Class of 2007

Fredric Engh

Founder and President, National Alliance for Youth Sports

Fred Engh is the founder and president of the National Alliance for Youth Sports, a nonprofit organization established in 1981 that offers programs and services for everyone involved in youth sports experiences, including professional administrators, volunteer administrators, volunteer coaches, officials, parents and young athletes.  The goal of NAYS is to make sports and activities safe and positive by providing programs and services that add value to youth sports.  In 2004, Engh created the International Alliance for Youth Sports in order to help make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children around the world.  Engh has been involved in youth sports for more than 40 years as a coach, athletic director and sports educator, and he is considered to be one of America’s leading experts in the youth sports field.   

The Hershey Track and Field Games

Youth Sports Program

Founded in 1975 by Dr. Donald P. Cohen in Charleston, West Virginia, the Hershey Track and Field Games has grown from a local playground event in one community to one of the largest youth sports programs of its kind in North America.  The goal of the Hershey Track and Field Games is to introduce children to physical fitness through basic events like running, jumping and throwing.  But the program also strives to encourage children to reach their potential and develop a sense of accomplishment.  More than 3,000 meets take place in every state and every Canadian province in North America.  Over 400,000 youth and 150,000 volunteers participate in the program each year, with 550 competing in the national finals in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  All travel, food and mementos for the children are provided by the Hershey Corporation.

Billie Jean King

Founder, Women’s Sports Foundation

Billie Jean King won six Wimbledon singles championships, four U.S. Open titles and was ranked No. 1 in the world for five years.  Her accomplishments off the tennis court are just as dynamic, including creating the Women’s Sports Foundation.  The WSF is a national charitable educational organization seeking to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity.  Established in 1974 on only $5,000, today the Foundation has a $6 million operating budget and provides more than $9 million in cash grants and scholarships and $43 million in educational materials and services to individuals, teams and grass roots organizations.   The Women’s Sports Foundation is a premier organization advocating for girls and women in sports. 

Rainer Martens

Author, publisher, coaching educator, and sports psychologist

Rainer Martens is a sport psychologist and physical education professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Through his research and the pioneering work of the Coaching Association of Canada, Martens determined that a major way to improve amateur sport in the United States was to improve the education of coaches.  In 1976 he founded the American Coaching Effectiveness Program (ACEP), which later expanded into the American Sport Education Program (ASEP).  ASEP is one of seven divisions of Human Kinetics, also founded by Martens.  ASEP’s motto of ‘Athletes First, Winning Second” is the foundation of its curriculum and the driving force behind its efforts.  ASEP courses offered in the classroom and online show adults involved in youth sport how to place the physical, mental and social development of the child before winning and are regarded as the industry standard at levels from youth sport to Olympic sport organizations.   

Bettye Lou Robinson and Richard Ford

Co-founders, Motor City Track Club

Bettye Lou Robinson and Richard Ford co-founded the Motor City Track Club in Detroit, Michigan in 1965.  The club, free and open to boys and girls ages 3 to 18, has included more than 400 youngsters.  The main goal of the Club is not to produce winners, but to assist in the development of the total child.  However, Motor City Track Club has produced winners.  The Club boasts AAU, High School and NCAA All-Americans, Olympic Trials participants and Olympians.  In addition, more than one-third of the club’s membership attended higher education on athletics aid.  Due to the year-round nature of MCTC (cross-country, indoor and outdoor track), Robinson and Ford sacrificed personal time with their own families to conduct team practices and provide travel to meets nationwide.  What is even more remarkable is that all MCTC coaches volunteer their time to the Club and use personal funds for all travel, meals and entry fee expenses.  Through track and field, Robinson and Ford have created a path for Detroit-area boys and girls of all races and socio-economic backgrounds to maximize their potential.