Schools and individuals from all parts of Middle Tennessee were recognized at the TSSAA Regional Meeting at Hillwood High School on Thursday, November 7 as part of the 20th Annual A.F. Bridges Awards program.
The A.F. Bridges Awards are given in honor of the TSSAA’s first executive secretary. He served as executive secretary from 1946 until his retirement in 1972. Under his leadership, athletics in the state of Tennessee reached a level of excellence and competence that earned the respect of all people. Mr. Bridges was a person of high principles who displayed firmness and fairness, as well as the high ideals of ethics and integrity as he and many other school people established the foundations of TSSAA.
The A.F. Bridges Awards program includes Divisional Awards for schools that have shown exemplary sportsmanship and awards for individuals in the categories of School System Administrator of the Year, Principal of the Year, Athletic Director of the Year, Female Coach of the Year, Male Coach of the Year, Official of the Year, and Contributor of the Year. In total, the awards recognize 63 individuals and as many as 27 schools from all parts of the state that represent what’s best in high school athletics.
Nominations were made by a Citizenship/Sportsmanship Committee and member schools in each athletic district and the final selection was made by a State Selection Committee.
Below is a full list of this year's Middle Tennessee honorees.
Athletic District 4
School System Administrator of the Year
Dr. Donna Wright, Wilson County Schools
Principal of the Year
Dr. Leisa Justus, Blackman High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Joe Sims, Clay County
Female Coach of the Year
Jenna Morris, Tullahoma High School
Male Coach of the Year
Phil Young, Siegel High School
Official of the Year
David Laws
Contributor of the Year
Mike Hollingshead, Smyrna Ready Mix
Athletic District 5
School System Administrator of the Year
Dr. Del Phillips III, Sumner County Schools
Principal of the Year
Bryan Feldman, Clarksville High School
Athletic Director of the Year
Nicole Burgess, Hume Fogg Academic Magnet
Female Coach of the Year
Molly Yarbrough, Station Camp High School
Male Coach of the Year
Jeff Price, Rossview High School
Official of the Year
David Davenport
Contributor of the Year
David Braun, Springfield High School
Athletic District 6
School System Administrator of the Year
Dr. Cathy Beck, Cheatham County School District
Principal of the Year
Kevin Eady, Hickman County
Athletic Director of the Year
Eric Crabtree, Cornersville High School
Female Coach of the Year
Anna Arnold, Summertown High School
Male Coach of the Year
Gerard Randolph, Cornersville High School
Official of the Year
Eric Bradford
Contributor of the Year
Charles Pulliam, Williamson Herald
A.F. Bridges Divisional Awards
The A.F. Bridges Divisional Awards are given to schools that have had no reported unsportsmanlike conduct incidents during the previous school year and have displayed an overall positive effort to teach, expect, and demand a positive atmosphere of sportsmanship at their particular contests.
The schools that received this prestigious award were nominated by local officials associations and other member schools.
CLASS A
Houston County High School
Middle Tennessee Christian
Santa Fe High School
CLASS AA
East Hickman High School
Harpeth Hall School
Waverly Central High School
CLASS AAA
Beech Senior High School
Cane Ridge High School
Lincoln County High School
Of the 26 divisional recipients, one school in each class will receive Tennessee’s top award for overall outstanding effort, the A.F. Bridges State Award of Excellence. This is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a school to honor its overall efforts to promote citizenship and sportsmanship at school, and at athletic contests. The winner of that award will be announced at a later date.
