Herdman wins coach of the year award
CALGARY — Canadian women’s soccer coach John Herdman has been awarded the Jack Donohue Coach of the Year Award by the Coaching Association of Canada.
The award recognizes a coach’s dedication to the profession of coaching, commitment to continual improvement, and the successful performances of his or her athletes during the past competitive season.
“John’s leadership has impacted not just Canada’s performance at back-to-back Olympic Games, but has also raised the profile of women’s soccer throughout the country,” Lorraine Lafreniere, CEO of the Coaching Association of Canada, said in a statement.
“John’s work ethic, passion, and preparation combined with his dedication to the team, the program, and the country make him the wellrounded coach any leader would strive to emulate. We’re honoured to present John Herdman with the Jack Donohue Coach of the Year Award.”
Herdman led Canada to Olympic bronze in 2016, matching his team’s result four years earlier in London. The Canadian women are currently ranked fifth in the world.
“I’m humbled by this honour,” said Herdman. “I’ve worked in coaching for over 20 years but have never felt like I’ve done a day’s work, so to be recognized for doing something you love and is your absolute passion, it feels strange, in a good way.
“When I read about Jack Donohue, who he really was and what he contributed to people, I honestly feel like I’ve still got a long way to go to be that good.”
The award, part of Friday’s 2017 Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Awards Gala, is named after the late Jack Donohue, who led Canada to fourth at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics and was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.
Recent Donohue Award winners include softball’s Mark Smith, basketball’s Lisa Thomaidis and athletics’ Gerald (Gerry) Dragomir.
Also Friday, diving coach Dany Boulanger of Levis, Que., was awarded the Geoff Gowan Award for lifetime contributions to coaching development. Lacrosse coach Duane Bratt of Calgary was the winner of the Investors Group National NCCP Coach Developer Award for inspiring and developing coaches in the community.
Baseball Canada received the Sheila Robertson Award, given to the national sport organization that demonstrates a consistent approach in valuing and recognizing the role of the coach within the organization, the media, and the public.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Dale Earnhardt Jr. never realized how special Texas would become in his life, both professionally and personally.
It was at Texas Motor Speedway in 2000 when he got his first Cup Series victory, as a 25-year-old driver who was greeted in victory lane by his famous father who was then his car owner. That came two years after Junior got his first victory in NASCAR’s second-tier series at the same track.
“Texas has been so awesome to me,” Earnhardt said Friday. Earnhardt’s wife, Amy, is from the Lone Star State.
“I got a whole other family down here. That is a big, big bonus of being married to her,” he said. “Texas is a place that is almost like a second home. I find I love more and more about it the more time I spend here.”
With Earnhardt back in Texas for his last race there as a full-time Cup driver, track president Eddie Gossage rode a horse into the media centre to recognize NASCAR’s most popular driver. The horse wasn’t a retirement gift, but the track is sponsoring a therapy horse in his name at a ranch only a few kilometres from the track that helps people with disabilities along with veterans and first responders.
Earnhardt has encouraged tracks to give charitable gifts in his name instead of traditional presents while on his farewell tour. Texas did both.
Gossage presented Earnhardt with the top of the electronic scoring pylon from his first Cup victory, with the No. 1 spot lit up with number 8, his car number at the time. The track also gave the Earnhardts, who are expecting their first child, a pink stroller that is a small replica of a classic Chevy convertible and other baby gifts.
In April 1998, Earnhardt got his first NASCAR win when he won the Busch Grand National race in Texas. Just before taking the checkered flag, an excited Junior expressed his love to his father on the radio.
Two years later, in his only his 12th Cup start, Earnhardt had a dominating victory at Texas. He won by nearly 6 seconds after twice seeing long leads erased by yellow flags.
“It did amazing things for my career,” Earnhardt recalled Friday. “We had won a lot of races in the Xfinity Series, but I thought, ‘Man, the Cup series is a whole other level. These are the pros I don’t know how I’m going to fit in there and get a win with all these guys doing so good.’ ... I was surprised myself that we won so soon and it really did a lot for our career.”
Earnhardt is set to make his 30th Cup start at Texas on Sunday, which will match Jeff Gordon for the most on the high-banked, 11/2-mile track. Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth will also make it 30 in Texas.
There have been 18 top-10 finishes for Earnhardt at Texas, second only to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson’s record 21. But Earnhardt’s first start 17 years ago was his only victory there, one of 26 overall in his career.
Johnson last year won his seventh Cup Series championship, matching the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty for the most in NASCAR history. The top season finish for Dale Jr. was third in 2003.
“I know that he’s poured his heart and soul into racing,” Johnson said. “I see a guy that’s very content in his own shoes and very happy, and knows that he’s given it all, even though he might not have the stats that his father did. He’s still very, very proud of what he’s accomplished, and I’m proud of him for that.”