High school bench bosses up for Wismer Award
SPORTS
Winning coach announced May 30
What do the finalists for the Wismer Award for High School Coaching Excellence have in spades? Experience. Together, the six coaches in the running boast a collective 158 years behind the bench, which makes second time finalist Jobina D’Aloisio a relative newcomer. She’s only been at it for 16. “It’s nice to have someone nominate you,” said D’Aloisio, a physical education teacher at Waterdown. “To have someone or a group of people recognize what you’re doing and think you’d be worthy of an award like this is pretty special.”
Established in memory of longtime coach and educator John Wismer, the honour is presented annually to two talented, inspiring and dedicated high school coaches — one each from Hamilton’s Catholic and public school boards.
In addition to a small monetary prize, the winners receive $1,600 for their team or school, which, in the past, has been used to help pay for everything from football helmets to artificial turf.
Stacy Wismer said this year’s finalists share a commitment to kids and a dedication to the future. And they all exhibit integrity — just like her dad, John.
The top six, who were announced at Tim Horton’s Field Tuesday, have given up thousands of hours of their own time and affected the lives of thousands of students over the course of their careers.
D’Aloisio said they do it simply to give back.
“If you talk to any of us, we all played sports and we had really positive experiences through our coaches and athletes and teammates and things, so probably for a lot of us it is just about trying to share that with other people,” she added.
Whoever wins this year will be in good company. Some of the past recipients include Dave Walters, Anthony Macaluso, Wilf Reed, Brenda Nelson, Claudio Silvestri, Tish Jeffrey, George Knill, Bob Wynne and Peter Luviso.
This year’s winners will be announced at the foundation’s golf tournament and dinner at Carlisle Golf and Country Club on May 30. For tickets, visit wismerfoundation.org.