Educator of the Year

“ The work you put in is what you get out” - Will Hawkins. Coach Will is the head track and field coach at Delaware Military Academy. This quote, created by him, describes his mentality and attitude as a coach and a personal trainer. I met Coach when I ran indoor track for the first time. It was only five other people plus me. During that winter season I realized how dedicated he was to seeing us succeed and grow as runners and people.

Coach always pushes us to improve, not just on the track but also with our attitudes. During our workouts, he’ll tell us to keep going, to put in the work. When we’re not working super hard, he’s teaching us good form for sprinting or how to run a smarter race. My first 400 meter run was not very good; I got a 1:05. After that race he corrected my mistakes and helped me tweak my mechanics. The next time I ran the 400 meter, I finished with a 1:01, which was a big 4 second difference. If Coach Will hadn’t pushed me harder to improve, I might not have improved.

Part of that improvement was his honesty with me. Coach never tries to make a bad performance sound good. He’ll tell you what you did wrong and how to improve upon it. Honest work is one of his core values. I can relate to this because I believe that in order to succeed in anything you have to be honest with yourself. If you can’t do it yourself, coach Will will do it for you.

The final quality that I admire is his respect for the athletes. At the Meet the Coaches Night, he explained how he will never curse at the players, how he’ll treat the players like he would treat his own kids. I know this is true; I’ve never heard him scream in anger or frustration at a runner. This helped me and other players that are new to trust him right off the bat.

I nominate Coach Will Hawkins as the Educator of the Year. His dedication, honesty, and respect for the students makes him the most uplifting coach I’ve ever worked with.  His attitude has taught me how to carry myself as a person as well as improve on the track.