2023 Marlon Johnson Award of Excellence Recipient
2023 winner Lisa Slinde presented by Adam Beamer
The following speech was made by 2023 Marlon Johnson Award winner, Beth Larson on June 1, 2023 as she announced the 2023 Marlon Award of Excellence for a Coach.
Good evening! It is an honor to present the 2023 Marlon Johnson Award tonight.
Last year this award was presented to me by Crystal Dohlman. At this time last year I only knew Crystal through legend and lore. Now………. I know SO MUCH MORE. Who could have known the very next season I would become her assistant! It has been amazing to work with the players on the 14-2 team alongside Crystal and Ashly this year.
Crystal keeps a picture of her and Marlon together in her coaching binder and that photo has brought up several great conversations among coaches and our team – the girls originally thought Marlon was her husband…… which certainly got a good laugh especially from Crystal!
Surely many coaches have known Marlon on a far deeper level than I have and Crystal certainly is one of those coaches. For me, Marlon represents someone who aggressively greeted me when I walked back into the gym after taking a 10 year break while our daughters were young. When he saw me wandering into court 4 like a deer in headlights he said, “You look like you belong here. Let me take you back to the boss.” The welcome he gave me was like the feeling in Middle School when you are walking around with your lunch tray wondering, “Where am I going to sit? Can I find any of my friends? Oh yes!!! – I see them and they saved me a spot!” His response was just what I needed to get myself back into the mix. For me – Marlon was a great example of how to treat people in a way that makes them feel like they belong and can be themselves.
Curt explained I should try to keep the identity of this year’s winner a secret until the end of this speech…. but that is going to be nearly impossible because there is NOBODY in the gym like the coach who is winning the award this year. This coach is completely one of a kind and fulfills so many roles for the Northern Lights Juniors Volleyball Club. Everybody knows this coach as somebody to go to when you need anything – a problem solver, a solution finder, a calm and controlled optimist who tackles every challenge with a smile and genuine positivity that nobody else can maintain. This coach is patient, funny, SUPER hardworking, and gets results year after year. Each season she takes on multiple teams as well as lead responsibilities. Coaches enjoy and want to stay in her groups because they know they will get leadership, flexibility, and autonomy while being part of her practices.
It is only getting harder to keep this person’s identity secret!
This coach is so well loved by her players because she conveys a real belief in their potential to succeed. She finds a way to smile through the best and the worst of any situation. She is THE MASTER of finding a way for everyone to contribute. She is always looking for new innovative ways to teach skills, systems, and strategies to the groups she works with new drills and programs.
This coach has coached all three of my kids! The honor of getting to present this award only keeps growing! I admire her in so many ways. She is my beacon of excellence when it comes to tough parenting questions especially regarding choir and orchestra concerts among many other things!
This coach has gotten her team into the finals at the AAU National Championships the past two years but has put in countless years of her time coaching to get the results she is known for today.Because it has gotten to be impossible to keep the recipient under wraps any longer I would like to present the Marlon Johnson Award of Excellence to the one and only, so deserving, irreplaceable, best ever, “Shiner O.G.” – Lisa Slinde