Jefferson’s is pleased to announce that Bayley Blanchard and Brooks Robinson have been named, respectively, Gadsden and Rainbow City’s Coaches of the Year. Blanchard coaches football and track at Glencoe High, and is in his first year as a head coach. Robinson coaches football and baseball for the Southside Youth Panthers, and has been coaching for eight years.
Coach Blanchard and Coach Robinson were chosen from a highly competitive pool of nominations submitted by athletes and community members. The contest, launched in honor of National Coach’s Day on Oct. 6, serves to recognize a few of the many deserving coaches in the Gadsden area. Blanchard and Robinson were chosen for their uplifting leadership style and their dedication to caring for each and every athlete on their teams.
“Coach Blanchard’s nominators spoke of how he has unified and inspired his athletic program to new heights,” said Jefferson’s President Brandon Graham. “Coach Robinson’s nominators spoke of how he goes above and beyond to ensure every child who wants to play has an equal opportunity. Both coaches have uplifted their communities and taught sportsmanship and accountability to a new generation. We’re honored to recognize them for all of their hard work.”
Blanchard and Robinson will each receive a $500 gift card to Jefferson’s, and their achievement will be commemorated with a “Jefferson’s Coach of the Year” plaque that will be displayed in their respective Jefferson’s.
Coach Blanchard stated that he got into coaching because his dad was a coach, and he saw firsthand the impact a coach could have on his players each and every day.
“I fell in love with teaching kids about the fundamentals of the sports,” Coach Robinson said, “along with trying to teach them how to conduct and carry themselves on and off the field.”
Last year was the launch of the Coach of the Year program, with Ali Smith (Gadsden City Titans) and Josh Gaskin (Southside Youth Panthers) selected as the first-ever Gadsden and Rainbow City Coaches of the Year.
The Jefferson’s Coach of the Year award was open to coaches of any sport working with athletes of any age. Coaches could be nominated by athletes, parents and guardians of athletes, school officials, or other community members.