The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) presented the 2016 Spring/Summer Sportsmanship Awards to four neighborhood park sports coaches and their teams, and three individual youth at the Board of Commissioners meeting on October 19.
Teams were recognized for its players’ outstanding display of positive attitudes, commitment, dedication, persistence, and overcoming adversity. Coaches were recognized for being positive role models, loyal to the program, emphasizing team work, demonstrating strong work ethic and passion, and engaging players and parents to have fun.
The 2016 Spring/Summer Youth Sportsmanship Awards were presented to the athletes and coaches of the following teams: Folwell Track, 13U McRae (baseball) and 18U Sibley Eagles (softball).
The following athletes were awarded The Sandy Peterson Most Improved Player Award: Ava Herenhoff of 10U Hiawatha Lakers, Grace Tuttle of 12U Pershing-Sellner and Kaya Neubauer of 14U Bottineau Badgers.
The awarded teams were chosen among 111 MPRB Track and Field, Softball and baseball youth sports teams for demonstrating exemplary sportsmanship throughout the spring/summer season. The awarded individual athletes were chosen among 1732 youth athletes that participated in one of the three fall sports in 2016.
Baseball – 13U McRae
Coach Jason Walker
Front, left to right: Noah Paquette, Reid Wooldrige, Leo Vanderlofske
Middle, left to right: Coach Jason Walker, Heather Susag, Kyle Walker, Kieran Rowe, Max Beuhler, Will Byrd, Tucker Hanson, Eli Stemper-Zinda, Coach Tim Hanson, Coach John Paquette
Back row: Commissioners Liz Wielinski, John Erwin, M. Annie Young, President Anita Tabb, Commissioners Meg Forney, Brad Bourn, Steffanie Musich, Scott Vreeland, Superintendent Jayne Miller
Track – Folwell
Coach Rikita Davis
Front, left to right: Coach Rikita Davis, Ava Wise
Back row: Commissioners Liz Wielinski, John Erwin, M. Annie Young, President Anita Tabb, Commissioners Meg Forney, Brad Bourn, Steffanie Musich, Scott Vreeland, Superintendent Jayne Miller
Ava Herenhoff – 10U Hiawatha Lakers
Grace Tuttle – 12U Pershing-Sellner
Kaya Neubauer – 14U Bottineau Badgers
Front, left to right: Jeff Wells, Joe Hazuka, Kristi Carlson, Linda Stebor, Kaya Neubauer, Grace Tuttle, Nick Fritzen, Eileen Kilpatrick, Diane Moe, Mary Kay Witek
Back row: Commissioners Liz Wielinski, John Erwin, M. Annie Young, President Anita Tabb, Commissioners Jon Olson, Meg Forney, Brad Bourn, Steffanie Musich, Scott Vreeland, Superintendent Jayne Miller
The following are excerpts from coaches on nomination forms.
Ava Herkenhoff
10U Lake Hiawatha Lakers
“I’m nominating Ava Herkenhoff for the most improved player award. This was Ava’s first year playing softball, and she was one of the youngest players on the team. From the start of the season, she had a great attitude and has worked hard to learn every thing she can about the game. At our first practice,I asked the team who wanted to try pitching. Ava was one of only a couple players to raise her hand. Like most of the players, Ava struggled with pitching at the beginning of the season. One thing that I noticed about Ava was she never got discouraged. Towards the end of the season, her hard work paid off and she was one of the better pitchers on the team. Her batting and base running also greatly improved throughout the season. At the end of the season, she became a player we could always depend on to get a hit or pitch a good inning. If she wasn’t up to bat or playing the field, you could hear her cheering on her teammates from the bench. Our last two games of the season highlighted how much our team, and Ava in particular, improved. In one game, we were down by a couple runs going into the bottom of final inning. She was cheering our batters on, waiting for her turn to bat. The first three players got on base and Ava was next to bat. Ava saw a pitch she liked and got a big hit. The ball was hit to the outfield and Ava took off like a rocket. She just kept running until she crossed the plate scoring a grand slam! In our final game, we were tied going into the final inning. She threw two strikeouts and got a hit to help us get the victory. Ava demonstrated team leadership throughout the season whether she was cheering her teammates on, making a hit or play happen on the field, working hard to improve her skill, and most importantly, being humble about her successes. It is an honor to have coached this team, and to nominate Ava for this award.”
– Coach David Herkenhoff
Kaya Neubauer
14U Bottineau Badgers
“Pure & simple – Kaya is a treat! She shines with positivity as she arrives at the field with a smile on her face & a greeting for the coaches. She is supportive of her teammates and is willing to help carry equipment without being prompted to do so. Her technical abilities improved tremendously from last year so let’s go down the list: Throwing – she can throw from center to pitcher or from third to first without much effort and is consistently on target. Running – she is a smart base runner and has turned into one of our best sliders. Last year she rarely slid so at the beginning of this year, Kaya gave herself the challenge to slide at every game so she could improve and boy did she deliver! She not only slides at every game but she slides multiple times per game. Her smart base running & self-improved sliding has turned her into one of our top runners. Hitting – hands down, this is where Kaya shines! She is the team’s power hitter and therefore bats 4th in the batting order. The coaches can always count on Kaya to get a base hit (but more times than not, she is hitting doubles, triples and home runs). If the team is down, everyone gets excited when Kaya walks up to the plate because she delivers when the team needs her the most. Overall, she has improved in every facet of the game. She likes playing outfield but we would feel comfortable moving her infield because she will give 100%, play smart and do what is best for the team. We cannot stress enough how much of a treat Kaya is to have on the team, how much her team appreciates and depends on her and how much we look forward to interacting with her once she gets to the field. She exudes happiness, is motivated, has technical savvy and is definitely the team’s shining gem!”
– Coaches Linda K. Stebor and Kristi Carlson
Grace Tuttle
12U Pershing-Sellner
“Grace had not played softball before this year and was one of the few 5th graders we had on a 6th grade dominated team. Immediately, you noticed the athletic ability but not the softball experience. Through passion and hard work, Grace was out lead off hitter and starting pitcher by the playoffs. In the semi-finals, she pitched a complete game which propelled us to the championship game. Grace was also a joy to be around!”
– Coach Tim Sellner
Youth Sportsmanship awards are presented by the MPRB athletics staff for fall/winter sports and spring/summer sports.
With 251 park properties totaling nearly 6,790 acres of parkland and water, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board provides places and recreation opportunities for all people to gather, celebrate, contemplate, and engage in activities that promote health, well-being, community, and the environment.
For more information about MPRB youth sports, visit the MPRB youth sports page or contact your local recreation center.