May 6, 2009, Stanford, CA – Kevin Levonaitis, coach of the Hillsborough (NJ) Dukes Pee-Wee youth football team, has been awarded the inaugural Double-Goal Coach ® of the Year Award, presented by Positive Coaching Alliance and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.   

This award goes to the Pop Warner coach who most embodies the philosophy of a Double-Goal Coach, whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports. Levonaitis received his award at the Pop Warner Scholastic Banquet, May 23, 2009 in Orlando, Florida.

“Winning this award is a great tribute to Kevin’s work with his Pop Warner players,” said David Shapiro, Director of Business Development at Positive Coaching Alliance, which selected Levonaitis after a national nomination process conducted by Pop Warner. “More importantly, Kevin’s work with his players makes them winners on the field and beyond.”   

Levonaitis’ approach: “I teach them to block and tackle properly, and I emphasize winning and losing as a team. The quarterback or running back does not gain yardage; the team gains yardage.”

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Founded as a non-profit within the Stanford University Athletic Department in 1998, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) has the mission of “transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth.”   To that end, PCA has conducted roughly 6,000 live group workshops nationwide for more than 300,000 youth and high school sports leaders, coaches, parents and athletes.   Workshop attendees have helped create a positive, character-building youth sports environment for more than 3 million youth athletes.  

PCA’s partnership network includes more than 1,100 youth sports organizations, cities and schools. In 2009, PCA will conduct roughly 1,300 live, group workshops across the U.S., while assisting thousands of other individuals via online workshops at www.PositiveCoach.org.    

PCA workshops train coaches to be Double-Goal Coaches, whose first goal is winning and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports. PCA sports parent workshops cultivate “Second-Goal ParentsTM,” who focus on life lessons through sports. PCA student-athlete workshops produce “Triple-Impact CompetitorsTM,” who work to improve themselves, their teammates, and their sport as a whole.

PCA has the support of elite coaches and athletes on a National Advisory Board including National Spokesperson, Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson. (http://www.positivecoach.org/advisoryboard.aspx)  

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