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For more information, contact: SPORTS COMMISSION ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR OCT. 29 YOUTH SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS DINNER WORLD CUP COACH BRUCE ARENA TO SPEAK AT EVENT ST. LOUIS — Oct. 1, 2002 — The St. Louis Sports Commission seeks nominations for its fourth annual Youth Sportsmanship Awards Dinner — Celebrating Coaches Who Care. As part of its Coach it Right! initiative, the Sports Commission will honor local youth coaches who serve as role models in teaching and demonstrating good sportsmanship. The dinner takes place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29 at the Marriott Pavilion Hotel. U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team head coach Bruce Arena, who led Team USA at this summer’s World Cup, serves as the event’s keynote speaker. Parents, coaches, youth athletic directors and others can nominate up to three youth coaches they feel are deserving of recognition. Award candidates include coaches from the St. Louis region who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship in their day-to-day efforts to coach young athletes. Nomination forms are available online at www.stlouissports.org or by calling the Sports Commission at 314-992-0689. The deadline to nominate a coach is Oct. 11. The Commission honored 36 coaches at last year’s dinner. "Youth coaches play a major role in shaping the experiences and lives of young athletes," said Troye Frank, the Commission’s director of youth programs. "Unfortunately, we see instances where those experiences are sometimes tarnished by the behavior of parents and coaches at youth sporting events. The Sports Commission hopes that by emphasizing the importance of good sportsmanship and recognizing the coaches that practice it, we can ultimately provide more positive environments for young athletes to excel on the playing field and in life." The Youth Sportsmanship Awards Dinner is part of a series of youth programs coordinated by the Sports Commission to enrich the lives of area young people through sports. The dinner is held in conjunction with the Commission’s Coach it Right! initiative, which organizes free clinics focused on sportsmanship and aimed at developing and augmenting the skills of youth sports instructors to make them better coaches. This summer, the Commission conducted clinics for baseball, softball, boxing and soccer coaches, and will host a clinic for basketball coaches Nov. 9 at the University of Missouri — St. Louis. The Oct. 29 Youth Sportsmanship Awards Dinner featuring Bruce Arena is open to the public. Tickets are $30 ($20 for children 12 and under) and may be purchased by calling 314-992-0689. |
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