Tag Archives: Athletic Coaches

Teachers who are also athletes and/or coaches.

Michigan’s Steve Hall named 2023 National Coach of the Year

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Boys Basketball Coach Steve Hall of Detroit Cass Tech has been named the 2022-2023 National Coach of the year by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Photo Credit: Cass Tech Basketball

The news is always exciting when it is about an exceptional coach who has earned honors for his work with student athletes. Today, the news is about Steve Hall, an outstanding Boys Basketball Coach. He has been named the 2023 National Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).

Steve coaches at Detroit Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. In fact, the school is his own alma mater; he graduated from there in 1988. In addition to his basketball coaching duties at Cass Tech, Steve serves as the Athletic Director and the Boys Cross Country Coach.

During last year’s season, Steve led his basketball team to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division I state title in 2022-2023. His success on the basketball court, Steve believes, can be traced to his overall approach to coaching. He says he emphasizes using sports to instill important personal qualities in his young players, not only as athletes, but also as contributing members of society. “Be better today than yesterday,” he advises, “and better tomorrow than today.” He leads his young players to championships and scholarships, but Steve says that accountability, reliability, dependability, and responsibility are the most important characteristics he values.

“I believe it’s a calling,” declares Steve. “It’s something I enjoy doing, especially back at my school,” he continues. “Being a part of these kids’ lives at this point in time is something I treasure, and I think they’ll remember it forever. It’s important to me, and it’s natural for me,” he concludes.

To learn more about the National Federation of State High School Associations, click on this link to NFHS.

Celebrating the work of Virginia football coach Bill Yoast

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Outstanding football coach Bill Yoast left an indelible mark on high school football in Alexandria, Virginia. Photo Credit: Alexandria Times

There are many outstanding athletic coaches who work with young people in our schools that are deserving of recognition. Today, I share the story of one of them: Bill Yoast, a football coach who left an indelible mark on high school football in Alexandria, Virginia.

Bill was born in Florence, Alabama, in 1924. He grew up with an absentee father, and picked cotton to help support his family. During WWII, he was drafted into the Army Air Corps, which was the precursor to the US Air Force, in 1943, where he served for three years.

Bill earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Mercer University, and his Master’s and Education Specialist degrees from Peabody College in Tennessee. He inaugurated his career as a teacher and football coach in Sparta, Georgia. He left that position after the head of the school board reprimanded him for letting an African American baseball team use the shower facilities in a local high school.

In 1960, Bill moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where he accepted a position as the Head Football Coach at Francis C. Hammond High School. In 1969, he led his team to a win at the Virginia AAA Regional Championships.

Once the schools were integrated in 1971, Bill switched schools to TC Williams High, and he also switched roles to become the Defensive Coach and an Assistant Coach, while Herman Boone, who is African American, became the Head Football Coach. That season, under the leadership of the two coaches, the Hammond High team went on to win the Virginia state football championship, finishing the year with an undefeated record. In 2000, the relationship between Bill Yoast and Herman Boone was depicted in the movie Remember the Titans. Bill was portrayed by Will Patton and Herman was portrayed by Denzel Washington.

By the time Bill retired from in teaching in 1990, he had spent three decades as a football coach. During his lengthy career, he also taught physical education and driver’s education, and he coached track and field and golf teams.

Bill Yoast passed away on May 23, 2019, at an assisted living facility in Springfield, Virginia. He was 94 years old.

TN football coach Rodney Saulsberry, Sr., garners 2023 AFCA Power of Influence Award

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Football coach Rodney Saulsberry, Sr., of Whitehaven Tennessee has garnered a 2023 AFCA Regional Power of Influence Award from the American Football Coaches Association. Photo Credit: Rodney Saulsberry

Many outstanding athletic coaches who work with our nation’s young people are deserving of recognition. One of these is Rodney Saulsberry, Sr., a football coach from Memphis, Tennessee. He is one of five coaches who have garnered a 2023  Regional Power of Influence Award from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

In a career that spans 26 years, Rodney has spent 20 of them as the Head Football Coach at Whitehaven High School in Memphis. Over the course of his career, he has led his student athletes to an overall record of 185-53, capturing two Tennessee 6A state titles (2012 and 2016), the first championships in his school’s history. Over 200 of Rodney’s former players have gone on to play college football, and 15 of them have become coaches.

In addition to his work on the field, Rodney has served on both the Board of the Tennessee Football Coaches Association and the Rules Committee for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. He has also been a speaker at various football clinics around the country, including the 2013 AFCA Convention.

In 2020, Rodney co-founded the Minority Coaches Association of Tennessee, an organization which helps high school, college, and professional coaches in Tennessee foster job opportunities and hosts clinics for continuing education.

For his work with young people, Rodney has earned many awards, including his honors as a two-time Tennessee Titans Coach of the Week; a Tennessee Titans/Shelby Metro Coach of the Year award winner in 2012 and 2016; a three-time Regional Coach of the Year; and winner of the Rex Dockery Award from the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation. He has also been inducted into the College Hall of Fame.

Rodney earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Austin Peay State University in 1995. He earned his Master’s degree in Teaching Mathematics from the University of Memphis in 2004.

Congrats, Rodney!

Oregon teacher Lucas Dix garners OnPoint Excellence in Education Award

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Educator Lucas Dix, who teaches Media Arts and Journalism at Rowe Middle School in Milwaukie, Oregon, has garnered an OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award. Photo credit: Kenosha.com

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an outstanding teacher who has earned recognition with their work with young people. One of these is Lucas Dix, a high school Media Arts and Journalism teacher at Rowe Middle School located in Milwaukie, Oregon. Lucas has garnered an OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award.

Interestingly, Lucas is originally a native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, not Oregon. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education with an emphasis in English from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. After graduating from college, he relocated to Oregon where his brother also lives.

Lucas teaches students in grades six through eight. One of the courses he instructs is called the Shamrock News. In this class, students create a 20-minute YouTube video each week which covers topics relevant to young people, including  social-emotional development and grammar. “It has just all the information of what’s happening inside the school and inside the community,” Lucas explains. At the end of last year, the students completed the production’s 300th episode, and this year, the show is in its tenth year in production.

Lucas has taught at Rowe full-time since 2012, and prior to that he worked there as a substitute. In addition to the courses he instructs, Lucas also coaches Junior Varsity basketball at the high school level, and cross country and track and field at the local middle school and high school.

Lucas is one of four teachers in Oregon who have been recognized with an OnPoint award. The other three recipients were Caryn Anderson of Portland; Willie Williams of Portland; and Samuel Platt of Bend. As part of the award, all four honored teachers will have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year. In addition, each teacher’s school will receive a $2,500 donation. To learn more about the OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education, visit OnPointcu.com.

PE teacher Sheila Peterson named 2024 North Dakota Teacher of the Year

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Middle school physical education teacher and athletics coach Sheila Peterson has been named North Dakota’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Bismarck Public Schools

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Sheila Peterson, a physical education teacher from North Dakota. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Sheila teaches physical education, English, and reading strategies at Wachter Middle School in Bismarck, North Dakota. She also serves as an athletics coach for the school’s basketball, volleyball, and track teams. She has worked at Wachter since 2010.

The honored educator has also served as a professional development trainer for teachers across the state. And she has been a part of the North Dakota Society of Health and Physical Educators Board for the past two years. Her career as an educator spans 22 years.

Sheila urges her fellow educators to have high expectations for all of their students. “Give them opportunity, even when you know they might let you down sometimes,” she counseled. “Think about how you can impact their lives and empower them to believe in the beauty of their dreams,” she continued. “Make sure every student has a person who believes in them without doubt, and cares enough top hold them to high expectations,” she concluded.

Her honor as the North Dakota Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition Sheila has earned. She was named Wachter Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2013, and the North Dakota Middle School Physical Educator of the Year in both 2017 and 2018.

Sheila earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education at the Dakota State University, Madison, in 2000. She earned her Master’s degree in Technology Education and Training from the University of South Dakota in 2006.