank served as head coach and assistant coach at the Midget, JV, and Varsity levels, having taken some of his teams all the way to the Super Bowl. Coach Frank also held multiple board member and trustee positions with the East Bay Buccaneers during his tenure. Recognizing the dedication and loyalty he had for the East Bay Buccaneers throughout his many years of service with them, the organization has renamed their playing field to be forever known as “The Frank Ortega Field at Vance Vogel Park”. He previously served as Tri-County Youth Football and Cheerleading Conference Executive Board Sergeant at Arms, and at the time of his death, held the position of Vice President. In 2015, Coach Frank joined the East Bay High School staff, working as the in-game video coordinator.