St. Edward's Rolando honored by Athletico
St. Edward football coach Mike Rolando was recently honored as the Athletico Phyiscal Therapy Coach of the Year, an award he received on Dec. 6 during the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Athletico Coach of the Year Award recognizes coaches for all they do to serve their local communities, including sportsmanship, coaching success and classroom involvement.
Nominated by multiple individuals within St. Edward and within the community, Rolando has shown high levels of excellence within his role. The Green Wave finished the 2014 season with a 10-1 record with a second round appearance in the Class 4A playoffs. Finishing his 10th season as the head coach, the turnaround of the football program that Rolando has led has been remarkable. Winless in his first two years at the helm, the Green Wave have now reached the playoffs four of the past six seasons, and will be poised to continue to break new ground in the fall of 2015.
In addition to his success on the field, Rolando's focus on community involvement led to his selection. Rolando has organized volunteer events for his team throughout the school year and summer. These opportunities have helped the program extend their influence beyond the football field.
"I want to thank Athletico and their athletic trainer at St. Edward, Chris Hurckes, for this award." Rolando said. "The fact that nominations came from people that know our program well, and that the award takes into consideration efforts made off the field in the community and in the classroom, really makes us proud to be recognized. The off-field developmental opportunities for these young men, and their academic focus, are the real 'wins' for our program. Whether we win 10 games or zero games, we will always have that focus."
The coach of the year award was open to any junior high or high school level coach within the states of Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin. Nominations were open to the public and submitted via an online entry form. Nominators were required to explain why their coach deserved recognition. A selection committee within Athletico reviewed the nominations before selecting Rolando as the winner.