COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - Today the United States Olympic Committee announced the 2014 national coach of the year award recipients. USA Archery is proud and honored to announce that two of our coaches were recognized for their contributions to Olympic sports.
Nominated by USA Archery George Ryals IV (Monroe, Georgia) was named Developmental Coach of the Year, and Kathleen Stevenson (Nichols Hills, Oklahoma) was selected as Volunteer Coach of the Year from a pool of Coaches of the Year from other Olympic sports.
"We are honored to recognize this distinguished group of coaches, who have dedicated their lives to helping American athletes realize their full potential and achieve excellence, both on and off the field of play," said Alan Ashley, USOC chief of sport performance. "Team USA is stronger because of their positive influence and tireless commitment to our athletes, and we are proud to honor them as our coaches of the year."
Ryals guided archers of all skill levels to success on state, regional, national and world championship stages in 2014. Under his mentorship, the U.S. men's junior compound team took the gold medal at the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Nimes, France, and athletes earned more than 35 top-three finishes in national competition.
After 15 years of competing professionally, Ryals opened the Archery Learning Center, where he leverages his deep knowledge and experience in the sport to teach and inspire archers at the local, national and international level.
Stevenson, co-establisher of the Oklahoma Storm JOAD program and professional archer, is dedicated to helping young archers achieve success in regional and national USA Archery competitions. Under her tutelage, Brogan Williams (Stillwater, Oklahoma) set a world record and led the 2014 World Archery Indoor Championship junior women's compound team to a silver medal.
Stevenson also works with several community organizations - including the Boy Scouts of America - to organize events and foster interest in archery.
USA Archery congratulates these incredible coaches on this prestigious honor and thanks them for their continued dedication to the growth of archery. The complete list of finalists and award recipients is available here. Information attributed to the United States Olympic Committee.
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