Brian Williams, Valley baseball assistant coach, was recently selected as the Southeast District Assistant Coach of the Year.

Williams has coached at Valley since 1994 under head coach Dean Schuler.

Williams said that winning the award was an honor.

"It was a great honor for me," said Williams. "Being an assistant under coach Schuler and him being in the Hall of Fame, it was a great honor for me."

Before becoming an assistant coach, Williams was no stranger to the game of baseball. Williams played high school baseball for Notre Dame and college baseball for both Morehead State University, in Kentucky and Shawnee State. Williams said that he also played several years of semi-professional minor league baseball.

When asked about the knowledge he has gained from 14 years in the dugout with Schuler, Williams said "it is incomparable."

"He has forgotten more baseball than most people know," Williams said. "His knowledge for the game supercedes anyone that I have ever known."

Williams said his fondest memories include coaching his brother, coaching his brother-in-law, and coaching coach Schuler's nephew, Glenn Hannah.

Schuler said that the award is a statewide honor selected by head coaches in the district and 16-member board at the state-level. The selection is an accomplishment for Williams.

"It (being selected Coach of the Year) makes me feel good," Williams said. "It also makes me feel well-respected and well-liked."

Williams felt that the kids and Coach Schuler helped him win the honor.

"The kids at Valley, they listen well and work hard," said Williams. "Coach Schuler, it's not that he demands respect, but he gets respect from players, coaches and parents."

"As a head coach, what you want is for your kids to respect your assistants as much as they respect you," said Schuler. "All the players respected Brian and for the 12 years he was with us, he has served as a great role model."

Schuler gives much of the credit and success of the pitching staff to Williams.

"He was successful, at the collegiate level, as a pitcher," Schuler added. "The number of years he helped us, we had five or six pitchers go on to the collegiate level and that's a credit to Brian. The kids respected him in the highest regard."

Schuler said that he completely trusted Williams with the pitching staff.

"You win championships with pitching and defense," Schuler said. "And a good pitching coach is like a head coach's right hand man. A lot of the success we have had is because of the work he did."

Williams wants to thank the schools in the Southeast District for the recognition.

Schuler, Williams and the rest of the staff have already started preparation for the upcoming season working with the kids in the gym and the Indians' season opener is later this month.

BRET BEVENS can be reached at (740)-353-3101 ext. 242.