Thank you to my friends at Fanatics.Com, FlipGive and Cool Contour for believing in the positive difference adults can make in youth sports and for the awesome gifts they are giving the winners!
The third and final Positive Youth Sports Award goes to Joe DeGuzman, from Chino Hill, California.
Joe has been coaching and managing youth girls fastpitch softball since 2011.
Joe, hands down, was the best coach we’ve ever had. My daughter has ADD/ADHD and can be quite a challenging handful at times. Most Coaches aren’t able to break through and make the boring drills and exercises interesting considering her attention span. Joe was able to immediately see her needs and would spell things out – just a little differently – just for her. She learned SO MUCH from him that season as a Catcher and we were very sad to move up in age division where he wasn’t a coach. (Valerie Hire)
Joe is grateful to be able to make a positive impact on girls and their parents.

Coach Joe: middle, back row
The best thing I like about coaching is the reward it gives me when I see the girls learn life lessons on and off the field. As a coach it’s always rewarding to teach the girls sportsmanship not just for their own team but also for their opponents. I hope I foster respect, team unity and give the girls the ability to be good leaders on and off the field. One example that I teach the girls is to respect and acknowledge their coaches by giving a good handshake and eye contact while saying “Hello coach” when they arrive and “Bye coach” when they leave practice.
Thank you, Joe, for making a positive impact in youth sports!
September’s Winner: Creed Larrucea
October’s Winner: Sherry Connor