Coaches Awards
USOPC Coach of the Year
Each year, the USOPC honors the best in coaching as part of the USOPC Coach of the Year Recognition program. The finalists must be actively coaching or within one year of retirement to be eligible for the award. Finalists are selected in the following categories:
- Olympic Coach of the Year
- Paralympic National Coach of the Year
- Developmental Coach of the Year
- Volunteer Coach of the Year
- Doc Councilman Science Award
An independent selection panel of coaching and sport education professionals selects national winners in each category. The USOPC recognizes each NGB Coach of the Year with a unique award and all Coaches of the Year are honored by the USOPC at an annual ceremony in late spring.
Order of Ikkos
The Order of Ikkos was established to recognize the coaches whose athletes medal during the Olympic Games. This medal is inspired by Ikkos, the first recorded Olympic coach in Ancient Greece. He is known for his coaching ability as he led two fellow Tarentine athletes to gold in the same event, pentathlon. The USOPC established the Order of Ikkos prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and provides the opportunity for athletes to recognize their coaches for their leadership and inspiration to achieve world-class performance.
For more information and to view a complete list of past recipients, visit the tabs via this page.
