Sacred Heart Prep football coach Pete Lavorato has won Positive Coaching Alliance’s coveted Double-Goal Coach Award presented by TeamSnap for his positive impact on youth athletes.
Lavorato is one of 25 national recipients of the Double-Goal Coach award, named for coaches who strive to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports.
The award includes a $250 prize, a trophy and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance, a national non-profit dedicated to using youth and high school sports to develop better athletes, better people.
“Pete helps his athletes win on and off the field,” said Jim Thompson, founder and CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) and author of nine books on youth sports. “By creating a positive, character-building youth sports experience, and serving as a Double-Goal Coach, Pete helps youth develop into better athletes and better people.”
Lavorato brings to his team a philosophy, values and actions designed to make them “Men Built for Others,” a staple of Joe Ehrmann, the former NFL player and winner of PCA’s 2014 Ronald L. Jensen Award for Lifetime Achievement. “Growing up, I had a lot of different coaching influences, some good, some bad,” Lavorato said. “I learned from both. I just want to make it enjoyable for the guys. We’ve been successful by our record, especially the last three or four years, but I try to make things not so serious that you’re going to have a heart attack.
“The relationships we coaches have with kids are really, really important. They listen to what we say, and they take it to heart. We stress relationships in our football program and make sure the kids and coaches get along. We’re open about things. There are things that come out in our pre-game meals that they probably don’t talk about with anyone but the group of guys in that room.”
Lavorato, who played in the Canadian Football League, also brings to his coaching a belief that “telling isn’t teaching,” he said. “If a kid is not doing what you tried to teach him to do, that’s not his fault, it’s your fault. You haven’t taught him well enough.”
Such approaches demonstrate the role sports can play in the development of youth, said Dean Munro, PCA-SF Bay Area Chapter Executive Director.
“Our Chapter’s employees, board and supporters are thrilled that Coach Lavorato is getting national recognition for his work at Sacred Heart Prep. Having an award-winning Double-Goal Coach in our community provides an example for other coaches to emulate, so thousands more youth and high school athletes in our area can benefit from a positive, character-building sports experience.”
Lavorato also is one of just four of the award-winning coaches selected to appear on-stage for a panel discussion moderated by Julie Foudy ( two-time World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist and PCA National Advisory Board Member) as part of PCA’s 14th Annual National Youth Sports Awards Dinner and Auction Sponsored by Deloitte, to be held April 25 in Palo Alto.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports