Stephenville High student named provincial female student athlete of the year

Shamara Alexander of Stephenville High has been chosen the Brother G.I. Moore female student athlete of the year.

Ms. Alexander shared the limelight when School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador honours its top student athletes, coaches and administrators at an awards banquet earlier this month in St. John's. The awards gala was held in conjunction with School Sports' annual general meeting.

The Brother G.I. Moore student athlete of the year awards are presented annually to the graduating male and female student athletes who best exemplify the ideals of school sport.

Ms. Alexander has been instrumental to the success of the Stephenville High program throughout her high school tenure. She has been active in slo-pitch softball, basketball, soccer, ball hockey and volleyball.

She has attended the provincial 3A soccer tournament, provincial volleyball championships and provincial ball hockey tournament for the past three years. For the past two years, Ms. Alexander has participated in the provincial slo-pitch softball tournament and provincial ice hockey tournament. She also represented Stephenville High at the provincial basketball championship on one occasion.

Throughout these tournaments, Ms. Alexander has helped her team win four gold medals, one silver medal and five team sportsmanship awards along the journey. She is an active volunteer in her community and still maintains an A average.

The runners-up for the award were Chloe Tinkler of Menihek High in Labrador City and Lauren Hawkins of Holy Heart of Mary in St. John's.

"To tell you the truth I was pleasantly surprised because I know there are a lot of good athletes in the province and like, to be selected, it's a big honour," Ms. Alexander responded when asked how she felt about winning the award.

Ms. Alexander will be attending Memorial University of Newfoundland in the fall to pursue a chemistry degree, but she brings with her a lot of pleasant moments from her involvement in school sports since entering Grade 9.

"I took most of my favourite memories and friendships from sports and I really valued it through high school, and it taught me a lot and I enjoyed it," said Ms. Alexander, who hopes to work in dentistry in the future.

Ms. Alexander, who attended the banquet, encourages young students to make sports a big part of their school life.

"I would say get involved and stay committed because it will definitely be worth it in the long run, and even in the short run the experiences you achieve from it is awesome," she said.

President's Award

This award is presented to an individual from outside the School Sports organization who has made a significant contribution to school sports and is given at the discretion of the executive.

Lonnie Young of Stephenville is this year's winner of the President's Award.

Mr. Young, who has worked as a reporter for the Georgian, rarely missed an opportunity to cover school sports in the area.

He ensured the student-athletes in western Newfoundland were recognized for their many achievements.

Male Student Athlete of the Year

Patrick Parfrey of Holy Heart of Mary in St. John's got the nod for the award over Justin Grainger of Bishop's College in St. John's and Stephen Burton of Gander Collegiate.

Mr. Parfrey has been involved in a number of sports throughout his high school years. In his final year, he competed in hockey, soccer, volleyball and athletics. Outside of School sports, he is also heavily involved in the rugby scene at the local, provincial and national levels.

Mr. Parfrey has been able to maintain a high academic standing along the way and will graduate in the top five per cent of his class.

Coaching Service Award

Derek Locke of Templeton Academy in Gillams, Randy Manning of Clarenville and Clint Gaudon of Cape John Collegiate in La Scie were recipients of a Coaching Service Award for the past school year.

The Coaching Service Award is presented to individuals who have a long history of coaching at the high school level and who have shown a commitment of dedication to coaching and program development.

The name Derek Locke has been synonymous with wrestling for the past two decades, however, he has been a coach in soccer, cross-country running and cross-country skiing during his tenure at the school.

Mr. Locke's wrestling teams have won numerous provincial titles, as well as sportsmanship banners. His love of wrestling has extended to the elementary school level where he has started a developmental program.

The Honour Award

This year's winner is Todd Farrell of St. Mary's All Grade in Mary's Harbour.

The Honour Award is reserved for an individual who has had a long history of involvement in school sport - at the zone, regional and provincial level - or has made a major contribution to furthering school sports.

Although Mr. Farrell has only been involved with School Sports since 2001, his contribution has been outstanding.

He was the driving force behind the Eagle River zone becoming affiliated with School Sports.

In addition to acting as zone president, Mr. Farrell has coached male basketball, badminton, table tennis and volleyball.

Coach of the Year

Klark Pike of St. Lawrence Academy is the School Sports Coach of the Year for 2008-2009.

This past year, Mr. Pike coached St. Lawrence Academy boys' soccer team to a provincial 4A crown. Despite being from a smaller 3A school, he chose to compete against the larger schools and was very successful.

He had a good year coaching the girls' basketball team, while, in previous years, he has also coached cross-country running, badminton and track and field at the high school level.

Mark Pennell of Trepassey and Denise Simms of Springdale were also in the running for the award.

Regional Recognition Award

Each of the province's ten regions determine a Regional Recognition Award winner, which is given to an individual based on their work within the region.

The 2008-2009 recipients include: Rosemary Ryan-Forsey of St. Thomas Aquinas of Port au Port East (Western), Bob Thompson of Holy Heart of Mary in St. John's (St. John's), Phil Griffiths of Dunne Memorial of St. Mary's (Avalon), Randy Manning of Clarenville High (Avalon West), Linda Stacey of Holy Name of Mary High in Lawn (Burin Peninsula), Dave Dove of J.M. Olds Collegiate of Twillingate (Central East), Robin Power of Bay D'Espoir Academy in Milltown (Central), Claude Bowers of Indian River High in Springdale (Central West), Rhonda Martin of Cloud River Academy of Roddickton (St. Barbe-Labrador) and Gerard Morrissey of Goose Bay.