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Issue Date: June 17, 2007
More honors for recent winners
Each fall, USA WEEKEND's Most Caring Coach Awards celebrate amateur coaches with heart. How special are they? This week, our 2006 honorees will be recognized by the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise.
By Kathy Rowings and Andrew Friedman
Mandy and Paul Rogers of Ridgeland, Miss., built a softball league, now in its 17th season, for kids with special needs. Brothers Marcus and Steven Onsum of Minneapolis have led their adapted sports teams -- in soccer, floor hockey and softball -- to a combined 10 championship games. And Jay Lightner of Pittsburg, Calif., coached middle school basketball, but he also adopted one of his players and has helped fund college expenses for several former players.
In October, USA WEEKEND honored those five youth sports leaders with our Most Caring Coach Award. Now, for the first time, the magazine and the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise are teaming up to announce our co-sponsorship of future USA WEEKEND Most Caring Youth Coach Awards, for youth coaches who fulfill the hall's mission of promoting "all that is good in sport." On Wednesday, Lightner, the Rogerses and the Onsums will be the first community and scholastic youth coaches to be honored by the hall.
"We never expected to be honored like this. We are numb with excitement," Paul Rogers says. "I read about the hall of fame's inductees, and the things they've done are amazing. It's so flattering to be included."
Founded in 1994 by former college coach Myron Finkbeiner, the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame honors prominent athletes and professional or college coaches who are all-stars both in their fields and communities. Among those who have been tapped for their philanthropic efforts are basketball's Julius Erving and David Robinson, the NFL's Steve Young and Steve Largent, baseball's Harmon Killebrew and Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton.
"The idea for the hall came out of frustration with sports in general, watching all the headlines given to the misbehavers," board president Larry Maneely says. "Knowing all the good things that occasionally you heard about, we wondered why we couldn't get more publicity for those good guys."
One of the good guys is basketball's Steve Smith, inducted in 2006. He applauds the hall's new award for youth coaches. "For coaches at the local level, kids look up to them for more than just teaching about athletics," he says. "They're teaching about the game of life."
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Our Most Caring Coach Award Winners will be honored by the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.
All five are Boise-bound this week. Marcus Onsum sees the ceremony as a chance to learn from the best in sports: "Coaches have to be a little different than your average person -- you're dealing with kids in very special situations. I'm interested to compare notes and learn from everyone there."
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Founded in 1994, the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame inducts three athletes each year. On Wednesday night, baseball's Edgar Martinez, the NBA's Dikembe Mutombo and NASCAR's Kyle Petty will become the latest members of the hall of fame. To learn more about the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, go to sportshumanitarian.com. |
Photos: Boise State: Courtesy Boise State University; Lightner: Martin Klimek for USA WEEKEND; Rogerses: Joe Ellis, Clarion-Ledger; OnsumS: Steve Woit for USA WEEKEND
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