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AFM Magazine


Letter from AFM - Award Winner

by: John Gallup
Editor and Publisher
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There may be a coaching award that Ray Seals hasn’t won, but we’re not aware of it.

Seals, who is the subject of this issue’s cover feature, retired from coaching prior to the start of this season, which would have been his 24th at Madison High School in Houston and 47th overall. Ten times he was named Coach of the Year for the Houston school district. He was awarded Coach of the Year honors from the Houston Touchdown Club in 1997 and Houston Texans in 2001. In 2008, he was named NFL High School Coach of the Year, which is an annual award that recognizes high school coaches who have contributed to the athletic and personal development of NFL players. He was nominated for the award by his former players Vince Young and Moran Norris – two of nine Seals protégés to make it to the NFL.

But of all the awards he has won, the most prestigious is likely the one he received in February during Super Bowl week – the first-ever Don Shula NFL Coach of the Year Award (pictured above). According to the NFL, the award is intended to “honor exemplary football coaches at all levels that display the integrity, achievement, and leadership demonstrated by the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula. The award criteria are: serving as a teacher and mentor, positively influencing the lives of players on and off the field; displaying great character and integrity; demonstrating inspirational leadership; demonstrating a commitment to the community at-large; achieving on-field success.” Candidates for the award were nominated by NFL teams and USA Football and included NFL, college and high school coaches. At the award ceremony where he personally presented the award, Shula said, “Coach Seals displays the leadership and the commitment to excellence all football coaches at every level strive for.”

Seals was humbled by the honor. “I am overwhelmed at being named the first winner of the Don Shula NFL Coach of the Year Award,” said Seals. “Coach Shula has always been a role model to me, and I have worked throughout my career to emulate his coaching style by teaching the values of integrity and character.”

When you read the profile that begins on page 22, you quickly realize that, while winning was always important to Coach Seals, it is the impact that he had on his players’ lives off the field that is the most important part of his legacy. The involvement with troubled youth who were struggling outside of school, the emphasis on education as the best way to succeed in life and the over 200 college scholarships that he helped generate for his players are all testaments to the character and commitment of Ray Seals. They’re also a reminder that the coaching profession goes far beyond drills, schemes and Xs and Os.

Regardless of how your season is progressing, we hope that you and your fellow coaches will remember that your role as teachers and mentors can be just as important a part of your coaching legacy as wins and losses.
                          
John Gallup
Editor & Publisher







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