Coach of the Year 2011

Sitting on the Board of Commissioners for the Southern Platte County Athletic Association AKA the Northland Sports Alliance I have the chance to meet so many great families, kids, and coaches. This time of year I also have the privilege of reviewing submissions for our annual Coach of the Year. I thought I would share the introduction and speech I wrote when we present him the award at our annual meeting. Please read below:

Often in coaching it is the things that the coach does off the field that make the biggest differences on it. This year the Northland Sports Alliance was again awash with nominations for coach of the year. This is never an easy decision and it’s a nice problem to have. Lucky for us, good coaches have good support from parents and this particular winner was showered in praise by his team’s parents.

This is from Melissa Hagg, “I think that Bill Meiners deserves coach of the year for several reasons. The first reason is the amount of time that he dedicated to his volunteer coach position. Our son, Bradly has played for the SPCAA for five years, and this is by far the best he has ever played. The Bill took the time to learn about each boys and their strengths and weaknesses, and helped to develop better skills at the same time as building them up with kind words.

“The second reason he should be coach of the year is the time he spent off the field to help these boys bond as a team. From T-Bones games, to pool and pizza parties, he encouraged the boys to become better friends and then better teammates. He even went so far as to employ strange motivation tricks like wearing pink clothes and a pink cowboy hat just to help motivate and encourage the boys. Well it worked we started hitting and so did the kids who hadn’t been hitting.”

This is from Joe Hagg. “Our coach makes baseball fun for the kids. He is a great guy and we plan on playing on his team next year. Put in 100 votes.” (Actually 2 both parents sent separate emails!)

Finally from Steve Barron, “I would like to nominate Bill Meiners for this as he is the most upbeat, positive coach my son has ever had. At the beginning of the year my son didn’t want to play baseball but to due Bill’s positive reinforcement, focus on fun, and team building attitude he love it. Not only was there a positive attitude throughout the team, there was marked improvement from each boy on all skills, fielding, hitting, throwing, running, etc. My son now has 3-4 new friends and can’t wait to get back on the field.

Sometimes in sports the competitive nature of the games just comes out and people can lose sight of what sports are really supposed to do for our kids. Help them grow up well rounded, healthy, with a positive attitude, and some friends along the way. Bill Meiners not only coaches the skills on the field but he coaches the life lessons and values that sports provide. On behalf of the Northland Sports Alliance I would like to congratulate our 2011 NSA Coach of the Year, Bill Meiners. 

I am proud to be part of this organization.