La Jolla Excessive Faculty alumnus and longtime Vikings baseball coach Gary Frank has been chosen by the San Diego Padres as a Coach of the Week, placing him within the working to be Coach of the 12 months and earn $10,000 for the baseball program.
“The choice committee was unanimous in its alternative of Gary as a consequence of his lengthy dedication to the college, the baseball program and his gamers, each on the sphere and within the classroom,” mentioned Invoice Johnston, Padres vice chairman of neighborhood affect.
“I’m actually honored to obtain the award from the Padres,” Frank mentioned. However he added he doesn’t view it as a person honor “however reasonably a validation of all of the great folks we have now working behind the scenes to assist our children develop each on and off the sphere.”
“We’re very pleased with this system we have now constructed up at La Jolla Excessive Faculty, and it’s positively a gaggle effort,” Frank mentioned. “As a coach, I understand I can not do the whole lot by myself. We’ve excellent student-athletes, an amazing teaching workers and intensely supportive dad and mom. Our purpose is to have all of these entities working collectively to present the children a optimistic expertise. We’re proud to characterize the neighborhood of La Jolla and we do our best possible to present again to the neighborhood and be a optimistic reflection of … La Jolla, and I feel we do a reasonably good job of that. I’m very humbled to obtain the award from the Padres and I’m excited to simply accept it on behalf of all the La Jolla Excessive Faculty baseball household.”
Frank performed for La Jolla Excessive throughout his time there as a pupil within the Eighties and has been concerned with the baseball program ever since.
Baseball has been part of Frank’s household since he was an toddler. The Chicago native had moved to San Diego by the point his love for the sport developed, so his favourite group is the Padres.
Frank performed for the Vikings, then in school and some years in unbiased minor leagues. Then he began teaching for La Jolla as an assistant 28 years in the past and have become its head coach in 2004.
Frank was nominated for Coach of the Week by La Jolla Excessive Athletic Director Aaron Quesnell, who mentioned within the nomination type that “Gary has a ardour for each the sport and the event of student-athletes. Along with instructing and creating baseball abilities, he places within the work each out and in of season to verify his gamers are doing their greatest within the classroom. He works on creating character and sportsmanship. He develops student-athletes which have a respect for the sport and its historical past, teammates and opponents and everybody that makes taking part in baseball potential. We’re lucky to have Coach Frank at La Jolla.”
“As a coach, I understand I can not do the whole lot by myself. We’ve excellent student-athletes, an amazing teaching workers and intensely supportive dad and mom. Our purpose is to have all of these entities working collectively to present the children a optimistic expertise.”
— Gary Frank
The Padres began the Coach of the Week program in 2018 to “acknowledge the precious contributions coaches make to our youth and student-athletes as coaches, educators, mentors and function fashions,” Johnston mentioned.
Every week for eight weeks starting March 25, the Padres acknowledge one native baseball or softball coach. Every Coach of the Week receives a $1,500 grant to assist the coach’s program or league. On the finish of this system, one of many coaches will probably be named Coach of the 12 months on the sphere at Petco Park on Monday, June 10. The winner will obtain a $10,000 grant for the coach’s program.
Frank beforehand instructed the La Jolla Gentle that “it’s not about how large you might be however how large your coronary heart is. We [had] a man on our group who’s 5-foot-7 and 120 kilos and one other man who’s 6-foot-5 and 300 kilos. There aren’t quite a lot of sports activities the place you’ll be able to have that large a distinction and, as long as you might be keen to work at it, you’ll be able to have a reward.”
“It goes together with life — you get out of it what you set into it,” he mentioned. “That’s an enormous factor we attempt to instill in them. Management what you’ll be able to management. You possibly can’t management whether or not I put you within the lineup, however you’ll be able to management how prepared you might be if you get that chance.” ◆
