Pleasanton Foothill Little League, Pleasanton, CA
Herm Edwards, Head Coach
New York Jets, presents the
"Honoring the Game"Award
to Pleasanton Foothill Little
League. |
Pleasanton Foothill Little League of Pleasanton, California was presented with an “Honoring the Game” award by Herm Edwards, Head Coach of the New York Jets. To quote Ward Kanowsky, a Pleasanton Foothill Little League board member, "it's all about the kids." The steps that Pleasanton Foothill Little League has taken to establish and maintain a positive culture for its players, who represent 400 Little Leaguers between the ages of 5 and 12, are a testament to positive coaching.
Pleasanton Foothill Little League prides itself on keeping the PCA message highly visible from the start to the finish of each season through "information overload," and it's seeing quantifiable results. This past season Pleasanton Foothill Little League had no incidents of unacceptable behavior elevated to the league president.
A parent has this to say: "From the very first practice, coaches stressed the importance of sportsmanship, having fun, and most of all, respect for other players and coaches. Both of my children walked away from the season better people than they had started."
Twin Cities Northern Lights Junior Hockey, Bloomington, Minnesota
Kerri Strug, US Olympic
Gold Medalist presents the
"Honoring the Game"
Award to Twin Cities
Northern Lights Junior Ice
Hockey |
Twin Cities Northern Lights Junior Hockey Club of Bloomington, Minnesota was presented with an “Honoring the Game” Award by Kerri Strug, US Olympic Gold Medalist.
A few lines of the Twin Cities Northern Lights Junior Hockey team creed go like this, "Success is more about who I am than how I perform, so a winning score only has meaning if I put forth my best effort and can honestly respect myself."
Two years ago, Twin Cities Northern Lights Junior Hockey Club, whose players are between 15 and 20 years old, made a decision to focus on hockey AND excellence of character. Players receive awards for Most Class, Most Respected, Most Disciplined and Hardest Worker.
A parent has this to say:
"Many people quickly noted the difference between the Northern Lights staff and the other staff in the leagues just in how the coaches conducted themselves on the bench. There was no swearing or yelling at the players, and no ugly shows of anger. A higher standard was introduced for the players and the coaches."
Westlake Baseball Association, Westlake Village, CA
Tim Hanley, San Jose
Earthquakes Goalkeeper
Coach, presents the
"Honoring the Game"
Award to Westlake Baseball |
Westlake Baseball Association, of Westlake Village, California was presented with an "Honoring the Game" Award by Ronnie Lott, NFL Hall of Fame Member. Westlake Baseball's slogan is "where kids come first."
Westlake Baseball reinforces a coaching philosophy where winning AND player development are equally important. They strive to keep kids playing baseball longer, regardless of ability.
Westlake recently completed a coach evaluation process, receiving feedback from 45 teams and approximately 300 parents. Feedback from this evaluation contributes to coach selection the following season. The club has developed a "code of ethics" and has assigned parents as "culture keepers."
Westlake's move toward creating and maintaining a positive culture has not gone unnoticed. One parent summed up the 2003 season by saying: "This was simply the best coaching experience ever."