The work done by the 2008 award winners – Danielle Hobeika of Naperville, Ill., Jim Root of Saratoga, Calif., and Rex Jones of Chadron, Neb., in support and promotion of wrestling are applauded with this award.
"We have three individuals who rightly deserve this award with vastly different backgrounds," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "It goes to show you don't always have to be one type of individual to do wonders for the sport of wrestling.
This award is to recognize those individuals who have given significant time and effort to the sport of wrestling. Those efforts must have had significant impact on the preservation or promotion of the sport, through contributions that are financial, service and/or leadership in nature.
Hobeika, a former member of the U.S. Women's National Team and a graduate of Harvard, has long been the driving force behind wrestling's presence on the internet. After starting wrestling late in her high school career, Hobeika competed at Harvard before dotting the country with coaching stints at Menlo College, Pacific, and Princeton.
But her impact has been made in her quick efforts to help athletes launch web sites and for causes like Beat the Streets, Save Fresno State Wrestling, Save Oregon Wrestling and the NWCA's Program Entrenchment initiative.
Hobeika has also been active in the promotion of women's wrestling, launching The Women's Mat, a web site exclusively for women's wrestling. She's also been spearheading the research in trying to elevate women's wrestling as a recognized emerging sport by the NCAA.
"Danielle has been one of those people within the sport of wrestling who has really used her talents to not only promote, but to engage the wrestling community," said NWCA President Ron Mirikitani. "When something happens in wrestling, and a web site needs to be developed quickly, Danielle never waits around. She jumps right in and steps up."
"She's one of the most dedicated individuals wrestling has, we're honored to announce her as a recipient," said Mirikitani.
Jim Root has spent more than four decades as a wrestling coach, teacher and educator in California. Having coached at West Valley College in the California Community College system, Root doesn't coach for the money. That's not a motto, it's a fact.
"When Jim Root stepped away from coaching, the school tried to drop the program and that wasn't going to happen with a guy like him," said Moyer. "In a selfless act, Coach Root gave up his coaching stipend, retired from teaching and coaches at West Valley College, not for the financial aspect, but to keep wrestling going at the college."
Root represents the California Community College programs at the state Commission on Athletics (COA) meetings, the governing body for the community college athletics programs within the state.
His guise with the sport of wrestling goes beyond just coaching in California as Root has long attended NCAA Championships and NWCA conventions.
"It's hard to find a more ardent supporter when it comes to wrestling," said Mirikitani.
Root, a native Californian, wrestled for Hayward High School before moving on to Cal Poly. After Cal Poly, he received his Masters Degree from San Francisco State. While at West Valley, he coached nine State Junior College Champions and has placed in the Top 10 at the state meet 11 times.
Most importantly, though, Root was the co-founder of the California State high School Wrestling Championships.
The final recipient of the 2008 award will be Rex Jones of Nebraska.
Jones doesn't have the wrestling background as a competitor like Hobeika, nor the coaching background of Root, but what Jones has done in Nebraska for the sport of wrestling as an administrator is extremely worthy.
Inducted into the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003, Jones' contributions to the sport of wrestling span 26 years as the Associate Director of the Nebraska School Activities Association have been sizeable.
When he took hold of wrestling in Nebraska in 1975, attendance at the state meet was 29,000. His last season as Associate Director in 2001 saw the figure reach 45,000 (all sessions).
Jones' operation of the Nebraska state tournament relied heavily on getting the member schools to participate as volunteers, assistants, tappers, and made it an event for the state's schools to attend.
"The state tournament in Nebraska became something all teams involved would look forward to," said Moyer. "Not just the athletes competing, but all the schools and Rex Jones played a major role in facilitating the prestige of the tournament."
Jones has also served on the National Federation of High School State Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee for 12 years.
"Rex Jones is the type of administrator who took interest in a sport without having the extreme wrestling background," said Mirikitani. "If it was his responsibility, he was going to be the guy that got it done. In 26 years, Rex became a wrestling person and we're honored to present him this award."
Last year, the NWCA recognized Arkansas' Greg Hatcher, Virginia's John Licata and Texas' Steve Silver as the recipients of the prestigious award.
The 2008 recipients will be presented their awards at the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling.
The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.
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