The National High School Coaches' Association recently announced its Coaches of the Year for tennis, wrestling, boys' and girls' soccer and golf. All coaches, with the exception of the four winning wrestling coaches, were honored at the third annual National Sports Festival in Orlando, Fla., June 23-25. The Wrestling Coaches of the Year were given their awards prior to the 11th annual Senior National High School Wrestling Championships, held on March 23 at the Green Tree Marriott Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Tennis
Gary Pilling, Walker High (Jasper, Ala.)

A 1980 graduate of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Pilling played competitive tennis from the seventh grade on. He began coaching in Jasper at the recreational league level in 1983 and became head tennis coach at Walker High in 1990. In Pilling's first eight seasons, Walker High was one of the state's top Class 6A teams, despite being one of the division's smallest schools. His highest finish was eighth in 1998.

Since moving down to Class 5A in 1999, the school has won the last two state titles. Walker High also defeated all of its Class 6A competition this season, except for state champion Mountain Brook High.

"Gary Pilling is an outstanding example for successful high school tennis coaches," NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro said. "He places a high value on the teamwork skills players learn for success in the classroom and on the field, and we are proud to be honoring him."

Wrestling
Russ Cozart, Brandon High (Brandon, Fla.) Walt Fisk, Wyalusing Valley High (Wyalusing, Pa. Scott Legacy of Mount Anthony Union High (Bennington, Vt.)
Herb Stinson of Aztec High (Aztec, N.M.)

In 20 years at Brandon High, Cozart has led the varsity wrestling team to 10 Class 6A titles. He also has won all 252 dual meets his team has competed in during that time, and the school's current streak of 335 consecutive dual-meet wins since 1973 is a national record. Cozart's 1999-2000 team, 12-0 in dual meets, finished second at the Florida Championships.

Cozart, who is also an outstanding competitor, has won five gold medals at the Masters World Freestyle Championships in the 136.5 pound weight class.

Led by Fisk, now in his 14th season, Wyalusing High won the Class AA dual-team state title earlier this year. Fisk's team was ranked No. 3 in the NHSCA Top 50, as Wyalusing finished 21-0 in dual meets this season by an average score of 54-9. Fisk, whose career record is 209-36-1, was voted the Pennsylvania Class AA Coach of the Year last year.

Under Legacy's tutelage, the Mount Anthony High wrestling team has won 12 consecutive state team titles, becoming one of just four schools nationwide to win its state tournament every year throughout the 1990s. During the decade, his teams also won three New England championships ' 1993, '97 and '99 ' while finishing second in '94 and '96. He owns a career dual-meet record of 249-24-2 and has coached 56 individual state champions and eight New England champions.

Stinson retired following the 1999-2000 season after 22 seasons as Aztec High's head coach. He has won 11 consecutive Class A-3A state titles ' like Legacy, also winning every year in the '90s ' and 12 state titles overall. His career record was 445-45-4.

A three-sport coach, Stinson also serves as defensive coordinator for a football team that has reached the state playoffs 10 consecutive years, and coaches baseball.

His wrestling teams hold national records for the biggest average margin of dual-meet victory (more than 63 points in 1992-93) and tournament titles with 122, including eight this year.

Boys' Soccer
John Stockton, Mountain View High (Bend, Ore.)

Stockton coached Mountain View High to its first Class 4A state soccer championship last fall. His team posted a final record of 18-0-1 and shared the title with Marist High of Eugene after the two teams battled to a scoreless tie in the championship game. Stockton's squad reached the title game by outscoring its first three state tournament opponents by a combined margin of 14-2.

In nine years at the helm at Mountain View, Stockton has won seven Intermountain Conference titles, including the last five in a row. Mountain View has not lost a conference game in those five years, posting a conference mark of 46-0-6. Stockton guided teams to the state semifinals in 1992 and '97.

Stockton's first coaching stint included three seasons at Yreka High (Calif.), where his teams posted a 28-5-5 record from 1979-81 and won the state's Northern Section championship in 1981. That team posted a perfect 16-0 record. His career coaching record is 142-25-20.

Girls' Soccer
James Gardner, Cheyenne East High (Cheyenne, Wyo.)

Gardner has coached soccer in Cheyenne for 16 years, the last eight as head coach at East High. During that span, his teams have reached the Class 4A state finals six times, winning titles in 1995, '96 and '98 and finishing second in '93, '94 and 2000. His career record is 83-7-2.

An elementary school physical education instructor, Gardner served six years as assistant soccer coach at cross-town Cheyenne Central High prior to coming to East. He also has served as an assistant wrestling coach at both schools in addition to his soccer duties.

"I have really gotten a lot of fulfillment out of coaching," said Gardner. "The girls have been great to work with. They have great skills and a great work ethic. They may not run through a brick wall for you, but they'll try."

Gardner has been recognized by several other organizations for his outstanding coaching. The NSCCA honored him as its Region 7 Coach of the Year in 1995. The National Federation of Intercollegiate Athletics (NFICA) named him its Coach of the Year in 1997, and he has twice been selected Coach of the Year by the Wyoming Coaches' Association.

He also coaches the Cheyenne Sting youth soccer club, which has won the last three state titles in the under-15 age group. Sixteen of his former players have gone on to play college soccer, including two Division II All-Americans and one Division I honorable mention All-American.

Golf
Wayne Everett, Kingston High (Kingston, Tenn.)
Donna Pierce, Highland Park High (Dallas, Texas)

Everett was honored for his past coaching accomplishments, rather than his present successes. He stepped down as head coach of the Kingston High golf team after the 1998-99 season when he became the principal of the Cherokee Middle School, also in Kingston.

Throughout his coaching career, Everett coached two sports and won two states in a combined 36 years. In 12 years as head golf coach at Kingston High, he took a team that was nearly extinct to a fourth-place finish in the Class 3A state tournament in 1997 and second place in 1998. Everett then handed over the team he developed to Jerry Walker last season. Kingston proceeded to win the 1999 state title with a 598 total, the seventh-lowest winning score in state history.

Everett was also a highly successful boys' basketball coach, serving a total of 24 years at Kingston and at Ringgold High (Ga.). He won more than 500 games in his career, and led Ringgold to the 1991 Georgia state tournament.

Pierce has maintained Highland Park High's reputation as one of the top girls' golf teams in Texas, one of the nation's top golf states. In her seven years at the helm, she has guided Highland Park to the past three Class 4A state team titles. This year's state championship team won the title by 22 strokes with a score of 618, the lowest state tournament score turned in by any girls' team in any of Texas' five classes, and lower than three of the five team champions in the boys' state tournament.