Athletic Directors to Receive NIAAA Distinguished Service Award

The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association will present nine athletic directors with the 2013 Distinguished Service Award in recognition of their length of service, accomplishments and contributions to interscholastic sports. They will be honored at December’s National Athletic Directors Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

Here are the honorees:

Brown, CMAA, who retired in 2007, spent his entire 33-year career working at the Unatego Central School in Otego, N.Y. Beyond his commitment in the classroom, he served as an assistant football coach for 22 years, the varsity baseball coach for 20 years and the assistant wrestling coach for 15 years.

Under Brown’s guidance, in 2006 Unatego Central was one of three schools honored by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) for programs promoting good sportsmanship. Brown was inducted into the NYSPHSAA Section IV Hall of Fame in 2009 and his commitment to sports and service as the baseball coach led to the dedication of “Roger Brown Field” – Unatego Central’s baseball field – that same year.

Bill Bruno, Brick, N.J.

Bruno, CMAA, is director of athletics at Brick Memorial High School. He has been the Shore Conference spring track and field meet director for 27 years and the Shore Conference winter track and field meet director for 25 years. He has also been the Shore Track Officials Association “Cadet Instructor” for 25 years.

Bruno was named the Shore Conference Coach of the Year in football once and Coach of the Year in spring track twice. He also was the Track Official of the Year for the Shore Conference Chapter in 2005. The Directors of Athletics Association of New Jersey (DAANJ) has honored Bruno twice — the first in 2008 with the DAANJ Sectional Award of Merit and in 2012 with the Robert Hopek Professional Development Award.

Tom Doyle, Bellevue, Wash.

Retired in 2003, Doyle, CAA, had an outstanding 27-year career at Seattle (Wash.) Preparatory School. He was a teacher and a coach at Seattle Prep for 15 years, and served as the school’s athletic director for 21 years.

Doyle was a member of the Sea King District II Board for six years including two years as board president. He also served as president of the Washington Secondary School Athletic Administrators Association (WSSAAA) before spending nine years as its treasurer. In 2005, Doyle was inducted into the WSSAAA Hall of Fame.

Larry Goins, Las Vegas, Nev.

Goins, CMAA, has been an educator in three states and coached four. He has also had a 27-year career as an athletic director and currently is a teacher and coach at Desert Oasis High School in Las Vegas, where he has served since 2008.

As an athletic director, Goins has directed almost 100 tournaments in wrestling, golf, basketball, tennis, football and baseball. He is executive director and founder of the Southern Nevada Golf Coaches Association.

Prior to accepting the NADA executive director position, Goins was NADA president in 2004-05. Since 2012, Goins has been the NADA liaison to the NIAA Board of Control.

Mike Jackson, Hanover, N.H.

Jackson is in his 26th year as athletic administrator and physical education coordinator at Hanover (N.H.) High School. During his early years in New Hampshire, Jackson worked with the New Hampshire Athletic Directors Association (NHADA) and introduced new concepts, such as assignor systems for officials, school and state sportsmanship recognition and awards programs. He won the NHADA State Award of Recognition in 1996 and was selected as Class I Athletic Director of the Year in 2004.

Jackson has served as a member of the sportsmanship, sports officiating, boys lacrosse, coaches education and baseball committees for the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA).

Mark Kryka, Verona, Wis.

In 2002, Kryka was named District 5 Athletic Director of the Year and helped create the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame in 2012. His other achievements include establishing an intramural program for students who were not in competitive sport programs and increasing opportunities in boys and girls hockey, girls soccer, girls golf, gymnastics, and boys and girls lacrosse. He also helped raise $70,000 in seven days to complete a stadium project.

In 2011, he was the recipient of the WADA Andy Anderson Award.

Paul Moses, Strongsville, Ohio

Combined with teaching and coaching football and wrestling, Moses began his role as an athletic director 27 years ago, culminating with his current position as athletic director of Strongsville (Ohio) City Schools, where he oversees 55 athletic teams.

Moses has served on the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s (OHSAA) Blue Ribbon “Length of Seasons” Committee as well as the State Soccer Advisory Committee. He has also been host to a number of OHSAA sub-state tournaments, including basketball, wrestling and track. Currently, he is a tournament manager in Northeast Ohio for volleyball and baseball.

In 2011, Moses was selected NEOIAAA Athletic Director of the Year.

Todd Olson, Fargo, N.D.

Todd Olson, CMAA, is quickly becoming a leader in the field as the director of student activities for the Fargo (North Dakota) Public Schools. s athletic director of Grand Forks Public Schools, Olson was responsible for the athletic programs at two high schools and four middle schools. He also oversaw the $2 million renovation of the district’s track and Cushman Field. Under his direction, Grand Forks had 25 teams win state championships and had 86 individual champions.

Olson was named the Class A Athletic Administrator of the Year for 2009-10 and the East Region Athletic Administrator of the Year twice in 2005-06 and 2009-10.

John Van Fleet, Crystal Lake, Ill.

Van Fleet retired in 2006 after a 30-year career as a high school teacher, coach, athletic trainer and athletic director at several schools in Iowa and Illinois. He began his career as a teacher and athletic trainer at Ames (Iowa) High School in 1977. He then served 12 years at Gilbert (Iowa) Community Junior-Senior High School before moving to Illinois, where he was a coach and athletic director at Streator (Ill.) Township High School for eight years, Sterling (Ill.) High School for three years and Woodstock (Ill.) High School for three years.

Van Fleet coached for a total of 24 years, including 14 years as a head football coach, 12 years as a head boys track coach, two years as head baseball coach and one year as head girls softball coach.

— Biographical information gathered from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

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