Pair of Michigan School Sports' Best Receive National Accolades
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 4, 2021
A pair of longtime and significant contributors to school athletics in Michigan have been recognized nationally as the best in their respective fields by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.
Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball coach Vicky Groat was named national Coach of the Year in her sport, while recently-retired administrator Fred Smith was named national Athletic Director of the Year by the NHSACA.
Both were nominated for the national recognition by the Michigan High School Coaches Association. They received their awards at last week’s NHSACA Annual Conference in Lincoln, Neb.
Groat last season led St. Philip to the Division 4 championship, the program’s 11th Finals title with her as head coach. She ranks sixth in MHSAA history with 1,177 coaching wins (1,177-275-93) over 22 seasons. She also serves as principal and athletic director at her school.
Smith served 38 years total as a teacher, coach and administrator with stops at St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, Comstock, Buchanan and Benton Harbor before retiring in 2017. He received a Citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations in 2019 for his various contributions not only in Michigan but nationally, especially in athletic director education and development.
Both Groat and Smith, coincidentally, are graduates of Battle Creek St. Philip. Both also have served on the MHSAA Representative Council, including Smith four years as vice president.
Additionally, Temperance Bedford volleyball coach Jodi Manore and longtime Warren De La Salle Collegiate lacrosse coach and athletic director Mike Jolly were inducted into the NHSACA Hall of Fame. Manore is the winningest coach in MHSAA volleyball history and all-time nationally as well with a record of 2,128-369-59 at Bedford from 1980-83 and again from 1990-2020. Jolly led the Pilots lacrosse program to a 215-105 record and also coached football, basketball and baseball.
Kent City's Evers Selected for NFHS National 'Coach of the Year' Honor
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 11, 2023
Kent City cross country coach Jill Evers has been named the 2021-22 National Coach of the Year for girls cross country by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association.
Evers was selected by a committee including representatives from all eight NFHS sections – Michigan is part of Section 4 with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The following brief bio includes an excerpt from Evers’ coaching philosophy, which nominees were asked to submit after being identified as candidates for the awards.
Jill Evers joined the Kent City athletic staff as an assistant cross country coach in 1991 after previously coaching a season each at Allegan High School and Allegan Middle School. She took over Kent City’s girls and boys varsity cross country programs in 1993 and also has served as head girls track & field coach since 1993. She led Kent City’s girls cross country team to a Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final runner-up finish in 2021, the program’s second runner-up finish under her leadership, and she’s also guided Kent City’s girls program to 15 league and seven Regional titles and nine total top-eight Finals finishes. She previously was named an NFHS Section Coach of the Year for girls track & field in 2006 after leading Kent City’s girls track & field team to its first MHSAA Finals championship in that sport, and inducted into the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012. Evers also is a longtime science teacher at Kent City and advisor and mentor for a variety of school activities in addition to coaching.
“I know people say, ‘Athletics is an extension of the classroom,’ but I believe it's so much more than that. While participating in sports, young people can learn about themselves and others, challenge themselves and grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Athletics is where we learn life lessons, such as how to lose with grace, cheer for teammates and even opponents, win with humility, deal with adversity, empathize with others, respect all those involved, be grateful for healthy bodies and opportunities to compete and push ourselves beyond what was originally thought possible. Success is different for each person, but I believe cross country lends itself to individual success. Everyone can improve and learn lifelong healthy habits. Everyone can set and achieve goals. Those who aren't as fast often earn the respect of the more gifted runners because of their perseverance. It is my job as a coach to encourage, motivate, and challenge all students who want to participate, and then congratulate them for a job well done.”
Three more Michigan coaches earned honors in Section 4. Mark Posey was honored in boys golf after leading Big Rapids to a 10th-place finish in Lower Peninsula Division 3 in 2022 after four straight Finals runner-up finishes. (There was no LP boys golf season in 2020 due to COVID-19.) Lake Orion boys lacrosse coach Ronald Hebert was honored after guiding his team to the Division 1 Quarterfinals last spring after taking the Dragons to the Semifinals in 2021. Scott Werner was honored in girls track & field after leading Pewamo-Westphalia to a runner-up finish at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals. P-W shared the LPD3 Finals championship in 2021 and has won titles four of the last nine seasons (not counting 2020).
The NFHS has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982.