Awards given out at luncheon, but so are lessons

Sport, at its best, is about lessons.

And the Inland Northwest Sports Awards luncheon held Wednesday at the Spokane Ag-Trade Center, at its best, is about lessons as well.

Lessons shared by the winners, by the speakers, by the community.

A community that has an organization such as the Spokane Regional Sports Commission, that cares enough to organize the luncheon. Speakers who, having been in the crowd, have moved on, earning wisdom born of experience. And winners who, by their success, share a dream others can aspire to.

Here are some of those lessons.

Lesson No. 1: Dream big.

Erik Coleman wasn’t born a New York Jet; he just plays for them on television.

He’s a Spokane kid who played Y football, carried the ball for Lewis and Clark and matured at Washington State University.

He is, by his own words, “a mama’s boy.”

He also learned.

“If I had one thing to share, it would be to dream big,” he told the crowd of middle and high school athletes after accepting his professional athlete of the year award. “Set some high goals, write them down and work hard to reach those goals.”

Sure, you may never end up playing in the NFL like Coleman, but just the act of working to reach your dreams is the cornerstone of success.

Lesson No. 2: Playing sports is a prize.

Juliann Laney graduated from Gonzaga Prep with a bright basketball future. She’s currently a senior starter for the GU women’s team. In between? Years of injuries and disappointment.

But Laney has learned. She’s learned with the help of her family, coaches, even an 8-year-old fan that was enthralled Laney could actually run and dribble at the same time.

“Sometimes you have to take the time to remember you can do things others can’t,” said Laney, one of the featured speakers. “You need to remember sports is a gift, not a burden.”

Lesson No. 3: Coaches learn from players, too.

The most poignant moment of the afternoon came when Sue Doering, Colfax’s volleyball coach, accepted her coach of the year award.

Doering has been battling cancer, a battle that didn’t stop her from leading the Bulldogs to the State 1A title. Or did they lead her?

“I’ve never coached a girls team that didn’t have problems,” Doering said, “and (this team) never had a problem; I had all the problems. They went out and took the state title home for me.”

Lesson No. 4: No matter what, it’s about family.

This was the message imparted by former Gonzaga University baseball coach Steve Hertz, at the dais to accept a 25-year service award from SWABS.

“If there was one gift I tried to share with my players, it was that family is first,” said Hertz, one of many winners who teared up accepting their honor.

Anyone who knows Steve and his family – all 106 members of it – knows he’s not blowing smoke.

I met Steve more than 25 years ago when he was the baseball coach at UC Irvine, a two-year stint away from Spokane. I was a recent alum and baseball liaison for the sports information office. He was a coach who made me wished I had redshirted so I could have played for him.

Three years later, I interviewed at The Spokesman-Review but was unsure I wanted to move so far – geographically and culturally – from my home in So Cal.

So I traveled over to GU to talk with Coach Hertz. He recruited me to Spokane. The spiel revolved around family. Not home values. Not commutes. Not paychecks. Family. He convinced me. I took the job.

Twenty-two years later, it was the best decision I ever made.

So, if you hate what’s written here, blame Steve.