High School Football Coach of the Year Returns to Eaton Rapids
Date: Tuesday, July 19th
Time: 6:00 P.M.
Location: ERPS High School Cafeteria
What: Dinner with Pizza and Refreshments in the high school gym.
followed by John Sprague’s presentation in the high school auditorium
Topic: Myths and Facts about College Sports
Sponsors: Eaton Federal Savings Bank, Shelly-Odell Funeral Home, and the Tetra Corporation
RSVP to clsmith@erpsk12.org or call 663-1144
Some of you know John Sprague. He received the NFL’s award for High School Football Coach of the Year for 2010. You may have seen him in one of the spots in the coverage of the Hula Bowl in January.
John just stopped coaching football at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida last fall. He still teaches there and is coaching golf this season. Mr. Sprague just happens to be an Eaton Rapids High School graduate and is going to be in the area in July. John was inducted into our Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
John Sprague is honoring us with a day’s worth of activities on July 19th. We have a luncheon for coaches and principals from Eaton Rapids, Charlotte, Leslie, Mason, and Holt where John will talk about high school students and the importance of sports in their lives. Community and business leaders are also coming. This event starts at Noon in the high school library. We are very thankful for the generosity of three local businesses so we can host these events.
Eaton Federal Savings Bank, Shelly-Odell Funeral Home, and the Tetra Corporation are sponsoring this event and the evening’s program.
In the afternoon, the Florida coach will have a skill session with our football coach, Bob Ribby, and his staff. We should pay a lot of attention to John Sprague. His football teams have been very successful in getting victories and championships plus his players have a 100% graduation rate from high school. He has been responsible for hundreds of players performing at the collegiate level as well as seeing some of his elite players go to the NFL.
John’s resume’ shows that he has coached golf, wrestling, and baseball in addition to football. His application for his NFL award is fun to read as I can see a lot of caring when it comes to his student athletes. Using this caring and all around knowledge of sports, Mr. Sprague will talk to parents and student athletes about what is like to prepare for and play sports in college.
Join us if you can as it is great to have an esteemed alumni, John Sprague, come home and share his experiences.
