Fall 2017
The Coaches Association of Ontario awards the Andy Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award each year to a coach who has made a significant contribution to coaching and their sport over a sustained (20 years plus) period of time. Andy Higgins, is a legendary Canadian coach who helped Canadian track and field athletes onto the medal podium at the Olympics, Pan-Am and Commonwealth Games and who also devoted a major part of his life to the professional development of coaches. So it was only appropriate that the Coaches Association of Ontario’s Lifetime Achievement Award was named after him. Each recipient of this prestigious award must be an outstanding coach who has made a significant contribution to coaching in Ontario over a very long sustained period of time (20 years plus) and , following in the footsteps of Andy Higgins, has to have devoted his lifetime to instilling positive values and making a difference through sport. A coach, who dreams big, looks for the possibilities, and focusing on lasting legacy.
As part of National Coaches Week across Ontario and Canada, the Ontario Coaching Excellence Awards celebrate the dedication and commitment of exemplary individuals who inspire, innovate and share knowledge of sport with others. In September of 2016, Casey Curtis was the recipient of this prestigious award. Casey has been widely recognized by tennis organizations for his unparalleled contribution to the development of Milos Raonic. However this award was special because, rather than celebrating the achievements of a particular athlete, it emphasised Casey’s contribution of many years of developing fine players, who not only achieved the highest level of the game, but who also were fine human beings, good students, and who contributed to tennis in Ontario.
You can find out more about Casey by watching the following video made in celebration of his Andy Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award.