British Baseball & Softball Coaching Awards 2021 Shortlist Announced

Mon 25 Jan 2021

BaseballSoftballUK is excited to announce this year’s shortlisted candidates for the 2021 British Baseball and Softball Coaching Awards, presented by Baseball Outlet! A high number of strong nominations were received, and candidates have now been shortlisted in each of the seven categories.

The winners will be revealed on BaseballSoftballUK’s social media this week, with the announcements taking place at 7 PM GMT as follows:

Tuesday - Youth Softball Coach of the Year and Adult Softball Coach of the Year
Wednesday – Youth Baseball Coach of the Year and Adult Baseball Coach of the Year.
Thursday - Young Coach of the Year & Volunteer of the Year
Friday - Services to Coaching

Don’t miss any of the announcements - make sure to follow BSUK on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Here are the shortlisted nominees:

Baseball Youth Coach of the Year

Given to an outstanding contributor to coaching young people in baseball in Great Britain in 2020.

Casey Mackenzie, Aberdeen Coo’s
Jonathan Rodriguez, Lancashire Legends & GB Baseball U18
Marc Lopez, London Mets Baseball & Softball Club

Softball Youth Coach of the Year

Given to an outstanding contributor to coaching young people in softball in Great Britain in 2020.

Kim Roberts, Horsham Broncos Softball Club
Hollie Ireland, RBI Wales
U15 GB Women’s Staff

Baseball Adult Coach of the Year

Given to an outstanding contributor to adult baseball coaching in Great Britain in 2020.

Steve Smith, Long Eaton Storm
Greg Gillette, London Mustangs
Aaron Gibbard, Brighton Jets

Softball Adult Coach of the Year

Given to an outstanding contributor to adult softball coaching in Great Britain in 2020.

Whitney Hollis, London Softball League
Ryan Turtill, London Softball League
Paul Vernon, Bracknell Baseball & Softball Club

Young Coach of the Year

Given to an outstanding young coach under the age of 25 who has contributed to baseball or softball coaching in Great Britain in 2020.

Christian Carter, Kent Buccaneers
Andreas Fopp, University of East Anglia Blue Sox and Norwich Iceni Baseball Club
Jess Vernon, Southern Belles Baseball Team and Bracknell Baseball & Softball Club
Phil Yorke-Robinson, University of Nottingham Softball and University of Nottingham Women’s Baseball

Volunteer of the Year

This award is for a volunteer in a non-coaching role who has given up a substantial amount of time to support their local club, team or league and who has made a significant impact on the development of our sports.

Allan Binns, Newcastle Nighthawks
Kelly Wright, Sheffield Bruins
Luke Borton, Worcester Sorcerers
Tom Rochester, Telford Baseball Club

Services to Coaching

This award is for the individual who best personifies what it means to be a baseball or softball coach over a long period of time: someone who understands their sport and can use the lessons learned on the pitch to motivate and engage others. They have probably played a great number of roles, and without their services to coaching, your club, your league or perhaps even your national team wouldn’t be the same.