{"id":5348,"date":"2010-10-08T15:35:27","date_gmt":"2010-10-08T19:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/blog\/news\/?p=5348"},"modified":"2011-01-25T15:52:55","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T20:52:55","slug":"2010-alumnus-of-the-year-dwight-gingerich-emu-class-of-%e2%80%9981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2010\/2010-alumnus-of-the-year-dwight-gingerich-emu-class-of-%e2%80%9981\/","title":{"rendered":"2010 Alumnus of the Year: Dwight Gingerich, EMU Class of \u201981"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>A Great Coach On and Off Court<\/h3>\n<p>By Larry Swartzendruber \u201983<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dwight Gingerich<\/strong> has coached at Iowa Mennonite School (IMS)  for 28 years, compiling an amazing record: 509 wins to 139 losses as of  Feb. 2, 2010; 10 state tournament appearances; five sportsmanship  awards at state tournament; one state championship (1992); four state  runner-up finishes; one state third-place finish; conference coach of  the year 12 times; district coach of the year four times; sub-state  coach of the year two times; state coach of the year one time.<\/p>\n<p>His 10 state tournament appearances rank third among active coaches  in Iowa (seventh among Iowa coaches all-time). His 509-139 win-loss  records puts him ninth among active coaches in Iowa; his .786 winning  percentage ranks third among active coaches. He has averaged 18 wins per  season (third among active coaches with 500 wins). He was Iowa\u2019s  nominee for National Coach of the Year 2010 and was among the eight  finalists nationwide for this award. In the service and volunteer arena,  Dwight serves on the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association board of  directors and has been active in the coaching fraternity. He is active  in Coaches vs. Cancer efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Since being at Iowa Mennonite School in various roles including vice  principal, guidance counselor and coach, Dwight has led numerous  interterm groups (week-long experiences), both on campus and off. He has  served on multiple committees at First Mennonite Church of Iowa City  and as a youth coach in basketball, soccer, and baseball.<\/p>\n<p>Dwight actively cares for students. He has opened his home to  students during transition periods, most often to boarding students and  to students experiencing difficulties in their home lives.<\/p>\n<p>I have had the pleasure of working with this outstanding person for  23 years. His commitment to the students and the community in general is  unsurpassed. I have heard him speak of athletics on numerous occasions,  and one thing strikes me each time \u2013 that athletics is no higher than  fifth on his list of priorities, with these coming before: (1) God, (2)  church, (3) family, (4) academics.<\/p>\n<p>All of our coaches coach to win, but more importantly teach more than  the sport itself. It is a testament to Dwight\u2019s influence and respect  among his players\/students that many former players have entered the  coaching ranks and have chosen to model their on-court behavior after  him.<\/p>\n<p>Many people speak to the \u201cDwight way\u201d of coaching: fundamentals, hard  work ethic, respect for one another, and working as a team. Our school  has had some outstanding players over the years, ones who have gone on  to play college ball (including two at the Division I level), but while a  part of the IMS program, their egos get checked at the door.<\/p>\n<p>One of our local schools runs an out-of-bounds play called \u201cIMS.\u201d  Usually plays are named after well-known colleges, such as a play called  \u201cDuke\u201d or \u201cKansas\u201d or \u201cIowa.\u201d For little IMS to have a play named after it is a sign of the type of respect rival schools feel for the IMS program, which Dwight has played the leading role in crafting.<\/p>\n<p>There is always tension between athletics and academics, or athletics  and the arts. The role of athletics, of course, has increased over  time, and the emphasis on sports can be excessive, even at the high  school level. Dwight is a master at bridging those differences and  alleviating some of that tension. He has successfully included the  community in the appreciation of the role of sports in the lives of our  youth.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond all of his coaching accolades and his success in that area,  Dwight has remained grounded and humble. I\u2019ve heard our athletic  director talk about going to coaching clinics where the majority of  other attendees \u201ccouldn\u2019t hold a candle to Dwight coaching-wise,\u201d yet  Dwight is furiously taking notes and trying to better himself as a  coach. He is constantly learning and is constantly placing the students,  the athletes, and the game above himself as an individual. I mentioned  the coaching boards he\u2019s been on. Dwight detests playing the \u201cpolitical  game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He will not put himself in position to serve on boards simply to gain  recognition for himself. If asked, he will be involved, but he does not  actively seek such positions. All of us have experienced sports events  at which coaches routinely yell, swear, and berate players and  officials. Dwight simply does not do that. Officials will many times  talk about enjoying refereeing ballgames at IMS  for that very reason, not only from the coaching standpoint but for the  atmosphere in general. This tone is set by Dwight himself.<\/p>\n<p>Dwight has had opportunity to move on to bigger programs, but has chosen to remain at IMS, where he feels he can make a difference at this level, in this community, at this time.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/alumni\/awards\/\">Learn more about EMU&#8217;s annual alumni awards<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Larry Swartzendruber \u201983 is director of development at Iowa   Mennonite School. This piece was his nomination essay. Dwight was the   first in his family to go to EMU. He was followed by his brother Ken \u201982  (deceased) and his sister Jewel Gingerich Longenecker \u201988.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Great Coach On and Off Court By Larry Swartzendruber \u201983 Dwight Gingerich has coached at Iowa Mennonite School (IMS) for 28 years, compiling an amazing record: 509 wins to <a href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2010\/2010-alumnus-of-the-year-dwight-gingerich-emu-class-of-%e2%80%9981\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"more-link\">... read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">about 2010 Alumnus of the Year: Dwight Gingerich, EMU Class of \u201981<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,4516,60],"tags":[5753,13581,17361],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-5348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-athletics","category-homecoming","tag-alumni","tag-dwight-gingerich","tag-mennonite-churches-and-schools"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - 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