Uniontown’s Everhart the right choice
Uniontown cross country coach Joe Everhart was recently honored as 鈥淧ositive Boys Coach鈥� for the 鈥�2014-15 C Harper Positive High School Athlete/Coach Awards.鈥�
The son of Uniontown蘑菇视频 boys Hall-of-Fame basketball coach Abe Everhart has coached for over 30 years for his alma mater. The Red Raiders have won numerous section championships in girls and boys cross country under Everhart, and he has coached several WPIAL champions.
Everhart is known for his constant smile and positive approach to coaching. He hardly raises his voice in anger and never curses.
The Raiders make a yearly trip to the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind, and Everhart has his athletes volunteer for road races and volunteer in the community. He makes sure that his athletes are students first, as the team has the highest QPA in the school.
Everhart always is modest in recognition, but he deserves the honor and, in my opinion, is one of the best coaches out there.
I had the privilege of running for Everhart in high school. I was never the best athlete, but he made me want to continue to work hard to be the best I could be. He also taught us to not only do well on the playing field but in the classroom as well. In addition, we were always taught to be good people.
Positive coaches are criticized at times for being 鈥渢oo nice鈥� and letting the students walk all over them. Everhart was very nice, but he was also very caring had rules that he expected to be followed, and I never wanted to work harder for a coach. If an athlete does not want to give their all for Everhart, then they do not belong in competitive sports.
He wasn鈥檛 an easy coach by any means. We worked out the entire summer at around 8 a.m. in preparation for the fall season. It was a grind, and some of those workouts were not fun, but we knew it was for the best.
After those grueling workouts, we were always complimented regardless of our status on the team. Whether you were the top runner, or the last one on the team, Everhart made you feel important.
We also had picnics, workouts in the mountains, and would be treated to drinks or snacks. One of the yearly traditions in the summer to initiate the incoming freshmen was to run what we called 鈥淔reshmen Hill鈥� at Jumonville.
It was a daunting task but always so much fun. When I accomplished the feat, I was told by Everhart that I was officially a Uniontown cross country runner. We celebrated with pizza.
Most coaches tend to help their athletes who are low on cash if the team goes to dinner, but Everhart would pay for us when we went out regardless of the situation. He was always willing to help.
My cross country teams were always in a three-team race with Connellsville and Laurel Highlands for the section championship.
We won the title my sophomore year and were county champions my sophomore and junior seasons. Even when we lost, we were always competitive. I do not say that to sound conceited. I am just emphasizing that Everhart is not just a nice guy that coaches. He is a very successful coach that is one of the best people out there.
Unfortunately, I do not see Everhart as much as I would like, but every time I do, he always asks me how I am doing, and when I tell him things are great, he always flashes that big smile.
In the words of my former teammate Dave Madison, 鈥淛oe is a great coach and the nicest guy in the world.鈥�
I couldn鈥檛 agree more.