The National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) and the Wyoming Coaches Association (WCA) are pleased to announce that 12 Wyoming coaches have been chosen as finalists for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Coach of the Year.

NHSACA is the oldest coaches association in the nation and has been recognizing national coaches of the year since 1978.

The following Wyoming coaches have been selected as some of the best coaches in the United States in their respective sports:

Ballard Johnson - Star Valley High School Assistant Boys’ COTY

Melissa Hoopman - Douglas High School Assistant Girls’ COTY

Jim Shaffer - Cheyenne South High School Boys’ Basketball

Deb Murray - Niobrara County High School Girls’ Basketball

Ron Kline - Campbell County High School Girls’ Cross Country

Jerry Carroll - Evanston High School Golf

Dick Edgcomb - Buffalo High School Soccer

Josh Bott - Campbell County High School Swimming & Diving

Ray Bieber - Powell High School Tennis

Bruce Mowry - Cheyenne Central High School Boys’ Track & Field

Scott Smith - Powell High School Girls’ Track & Field

Charlie Williams - Moorcroft High School Wrestling

Each of these Wyoming coaches will join seven other regional finalists from across the nation, in nineteen recognized sports categories, to be honored during the National Coach of the Year Awards Banquet at the NHSACA’s national convention in East Peoria, IL on the evening of June 21, 2017.

The highlight of the banquet will be the naming of the NHSACA National Coach of the Year in each of the nineteen classifications.

All Wyoming coaches were nominated for this national honor by the Wyoming Coaches Association.

The selection is based on longevity, service to high school athletics, honors, championship years, and winning percentage.

The nominees and finalists are evaluated by experts in the field of coaching using a sport-specific rubric that assigns points in each category.

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