PCA National Coaching Award Presented to Dawn Lee of Cathedral Catholic HS Soccer
Too often it seems that sports achievement focuses only on wins and losses, but the best coaches strive for much more than that. Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is an organization that is dedicated to helping develop “Better Athletes, Better People” through live group workshops, online courses and books. To encourage this transformation, PCA focuses on three models in youth and high school sports: the Double-Goal Coach®, Second-Goal Parent® and Triple-Impact Competitor®.
The Double-Goal Coach is one who strives to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. The Second-Goal Parent concentrates on teaching life lessons while letting coaches and athletes focus on competing. Finally, the Triple-Impact Competitor strives to impact sports on three levels by improving self, teammates and the game as a whole.
In San Diego, Cathedral Catholic High School varsity girls’ soccer coach Dawn Lee has been awarded Positive Coaching Alliance’s coveted Double-Goal Coach Award presented by MaxPreps for her positive impact on youth athletes. The award carries a $250 prize, a trophy and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance.
“Dawn helps youth athletes win both on the field and off,” said Jim Thompson, founder and CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance 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, Dawn helps youth develop into better athletes and better people.”
Lee focuses on getting her teams to expend maximum effort so they can leave each practice, each game and eventually their whole playing careers with no regrets, “just as in life,” she said. And she emphasizes explicitly how life lessons learned from soccer affect the rest her players’ lives.
“I have probably the best classroom ever because we cover everything from teamwork, which you’re going to need at your job, to overcoming adversity, to time management, to getting players to talk face-to-face instead of using their cell phones all the time,” Lee explained. “I understand if you forgot you had a quiz, but come see me and tell me about it instead of just texting me. You’re not going to be able to just text your boss that you’re going to be late. You need to be able to speak to people and not hide behind your phone.”
Lee succeeded her late father, Butch Lee, as coach at Cathedral Catholic and has since garnered 11 Western League Championship titles, 11 CIF Championship titles, and two CIF SoCAL Championships.
Congratulations to Dawn Lee on being an inspiration to young athletes both on and off the field.
About Positive Coaching Alliance: 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 5 million youth. PCA workshops and courses strive to transform high school and youth sports into a Development Zone where the goal is to develop Better Athletes, Better People and the following become the prevailing models in youth and high school sports:
PCA gains support from a National Advisory Board, including National Spokesperson and 11-time NBA Champion Coach Phil Jackson, and many other top coaches, athletes, organization leaders and academics who share PCA’s mission.
