Football Alberta is pleased to announce the following recipients of their Coach of the Year Awards. These awards are based on performances from the 2014 season and will be presented to the winners at either the Bantam Bowl Banquet in Lethbridge or the Senior Bowl Banquet in Calgary this Sunday, May 17th.
2014 Football Alberta Coach/Official Award Winners
Novice Coach of the Year Award
Bill Mathais – Cold Lake Bantam Royals
Winning a Provincial Title is no small feat. Doing it in only your third year of coaching is amazing. Bill Mathais is a great example of someone who is giving back to the community that gave him his start. As a member of the Provincial Finalist H.S. Royals in 2002, Bill left town for his education only to return in 2012 as a teacher. Taking over the Bantam football team in town he has steadily built a winner taking the Royals to an undefeated season in 2014 that culminated with a 20-0 over the Lethbridge Jr. Rams in the Provincial Tier III Final. For this we are proud to award the 2014 Novice Coach of the Year Award to Bill Mathais.
Atom/Pee-Wee Coach of the Year Award
Shane Kessel – Okotoks Pee-Wee Eagles
Known as a coach who covers all facets of the game very well, Shane Kessell lead his Okotoks Eagles Pee-Wee team to the Tier II Provincial Championship in 2014. Shane has been with the Eagles organization for 6 years working with both the Atom and Pee-Wee teams. His concept of equal playing time paid off in spades this past season as after some intial losses the team gelled and rode the magic all the way to a 20-6 victory over the St. Albert Riders in the Provincial Tier II Championship game. The Atom/Pee-Wee Coach of the Year – Shane Kessel.
Bantam Coach of the Year Award
John Price – Okotoks Bantam Eagles
In leading the Eagles to their first ever Calgary Division I Championship, John Price is the Bantam Coach of the Year. Having been with the Eagles organization for five years doing the tour through Atom and Pee-Wee prior to taking over the Bantam program, John brought a calmer more organized influence to the team this past season and lead them to a 8-0 regular season record and a 58-20 victory over the Calgary Bulldogs to give them their first ever title. A week later they fell to the eventual Provincial Champion Sherwood Park Wolverines in a tight 17-14 loss. Regardless, for taking a team in turmoil and raising it to heights never seen before in Okotoks, John Price is the 2014 Bantam Coach of the Year.
High School Tier III Coach of the Year Award
Kevin Babiuk – Whitecourt
One of the longest serving coaches in the Mighty Peace High School League, Kevin Babiuk’s team caught fire in 2014 and breathed new life into his program. In 2013, the Whitecourt Cats lost some of their game by 70 points. Kevin responded with some out of the box thinking and implemented a new offense and defense that took their team all the way to the Mighty Peace Championship Game where they bowed to the eventual Provincial Tier II Champion St. Joes Celtics. Following that they streaked to their first ever Tier III Provincial Final appearance before dropping that game to the powerful Cochrane Cobras. For leading the change that saw a league doormat to a powerhouse that fills the stands at home, Kevin Babiuk is the Tier III Coach of the Year for 2014.
Laurie Robertson High School Tier II Coach of the Year Award
Trevor Prichard – St. Joseph’s (Grande Prairie)
It was a long road for the St. Joseph’s Celtics in 2014, both literally and figuratively. Taking on their league opponents as well as an aggressive exhibition schedule that saw them travel the Province looking for games, the Celtics ran the board going 14-0 which culminated in a thrilling 13-4 victory over the Medicine Hat Mohawks in a wind storm in Lethbridge at the Alberta Bowl to claim their first ever Provincial Tier II Title. Leading the charge for the Celtics is their Head Coach, Trevor Prichard, who takes the time to create a team that can compete Provincially and serve as a flagship for the Mighty Peace League. For that Trevor Prichard is the 2014 Tier II Coach of the Year.
Frank Morris Tier I High Schooll Coach of the Year Award (tie)
Mathew Sartorelli – Notre Dame H.S. (Calgary)
In 11 games this past year, the powerful Notre Dame Pride from Calgary rang up 441 points and the master play caller behind all of that firepower was their offensive coordinator – Mathew Sartorelli. A teacher on staff at Notre Dame, Mathew also serves as the Athletic Director and has been a part of the Pride’s rise winning championships with them in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 prior to this year. This year’s effort saw a continued domination few teams have shown before as other than some close calls from their archrivals, the St. Francis Browns, the Pride rolled to their third consecutive Provincial Tier I Title with a 44-21 defeat of the Bev Facey Falcons the undisputed #1 ranking for Canadian High School football teams. For his efforts, Mathew Sartorelli is the Co-Winner of the 2014 Frank Morris Tier I Coach of the Year.
Curtis Martin – Bev Facey H.S. (Sherwood Park)
In his third year at the helm of the Falcons, Curtis Martin lead Northern Alberta’s most consistently successful Tier I program back to the Provincial Tier I Title game for the seventh time in their history. In a very competitive year in Edmonton Division I, Curtis took a young team and, but for a 9-8 loss to Harry Ainlay early in the season, ran the board finishing with a 24-0 shutout of Salisbury in the Edmonton Championship game. From their they defeated the Henry Wise Wood Warriors 45-31 to earn their shot at the title where they dropped a 44-21 loss to the juggernaut from Notre Dame. A good, young coach with a promising future, Curtis Martin is the Co-Winner of the Frank Morris Tier I Coach of the Year.
Norm Kimball Coach of the Year Award and Tier IV H.S. Coach of the Year
Vince Orieux – Holy Rosary H.S. (Lloydminster)
For 16 years, Vince Orieux has been a fixture in the football community of Lloydminster. Starting as an assistant and eventually head coach at Lloydminster H.S., Vince lead the Barons to 8 league championships in his tenure there. In 2008 he crossed over to Holy Rosary H.S. and continued his success there leading the Raiders to five Wheatland League Championship game appearances in seven seasons, winning twice including 2014. He also ran the board at Provincials this past season taking the Raiders to the Tier IV Final of the Alberta Bowl and winning it all with a strong 28-17 victory over the Willow Creek Cobras. Along with being a winning coach, Vince has given back to his community in spades creating the Little Raiders Flag Program that has 125 Grade 1-4 participants in Lloydminster, all coached by current H.S. players. A true man of vision and a Provincial Champion for the first time, Vince Orieux is both the Tier IV H.S. Coach of the Year and the Norm Kimball Coach of the Year for 2014.
Gary Hobson Volunteer of the Year Award
Nicole Lemke – Head Athletic Therapist, Football Alberta
Since 2002, Nicole has served as Football Alberta’s Head Athletic Therapist. In addition, for the past 12 years she voluntarily coordinates with the office staff each winter for arranging for coverage of all Football Alberta programs that require Athletic Therapists (i.e. Senior Bowl, Bantam Bowl, Alberta Summer Games, Team Alberta U18, Team Alberta U16, Team Alberta Hawaii) and orders and coordinates the distribution of tape and supplies to all of those programs. She has lectured and confirmed the Drug Education Seminars for Team Alberta for that period of time as well and has presented nationally at the Football Canada Coaches Clinic in her capacity of Head Athletic Therapist for Football Alberta. In 2014, Nicole graduated with a Master’s Degree from the University of Alberta specializing in Concussion Management and Study. She was also appointed Head Athletic Therapist for the University of Alberta in 2014 all the while still maintaining her duties with Football Alberta. The 2014 winner of the Gary Hobson Volunteer of the Year Award – Nicole Lemke.
Life Membership/Hall of Fame Award
Dr. Dan Syrotuik – University of Alberta Golden Bears
Dan Syrotuik’s involvement on the Alberta football scene dates back 40 seasons. After a brief stint with the Edmonton Eskimos, Dan joined the coaching ranks with the University of Alberta Golden Bears as a Graduate Assistant in 1976. From there he continued his involvement with the team and the University becoming a full time assistant and full professor at the U of A over the next 38 years winning a Vanier Cup with the Bears in 1980. During that time, Dan served on many Football Alberta and Football Canada committees including NCCP Chairman, Vice President, and President of Football Alberta and a long serving member of the Coaches Working Committee for Football Canada responsible for the initial creation of the NCCP Coaching Manuals. He also created the first ever Golden Bear Summer Football Camp in the early 1980’s which still runs to this day. In his retirement he still continues to contribute as a committee chair with Football Alberta and an assistant coach at Salisbury H.S. in Sherwood Park. A very deserving inductee into the Football Alberta Life Membership/Hall of Fame pantheon – Dr. Dan Syrotuik.
Photo credit: NFL Canada Website
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