West Hill 2021 Participants & Families,

On National Coaches Week (September 18-26), Canadians celebrate and say thanks to all their coaches (#ThanksCoach).  Here at West Hill, we would like to celebrate and recognize some of our own amazing volunteer coaches!  Let’s start with our winner:

WHS COACH OF THE YEAR :       TANYA CARLSON

“Chipmunks” … U12 Team 6 – Division 3 Champions

We were blown away with all the fantastic comments about Tanya this season.  Tanya stepped up to be Head Coach for the first time at WHS, and we think she had as much fun, if not more, than her players!  In the end, her team won GOLD at the City Championships as the top team out of 10 in U12 Division 3.  Here are some comments:

  • “Tanya Carlson was extraordinary and went above and beyond to make the experience for the girls fun, inclusive, skill-building, and memorable. She took on many roles and kept the parents informed and included. She even organized and hosted the year-end wrap up party.”
  • “Everything centered around fostering an inclusive and fun team environment… all players were coached up at various positions enabling everyone to grow tremendously as the season progressed.”
  • “The team spirit instilled by the coaches was wonderful. The girls bonded and truly developed friendships.”
  • “Coaching staff made a very inclusive and positive learning environment … all the girls always had positive attitudes and having fun while learning made for the best team my daughter has been on for any sports she has played.”

As you can see from the comments, it was indeed a Team Effort.  So we would like to also thank Andy Veroba and Darrell May and the rest of the parent group of the Chipmunks.

Thank you Tanya for providing such a positive experience for your team and being a fantastic representative for our organization, you will be receiving a gift card from your friends at WHS for us to say thank you!  If you know Tanya, please reach out to her and congratulate / thank her for her efforts!

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
It takes a ton of volunteer Coaches to make a softball season work. The following coaches also received at least 3 recognitions through our Annual Survey:

  • Chad Leier (U8 Timbits & U10):  “always maintained a positive confident and fun outlook on team’s and each athletes’ performance. Any criticism was very constructive with exact directions how to get better at this game. Also, lots of words of encouragement were given to players. Coach has maintained a clear and timely line of communication with parents”  “His commitment combined with his skills as a coach were amazing.  His time spent planning practices and coaching in person, he took time to reach out to parents individually about their kids’ skill development, and I think he formed really nice bonds with each child on the team. Many, many thanks to Chad for his time and effort.”
  • Brian Antaya (U14 & U19) – “Positive reinforcement regarding feedback for the team and individual players, made it very fun and competitive at the same time, my daughter really enjoyed it”
  • Sabrina Redl (U12 & U14) – “hands down one of the best coaches we’ve ever had!!!” & “We were so impressed by their commitment, knowledge and enthusiasm. My daughter learned a ton this season and really enjoyed playing with this group of girls and coaches.”
  • Scott Springman (U19) – “The coaches were fully invested in the team. They brought together a lot of girls who had never played together and helped them improve their skills individually and pull together and play like a team.”
  • Paul Ghazar (U10) – “very creative, he always had the girls attention, and they were always excited to play. His enthusiasm was infectious and the girls were always having fun while they were learning.”
  • Shireen Bond (U12) – “went above and beyond this year to offer extra training and practices to the girls for pitching and batting. The coaches were always incredibly patient, kind, encouraging and so positive. They worked hard to motivate the girls to always try their best and offered their skill and expertise to support them in their development. They made they girls feel welcomed and an important part of the team”

Other Coaches Receiving multiple votes that we also want to recognize:
Ryan Grant, Leah McKenna, Rachel Sawyer, Peter Casey, and Kevin Church.

Thank you to all Coach for their dedication and inclusivity in 2021.  We look forward to working with you again in the offseason and in 2022!

-West Hill Softball Board

Posted in Coaching, League News