The Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame will name varsity head softball coach, Nicole Coffee, “Coach of the Year” Feb. 14 at the Grand Plaza Hotel.

The Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame will include softball in their ceremony for the second year.  Recently, Coffee gave birth to her first child and was on maternity leave when Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame sent her the letter notifying her of the achievement.

“When I came back, the letter was five or six weeks old, so when I found out I was actually really surprised and excited at the same time,” Coffee said. “Last year, Coach Blaskowski at West Texas A&M won the award, making me the first high school coach to receive the award.”

Starting out in Fort Worth at Lake Worth High School as an assistant coach before coming to Canyon gave Coffee experience in both the classroom and on the field.

“I have played sports my entire life,” Coffee said. “I played softball in high school and then went on to play for Lubbock Christian University for two and a half years. Then I started helping out at Shallowater High School as a volunteer coach, and also ended up doing my student teaching there.

In her fourth year as a coach, Coffee is in her third year as a head coach. Coffee said getting on a personal level with her team helps with her teaching method.

“I think I can relate to them because I have been in their shoes and I have played the game as they have,” Coffee said. “Overtime I have figured out that each girl is different and they have different personalities, and once you really get to know them and get on that level with them they trust you more and give you more respect. It definitely plays a huge role as far as how I coach. I might be harder on one girl and coach another girl in a different way, depends on their personality.”

Coffee said she is looking forward to this year’s season based on the results of last year.

“We were the only team to beat the state championship team, who went undefeated for the rest of the year,” Coffee said. “We are pushing to take it a step further. Our goal is to obviously make it to the state tournament. We have high hopes for this season.”