Newspaper Page Text
Most Caring Coach
Nominate a great
YOUTH COACH
Do you have a sports mentor who goes beyond the
call of duty, on and off the field? Send us the details.
ITS that time again! USA WEEKEND
will honor the dedicated individuals
who help young athletes achieve
excellence both on and off the play
ing field. The Most Caring Coach Awards,
co-sponsored by the World Sports Hu
manitarian Hall of Fame, honor out
standing men and women who, through
schools or youth recreation programs,
go far beyond typical coaching duties to
make a difference in the lives of kids and
communities. Our judges will select three
honorees, whom you’ll meet in a spring
issue of USA WEEKEND.
OUR 2008 JUDGES:
• Bob Bradley, U.S. men’s national
soccer team coach
• Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern
University women’s lacrosse coach
• Clint Hurdle, manager of the MLB’s
Colorado Rockies
• Larry Maneely, president of the
board of the World Sports
Humanitarian Hall of Fame
• Ken Whisenhunt, head coach of the
NFL’s Arizona Cardinals
• Suzanne Yoculan, University of
Georgia women’s gymnastics coach
Winners will be acknowledged at the
World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame’s
awards dinner in Boise in June 2008.
Each will receive SI,OOO for his or her
team or favorite charity.
Clint Hurdle, manager of the National
League champion Colorado Rockies and
one of our 2008 Most Caring Coach
Awards judges, is well known in the
w'orld of baseball for good works. Under
his leadership, the Rockies won 21 of 22
18
USA WEEKEND • Dec 14-16,2007
postseason games to earn a
trip to this year’s World Seines,
but Hurdle also makes time to
volunteer for several charities.
He makes frequent visits to
the Children’s Hospital in Den
ver every year (he dressed up
as Santa Claus last Christ-
mas), spent a Thanks
giving feeding the home
less in downtown Den
ver and is a national
spokesman for Prader-
Willi syndrome, a ge
netic disorder that af
fects his daughter, Madi
son. “I want to use the
opportunity I have as a
leader to make a differ
ence, to pick projects that
are important to me and
make the biggest impact
I can,” Hurdle says. “I’m
not looking for recogni-
tion it’s not about what you get back.
Just go into it with an open heart. There
is so much joy in serving rather than
being served.”
Hurdle’s desire to give back comes
from lessons his parents taught, but
several of his own youth coaches also
taught him about the kind of leader he
wanted to become. He still keeps in
touch with Jerry Hawkins, his elemen
tary school coach, and says Hawkins,
plus several high school coaches
Gerald Odom and Travis Akins in foot
ball and Chuck Goldfarb in baseball
“really brought coaching into a clearer
light.” These mentors showed Hurdle
that coaching as a profession requires a
i
vt # <
i
j?
Those coaches took the time and showed
me how I want to do it”
Hurdle focuses on three things with
his team: honesty, consistency and in
tegrity. He says he is honest with his
players above all else. Consistency is
crucial so that athletes can rely on nor
malcy, planning and preparation.
Hurdle says integrity is essential as
a leader. “I always try to set the best
example possible,” he says. “Athletes,
whether they’re pros or student ath
letes or young kids, are looking up to
you for guidance and leadership, so there
needs to be action that stands behind
your words.” ca
Kathy Rowings
Rockies manager
Clint Hurdle hugs
Kazuo Matsui after a
postseason win that
led up to the 2007
World Series. Hurdle is
an MCC judge.
real commitment “So often,
coaching gets jammed in,”
he says. “People want to do
the right thing, and coach
ing is certainly one of the
good things, but you need to
take the time to do it right.
HOW TO ENTER
Please describe what makes your coach
exceptional, in 250 words or less. You may
send news clippings or other supporting
materials, but they can’t be returned. The
nomination must include: 1) Coach's
name, daytime phone number and e-mail
address; 2) Coach's team/activity; 3) Your
name, phone number and e-mai! address;
4) Your address, city, state and ZIP code;
and 5) The name of the newspaper in
which you read USA WEEKEND Magazine.
NOMINATIONS MUST
BE POSTMARKED BY
FEB. 1,2008.
MAIL TO:
% USA
WEEKEND
Most Caring Coach, USA WEEKEND
7950 Jones Branch Dr.
McLean, Va. 22107
Or enter online by Feb. 1,2008, at
usaweekendxom.
Employees of Gannett and USA WEEKEND carrier newspapers,
as we* as their family members, are ineligible. Honorees
must sign a release. Entries become the property of
USA WEEKEND Magazine and will not be returned
PORTRAIT: JCf F GROSS, GETTY, WITH MATSUI: STEVE DYKES, GETTY