Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, March 13, 2014

Mount Ayr Raider football coach Delwyn Showalter has won Positive Coaching Alliance's coveted Double-Goal Coach Award presented by Max Preps for his positive impact on youth athletes.

Showalter was the only coach from Iowa to [be] nominated for the award and one of only 25 award-winners of 1,732 nominees form across the nations.

The award - named for coaches who strive to win while pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports - carries a $250 prize, a trophy and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance.

"Delwyn helps youth athletes win on the field and off," said Jim Thompson, founder and CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) and author of nine books on youth sports, including "The Power of Double-Goal Coaching" and the recently-released "Developing Better Athletes, Better People." "By creating a positive, character-building youth sports experience and serving as a Double-Goal Coach, Delwyn helps youth develop into better athletes and better people."

For Showalter, that starts with his demeanor. "I'm not a yeller or screamer," he said. "If I raise my voice, I think it gets their attention because they don't expect that from me. You get more from being positive with kids than negative. You still have to correct, but you can do that and still treat the kids with respect and dignity. You don't have to demean them or belittle them to make a correction."

Beyond the field, Showalter leads his team in community efforts such as raising funds to fight cancer through the sale or auction of players' pink jerseys. "The important thing about that is getting our kids to understand that we're part of the larger community and we have a responsibility to use the gifts that we have to improve situations for other people," said Showalter. "If all we teach them is to block and tackle and run plays, then we've cheated them."

Since its founding within the Stanford University athletic department in 1998. Positive Coaching Alliance has helped develop "Better Athletes, Better People" primarily through live group workshops, online courses and books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, student-athletes and school/organizational leaders.

In partnership with nearly 2,000 schools and youth sports organizations nationwide PCA has conducted more than 13,000 live group workshops and impacted more than five million youth.

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2014