Last month, Coach Sean Ferrell was the recipient of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year award. Mr. Ferrell has been a part of the Libertyville baseball family for years and is now being rewarded for his efforts.
Mr. Ferrell was nominated for the award by varsity head coach Mr. Jim Schurr. Mr. Ferrell and Mr. Schurr have been coaching together since 2002; Mr. Ferrell was on the varsity level as an assistant until 2009, when he then switched to become head coach of the freshman team, a position that he still holds.
After being nominated by Mr. Schurr, Mr. Ferrell’s name went into a pool with other assistants from all over the state. The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association, which is comprised of varsity head coaches from around Illinois, then voted on a winner, and Coach Ferrell came out on top.
Mr. Ferrell received the award at a banquet attended by all of the biggest names in Illinois high school baseball. Along with Assistant Coach of the Year, the Head Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, and Hall of Fame inductees were all announced.
For Mr. Ferrell, coaching is not about himself; it’s about those around him.
“My goal in coaching is to really add value to people’s lives, to the kids that I coach, through my relationships with them and add value to our program, to Coach Schurr, and our school,” Mr. Ferrell stated.
Despite the personal accolade, Coach Ferrell was quick to deflect the glory: “It’s something that we all won, all of us on the staff, not just me,” Mr. Ferrell explained. “All of the coaches put in a lot of time and effort in helping kids through the program and helping them connect to school through baseball.”
For Mr. Ferrell, coaching and teaching truly are a passion, a passion that he says he’s honored to pursue at Libertyville. His dedication and love for what he does is obvious to those around him, and something that leaves an impact on his players.
Senior Noel Joseph, who played for Mr. Ferrell as a freshman, said that “[he] feels really lucky to have Mr. Ferrell as a coach because he is a great role model. His style of coaching makes it really easy to play for him because he’s always being positive and constructively criticizing in order to make you a better player on the field, and a great person off the field.”
Mr. Ferrell knows how to connect to his players and help them reach their potential, as Joseph added that “Mr. Ferrell showed me he believed in me as a freshman and to this day continues to help me four years later as a varsity player.”
