Toot toot!

My brother is humble, so I feel the need to toot his horn on his behalf. I caught an "oh by the way" line of his blog today that casually mentioned he was named the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Coach of the Year for his award-winning high school girls basketball season at Pymatuming Valley.

A story about the award revealed Jeffrey ALSO was named the Northeast Lakes District Division III Coach of the Year. Way to go, Jefe!

Here's the full article:

Compan took PV to new heights
Coach led the Lakers to best season in school history

Even before the first game of the 2008-09 girls basketball season, Pymatuning Valley coach Jeff Compan was sure the Lakers would be a pretty good team.

It wasn’t until PV’s pilgrimage to Mecca, however, that Compan allowed himself to believe the Lakers might be something special.

The Lakers were up on Maplewood, 39-35, after three quarters that day, but in the fourth quarter, the lead dwindled and then disappeared. With just under two minutes left in regulation and trailing by five, PV managed to regroup and make things happen. Still, the outlook was bleak when the Rockets’ Ellie Engstrom went to the line with 16 seconds left and made the first of two-free throw attempts, putting Maplewood up, 52-50.

When Engstrom’s second attempt missed the mark, the Lakers grabbed the rebound, got the ball ahead to Rose Lane and her layup tied the game and sent it into overtime. Defusing the Rockets in the extra period, the Lakers went home with a 59-56 victory.

“We were down five with 1:57 to go, and for some reason, we didn’t panic,” Compan said. “And we won it in overtime. We showed resolve in the face of adversity. In past years, we probably wouldn’t have won that game. I think we grew up a lot in that night.”

The win at Maplewood pushed PV’s record to 10-0. And the Lakers kept pushing themselves, winning a school-record 22 games and the Northeastern Athletic Conference championship. The Lakers remained unbeaten until they lost to Berkshire, 45-42, in a Division III district semifinal at Lakeside.

For his role in guiding the Lakers through this season of unprecedented success, Compan has been named the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Coach of the Year. Earlier in the month, he was named the Northeast Lakes District Division III Coach of the Year.

“This quite an honor,” Compan said. “And it’s really nice because this is the first group of girls at PV I’ve seen come all the way up through elementary school and middle school. It is great to watch the girls grow up and become good.”

Compan has had a big role in the Lakers’ success, but it was the players who made it happen. The coach didn’t handle the ball, or shoot or play defense. It was the players who did the work required to win all those games.

“You’re only as good as the girls you have playing for you,” Compan said late in the regular season. “Our girls set some goals this year, and they’ve been working hard to accomplish them.”

For Compan and his assistants, Mel Nowakowski and Dave Roberts, the 2008-09 season had to be a group effort. On Sept. 21, Compan’s wife Emily gave birth to their daughter, McCamey.

“It was different this year, trying to be a parent and a coach,” Compan said. “But your family has to be foremost in your mind.

“And it was tough on my wife. But she and the baby made it to most of our games. It’s important to have that support when you’re trying to balance being a coach and being a parent.”