CELINA-Clay County High School athletic director and new girls basketball coach Joe Sims was recently honored with the A.F. Bridges award as the state’s athletic director of the year by the TSSAA, according to story published last week by Cookeville Herald-Citizen sports editor Craig Delk.

His story said the various A.F. Bridges awards recognize individuals from across the state who represent what’s best in high school athletics.

Nominations for the awards are made by a citizenship/sportmaship committee and the final selections are made by a state selection committee.

“It makes you feel good that your peers feel like you’re doing a good job as an athletic director to recognize you for an award like that,” Delk quoted Sims saying in his article.

Sims has been on the selection committee for the award in the past and he told Delk voters look for several criteria.

“You try to look at people that have been there for a few years and their athletic programs have maintained some success and tried to stay out of trouble, and try the best you can to take care of things when they do come up,” Sims told Delk.  “Everybody’s gonna have some ejections every now and then; you just have to deal with them, and make sure you talk to the kids and the parents.  I oversee daily operation of our athletics and do all of our eligibility, and I go to all of our TSSAA meetings and try to keep our coaches informed of changes and things of that nature.”

Sims told Delk he has tried to help other coaches get recognition with the award over the years.

“They’ve been trying to give it to me for two or three years and I wouldn’t let them,” he jokingly told Delk.  “I wasn’t at the meeting this year and they gave it to me.”

Besides his athletic director responsibilities, Sims will lead the Lady Bullodgs this year in his second stint as head coach.   He gave up the reins back in 2004 after nearly 20 years at the helm, but will return to action as the 2010-2011 season begins this week.

See a future HORIZON for more about both the girls and the boys basketball teams.