LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Over 100 coaches were honored for reaching various career milestones, close to 150 vendors vied for coach’s time in the exhibit hall were just two of the many highlights during the second day of the 2014 NFCA Convention at Bally’s Las Vegas
Following Business Caucuses for Division 1, 2 & 3, NAIA, Junior College and Cal JC, the NFCA/Easton Victory Club recognized member head coaches for each 100 victories they achieve throughout their careers at the annual luncheon. Coaches being honored for achieving 1,100 or more wins received beautifully engraved crystal, those having reached plateaus stretching from 300-900 victories were awarded personalized plaques and certificates were presented to 100 or 200-win coaches in honor of their special achievements.
This year 14 coaches were lauded for either reaching or exceeding the 1,000-victory plateau. Vince Trivelpiece paced the way by reaching the 1600-win mark, 2014 Hall of Fame Inductee Phil McSpadden of Oklahoma City and Tony Scarbrough of Baker (Ala.) High School notched their 1,400th wins. DePaul’s Eugene Lenti reached the 1,200-victory plateau, while Wayne State’s Gary Bryce, Kankakee CC’s Dennis Clark, Cowley County CC’s Ed Hargrove and Phoenix College’s Heinz Mueller earned their 1,100th triumphs. Joining the four-figure win club this season are Denny Dock of Lakeshore (Mich.) HS, Jo Evans of Texas A&M, Vicki Kazee-Hollifield of Carson-Newman, Lori Meyer of Minnesota State, Mankato, Craig Nicholson of Arizona State and George Wares of Central College.
Alongside the excitement of the exhibit hall starting up, next up on the program were talks by Florida State head coach Lonni Alameda and a foursome of Hall of Famers. Alameda’s session was titled “Managing Player & Staff Personalities. The All-Star cast of retired head coaches, Bill Edwards (Hofstra), Dr JoAnn Graf (Florida State), Margie Wright (Fresno State) and Dr. Gerry Pinkston (Central Oklahoma) answered questions that were sent in ahead of time and then took part in an open forum.
The very popular NFCA convention mentoring session (650 coaches), continued in grand fashion. Under the guidance of NFCA Hall of Famer Sue Enquist, experienced coaches volunteered to give advice and life lessons to younger head and assistant coaches.
A hospitality event sponsored by Diamond Sports at Chateau in Paris and a FCA Coaches Testimony hosted by Dana Jenkins wrapped up the NFCA Convention’s second day. Both events allowed coaches the opportunity to enjoy fellowship together.
Friday at the NFCA Convention starts off bright and early with both the USSSA and Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (with LSU’s Beth Torina) breakfasts as well as Travel Ball (7 am), Cal JC (8 am) and High School (8 am) Caucuses. The remainder of the event’s third day is highlighted by the annual Softball Summit, where coaches across all divisions join together to debate issues that affect the sport of softball, and include the presentation of the NFCA’s first Donna Newberry Perseverance Award to Notre Dame’s Deanna Gumpf. The day also included numerous speakers including former UCLA catcher Jen Schroeder, Wisconsin head coach Randy Schneider, Santa Clara assistant coach Matt Lisle, Alabama State head coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson and University of Alabama’s strength and conditioning coach, Michelle Martin-Dilitz.
The evening concludes with the highly anticipated Hall of Fame Banquet reception and banquet starting at 6:00 p.m. in the Celebrity Ballroom at Planet Hollywood.
Continue to send along your unique or funny tweets during the NFCA Convention (follow us at @NFCAorg) for a chance to win a free registration to the 2015 NFCA Convention in Atlanta. To enter your tweet in the contest you must add the official hashtag of this year’s
