Special honors to three local coaches

Local State Farm Insurance agents from Collier and Lee Counties took the opportunity to honor some special individuals at their Coaches Sportsmanship Award Banquet, May 31, at Tiburon Golf Club.

Of the nine nominees that were selected for each season, Lely's Mark McGarity and Nick Young brought home the honors for fall and winter respectively, with Gulf Coast's Jeff Rosa taking the honors for spring.

Introducing Young at the lunch was the captain of the Lely girls' basketball team, senior Alex Seekings.

"What makes coach Young a great coach is the lessons he teaches you that have nothing to do with basketball," Seekings told those in attendance. "Coach Young taught me more about integrity, pride, drive and the will to fight than anyone else I have ever known. He is not just a coach, he is a role model and an inspiration."

Young calls Seekings one of the most "Lely-fied" people he knows, able to bleed orange and black. With 27 years of service at the school, he should know a thing or two himself about the Trojan way.

"I realize it is an old saying but it is true, when you do something you love, you never work a day in your life," Young said. "I love the classroom; I love sports. Helping people to achieve something, that is what keeps you doing it, even through the highs and the lows."

Young emphasized his love for his kids saying, "They keep you young." The school is happy to keep Young as well, Nick that is.

"I am going to still be doing this, even after I quit teaching," he said. "Running clocks, doing scorebooks, announcing football and basketball games -it doesn't matter. If you are going to have an adjective in front of your name, athletic is a good one to have." When he is not diagramming offenses with the X's and O's, Young is teaching the angles in the geometry and algebra classrooms.

"Our school is very diverse and we have a wide range of kids," said Lely Athletic Director Patti Moul. "Both Young and McGarity are are able to bring that diversity together and be successful both in sports and in the classroom."

The award recipients each receive a certificate and a $1,000 grant.

The nominees consisted of one coach from each school in Collier County from each season, chosen by the school's athletic director. A meeting of all of the athletic directors at the end of the school year determined each season's overall winner.

Young felt honored to receive the award especially considering its selection process.

"This is a countywide thing,which includes your opponents," he said.

"It is good that they can play against you and respect how you handle yourself with your team on the floor. That is sportsmanship."

State Farm agent Brad Campbell told how important coaches are in helping people to become successful in all of their endeavors and in the formation of their character.

Photo by KEN LANE, Collier Citizen

Winners of the 2006 State Farm Coaches Sportsmanship Awards. are, from the left, Mark McGarity and Nick Young of Lely and Jeff Rosa of Gulf Coast.

Campbell went on to say that regardless of sport, this is an award for, "coaches of character".

Lely girls' basketball hadn't won a district game in ten years; last season Young led the lady Trojans to six. They took runner-up in the district to Naples and fell to Cypress Lake in the regional quarterfinals. They finished the season, 10-12, but for Young, it is not always in the numbers.

"I never emphasize the winning or losing," he said. "What I do emphasize is preparation and doing your best. Let the scoreboard take care of itself. There is always ways that you can get better, win or lose."

Cross country coach Mark McGarity was asked how he is able to motivate more than 40 boys and girls to come out for the team.

"I think I am crazy," he simply stated. "Seriously, I think that the people who come out and run understand that everyone is important. It doesn't matter if you are the fastest or the slowest; what is important is that you try your best."

McGarity, who also coaches boys track, has been at Lely for 13 years and in the county school system for 23. Before moving to Lely, McGarity was on staff at Immokalee.

Anna Segura, a 2003 Lely graduate, came to give her best to the coach that gave his.

"He not only shared with me the passion for running but also told me about good work ethic and self discipline," Segura said. It is those things that have helped me to become the person that I am today." Segura went on to say that to this day, when she is in a race and the gun goes off, she remembers the coach from Lely who had the influence on her life.

"I will always remember you coach," she said from behind the podium.

Trojan cross country has been represented at the state meet for the last eleven years with two runner-up finishes, one each for the boys and the girls. This past season, the boys team took eighth in states.

"Working out in the heat of the day running five miles doesn't sound like fun, but we manage," McGarity said. "It is crazy to think this, but it really is fun."

The coach, who also teaches anatomy and physiology along with marine and earth science, looked back on his time at Slidell High School in Louisiana and recalled how running changed his life.

"There are a lot of things that you may not learn in life unless you push yourself," he said. "Running opened a lot of doors and opportunities. I wanted to give that back when I started coaching." Much like his colleague, Nick Young, McGarity emphasized the most important aspect of the award was being chosen for it by the county's athletic directors.

"They have all been coaches and have put in the time and effort," McGarity said. "Having them choose this was a real nice pat on the back; to be recognized by people who know what they are doing. It is a big compliment."

Lely Athletic Director Patti Moul calls the tremendous success and involvement of the Lely cross-country program, a "testament to his passion."

"He always goes the extra mile," she added. "He has a lot of pride in our school and it is the consistency and cohesiveness that he brings that gets the team together."

"It was very nice to receive this recognition," said Rosa whose award included a certificate and a $1,000 grant. "I felt very proud to be nominated and it was great to be able to win it."

The nominees consist of one coach from each school in Collier County from each season, chosen by the athletic directors. A meeting of all of the athletic directors at the end of the school year determined each season's overall winner.

"Jeff is an outstanding baseball and volleyball coach and really could have been nominated for fall and spring," said Gulf Coast Athletic Director Jose Arias. "I have watched him coach the last three years and his demeanor on and off the court is always the same. He is a first class guy."

Drawing some initial chuckles from those in attendance at Tiburon, Rosa's baseball teammate from Maryville College in Tennessee, Bob Pringle, began Rosa's introduction saying he wasn't the biggest, fastest or the strongest.

"Soon we began to see his work ethic, how he approached the game and how much he knew about baseball," Pringle added. "He dedicated himself to being the best baseball player and the best teammate you could have. I think it was a lot of those same skills that made him successful as a coach and a teacher in the classroom."

Rosa coached the Lady Sharks volleyball team to a 19-4 record, and in his first year as head coach of the baseball team, finished 24-1. He has served in a coaching role for both during the past seven years.

Rosa said that while many might measure success with wins and losses, an even more important result are the relationships that are fostered.

"There was a sense of family for both sports," Rosa said. "We really came together into the Shark family. That aspect made coaching very enjoyable. It's that relationship with the kids and those around you that ties everything together."

Rosa has chosen to step down from his position as head volleyball coach to focus on baseball, saying that together they became too much.

"Something had to give," said Rosa who will be replaced by freshman football coach Dale Hutcherson. "I do love those girls to death."