The PCA Blog - Tampa Bay

Roy Harrison Wins PCA’s National Double-Goal Coach® Award Presented by TeamSnap

04.01.2019

Tampa, FLRoy Harrison, Girls Cross Country Coach at H.B. Plant High School, has won Positive Coaching Alliance’s coveted National Double-Goal Coach® Award presented by TeamSnap for his positive impact on youth in sports.

Harrison is one of 50 national recipients of the Double-Goal Coach® Award, named for coaches who strive to win while also pursuing the important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. The award includes a $200 prize, a certificate, and mention within the websites and newsletters of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), a national non-profit developing Better Athletes, Better People through youth and high school sports.

“Coach Harrison’s runners know that he will always be one-hundred percent honest with them,” says Michael Boza, Boys Cross Country Coach at H. B. Plant High School. “If they run poorly or lacked effort, Harrison will communicate to them in a matter-of-fact way without any yelling or shaming. His runners know that though his praise may be hard to earn, it is always one-hundred percent genuine.”

Harrison has coached cross country for 37 years, during which time he has helped guide H.B. Plant Girls Cross Country team to 11 state championships, “My favorite coaching memory is the moment they announced the score that [Plant] won our first state championship,” says Harrison. “I guess the first time of something affects you the most.”

During his tenure at H.B. Plant High School, his teams have qualified for the state championships 31 times, with 23 of those years having a team finish in the top five. Michael Boza says, “Coach Harrison’s teams have now won more championships than any other girls teams in Florida history. But, if you ask Harrison what makes him most proud, it is the growing number of doctors, lawyers, engineers, moms, and now even grandmothers, who once ran for his team and continue to make running and healthy living a priority in their lives.” Harrison has been awarded the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year 10 times and was tabbed “Coach of the Decade” for the 1990s by the Tampa Tribune.

“PCA-Tampa Bay is proud to recognize Roy Harrison as a local Chapter winner and also National Double-Goal Coach® winner,” said Mason Cathey, Executive Director of PCA-Tampa Bay, the local Chapter of Positive Coaching Alliance. “He is very deserving of this honor given to youth and high school sports coaches from throughout the U.S.”

Harrison will be honored in April at the National Youth Sports Awards & Benefit at Santa Clara University, California.

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) develops BETTER ATHLETES, BETTER PEOPLE through resources for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, administrators and student-athletes. In addition to more than 1,800 free multimedia tips and tools at www.PCADevZone.org, PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 schools and youth sports organizations nationwide to deliver more than 20,000 live group workshops, along with online courses and books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson that help those involved in youth and high school sports create a positive, character-building youth sports culture.

PCA resources, which have reached more than 9 million youth, strive to transform high school and youth sports into a Development Zone® culture, where the goal is to develop Better Athletes, Better People and the following become the prevailing models in youth and high school sports:

  •       The Double-Goal Coach®, who strives to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports.
  •       The Second-Goal Parent®, who concentrates on life lessons, while letting coaches and athletes focus on competing.
  •       The Triple-Impact Competitor®, who strives to impact sport on three levels by improving oneself, teammates and the game as a whole.

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. PCA is proud to partner with the National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and over 35 professional teams across the United States.

List of 2019 National Double-Goal Coach® Award Winners

Contact:
Mason Cathey
PCA-Tampa Executive Director
mason_cathey@positivecoach.org
352-514-2797

Jennie Wulbrun
Program & Events Administrator
Positive Coaching Alliance
650-210-0815
jennie_wulbrun@positivecoach.org