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Recipients of the Nebraska Baseball Coaches Association
2008 Coaches of the Year Awards were announced at the Nebraska
Activities Association Rules Meeting at Ralston High School Tuesday
night. According to NBCA President Herb
Kupfer, the following coaches were honored by their peers as the top
coaches in their respective divisions:
2008 College / University Coach of the Year:
Bob Herold, University of Nebraska Omaha
Spring 2008 Varsity Coach of the Year:
Jerry Frerichs, Elkhorn High School
Spring 2008 Junior Varsity Coach of the Year:
Josh Snyder, Elkhorn High School
Summer 2008 Senior Legion Coach of the Year:
Frank Ryan, NP Dodge Wildcats (Millard West)
Summer 2008 Junior Legion Coach of the Year:
Tom Cooper, Primetime Patriots (Millard South)
Each recipient will receive an engraved plaque in
recognition of the honor.
Candidates were nominated at a December meeting and were
voted upon by the membership of the organization. "These are the
gentlemen whom our members consider to be the outstanding coaches for
2008 season, and we would like to congratulate all of them," commented Kupfer.
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College / University Coach of the Year
Bob Herold - University of Nebraska Omaha
UNO Head Coach Bob Herold led his 2008 ballclub
to the NCAA II Regional Tournament for the fourth straight year
and a #8 final ranking and was selected the North Central
Conference Coach of the Year in 2008 for the third time in his
nine years at UNO. The Mavs were crowned conference champions in
the final year of the NCC with a 22-1 league record, which
included
an 18-game league winning streak. Individual
honors earned by Herold's players included selection of
Bryan Frew of
Grand Island as the league's Most Valuable Player and junior Chris Kessinger (10-1, 3.08 ERA, 78K's)
as the leagues' Most
Valuable Pitcher. Kessinger's award marked the third straight
year that a UNO pitcher was selected for the honor. The 2008 Mavericks' forty-five wins tied the
school record set by Herold's 2006 club.
(photo courtesy of
www.omavs.com) |
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Spring Season Varsity Coach of the Year
Jerry Frerichs - Elkhorn High School
In 2008 Coach Frerichs guided the Antlers to a
repeat State Championship with a 21-10 record. After
losing a talented senior class that helped Elkhorn win the Class
A Nebraska High School State Championship in 2007, Elkhorn was
assigned to the new Class B for 2008. Coach Frerichs
rebuilt around a young, but talented, core and took his squad
back to State for the third time in five years, earning the
number two seed. The Antlers won three straight in the
inaugural Class B State Tournament before splitting in the
championship series with Omaha Skutt. Elkhorn won the
decisive second game over Skutt to claim back-to-back state
championships.
A
former player at Wayne State College, Coach Frerichs has spent
his entire teaching career at Elkhorn High School and will be
entering his 35th year of coaching in 2009. |
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Summer Season Senior Legion Coach of the Year
Frank Ryan - Millard West High School
After falling two runs short of winning the 2008
Class A spring championship, the Wildcats, under the direction
of veteran head coach Frank Ryan, roared back with a summer
American Legion performance that included one of the most
impressive post-season runs in Nebraska baseball history.
Ryan's 41-18 ballclub put together a magical fifteen-game win
streak to win Area, State and Regional Tournaments by an
astonishing margin of 153 runs to 33 -- which included lopsided
wins over state champions from four states in Regional
Tournament play. That streak took the Wildcats to the
American Legion World Series where they were narrowly defeated
by the eventual National Champions, Nevada Titans, in the
opening round before suffering a season-ending loss to Arkansas.
Ryan, who played his college ball at Kearney, is set to begin his 29th year of coaching in
2009, with the past thirteen at perennial powerhouse Millard
West. |
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Spring Season Junior Varsity Coach of the Year
Josh Snyder - Eklhorn High School
In 2008 Coach Snyder assisted with the Antlers
Varsity team that won the Class B State Championship and
finished the season with a 21-10 record -- the 5th consecutive
spring season the Antlers have finished with at least 20 wins.
Coach Snyder has been instrumental in developing scouting
reports, implementing team defensive strategies and doing many
behind-the-scenes jobs necessary to build a successful program.
Josh has also been working with Steve Gossett, Kansas City
Royals, the past two years to promote baseball in the state of
Nebraska with the Nebraska Baseball Clinic. Some of his goals
involve working to make this the best baseball clinic in the
Midwest Region.
Snyder, who played his high school ball for
Wakefield Legion Post 81 and briefly at Iowa Western, has been
coaching in Elkhorn for the past 6 years. His primary
responsibilities have been developing catchers and working with
pitchers. |
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Summer Season Junior Legion Coach of the Year
Tom
Cooper - PrimeTime Patriots (Millard South)
Coach Cooper led his PrimeTime Patriots Junior
Legion team to a 34-12 season record and a Runner-Up finish in
the 2008 Class A Junior Legion State Tournament. The
Patriot's finished third in the tough Metro League with a 10-2
league record to earn the #1 seed in the Area 3 Tournament where
Cooper coached his young team to three consecutive one-run
victories. His ballteam defeated the Prep Junior Bluejays, 2-1, in an
eleven-inning championship that will be remembered as one of the
best-played high school baseball games at any level in the Metro
in 2008. After suffering a first-round State
Tournament loss to defending state champ Kearney Post 52,
Cooper's charges reeled off four straight wins - eliminating DiGiorgio's, Millard West Cats and Grubb & Ellis and handing
Kearney one of only five losses on the season -- before falling
to the fifty-win Kearney team again in the Championship Game.
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