Pioneer High School field hockey coach Jane Nixon named National Coach of the Year
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association named Pioneer High School coach Jane Nixon its 2009 High School National Coach of the Year.
Jane Nixon
She didn’t need them.
Nixon has been head coach at Pioneer for the past 6 seasons (she was co-head coach from 1990-2003) and led the Pioneers to their fifth consecutive state championship in the fall. The Pioneers have won 17 of their 21 state championships during her tenure.
“It’s an award for the program and all the great athletes who have come through Pioneer through the years,” Nixon said in an earlier interview.
"The NFCHA is proud to honor Jane as our 2009 High School Coach of the Year," said NFCHA president Becca Main Kohli. "She is being recognized not only for her ability to win championships but also for her role as a mentor to her student-athletes and her coaching colleagues."
Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2561 or petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.
Comments
3 4 a2
Wed, Jan 13, 2010 : 6:05 p.m.
If we could put aside our prejudices based on a perceived hierarchy of sports, as well as any gender-based stereotypes, those who know Jane Nixon will agree with this statement: Jane is easily at the pinnacle of any coaching pyramid. And that's for any level...high school, college, or pro. Jane Nixon is masterful at knowing how to coach the sport and teach its skills; how to manage a game; how to develop a resilient, highly competitive TEAM; and most of all, how to lead young people with a focused, purposeful energy, positivity, and enthusiasm. No yelling. No threats. No ego-driven agenda. Just winning results, year after year after year. If she would like to create an additional income stream for herself, she should become a consultant to the big names in the coaching profession and enable them to learn from her how to really lead people for positive results. It is just a little about the game. It is a lot about how you lead and the kind of person you are going in and striving to become. Jane's national award could have been handed out any number of years ago. Ask her student-athletes, her alumni players, and her parents. Jane Nixon is tops, regardless of the sport, the level of play, or any other popular belief as to what signifies a knowledgeable, successful coaching talent.
m macke
Sat, Jan 9, 2010 : 10:49 a.m.
Jane is a great coach and a great educator. Young women in Ann Arbor have been extremely lucky to witness her strong work ethic and see it pay off over and over. What a great life lesson for all of those girls. This award just broadcasts nationally what Ann Arbor already knows, we are really lucky to have Jane. Go Purple.
Dr. I. Emsayin
Sat, Jan 9, 2010 : 9:54 a.m.
Congratulations Coach Nixon and all of the young women she has coached! AAPS rises to the top again.