New azcentral sports program will honor high school athletes – azcentral.com
Scott Bordow, azcentral sports 
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Richard Obert and Scott Bordow discuss the Arizona Sports Awards, which will include weekly and monthly awards and conclude with a banquet in June 2016.
azcentral sports
Competition defines Arizona’s high school athletes. A new celebration awaits them.
For the next nine months student-athletes from across the state will experience the delight of playing for their school, their friends and their families. Some will win state championships. Most won’t. But they will share in the forever bond that joins teammates and teams.
Along the way, the Arizona Republic and azcentral sports will pay tribute to those athletes with a new program — the Arizona Sports Awards. Each week we will recognize top performers and those who give back to their communities, and every month we will shine a spotlight on some unsung heroes who work behind the scenes.
And when the 2015-16 high school season is over, when that last jersey is hung up, azcentral sports will honor the best of the best at a spring Arizona Sports Awards celebration event.
“We know how important high school sports are in our communities,” said Mark Faller, director of azcentral sports. “This program is a way for us to celebrate the student-athletes, the great moments and the shared drama and excitement that make up the high school experience.”
NOMINATE: Boys Athlete of the Week, Girls Athlete of the Week, High Achievers, Peak Performers
There will be no bigger drama than revealing the male and female Athletes of the Year, something new for azcentral sports. It will be the climax of our year-end, ESPY’s-style event (date and location to be announced) that will also include celebrity hosts and guest speakers, other fun surprises and plenty of deserving athletes to honor.
In essence, the red carpet is being laid out for Arizona high school student-athletes.
“It’s a neat thing,” Mesa Public Schools Athletic Director Steve Hogen said. “Anything you can do to honor students is great. … Hopefully this makes a big splash and people buy into it and it continues to grow. It has the opportunity to be a pretty rare event for high school athletics in Arizona.
“I also like the fact it’s not just designed to honor the stud athlete that everybody knows about. It’s designed to honor other kids as well.”
The year-end ceremony is the culmination of what will be a year-long recognition of high school athletes by azcentral sports.
The weekly and monthly awards for on- and off-field accomplishments will automatically become eligible for seasonal and year-end awards, as will our traditional All-Arizona first-team and performers of the year honorees in each sport. Finalists for the top awards will be invited to the spring year-end event.
Nominations for all of these awards can be made by school officials, coaches, students and the general public through an online form at sports.azcentral.com.
Even bigger news: For the first time ever the Republic and azcentral sports will have All-Arizona teams for every sport, boys and girls. So, lacrosse and ice hockey fans, start thinking about who belongs on that all-state team.
In addition, we will honor each month an Unsung Hero, to acknowledge the people behind the scenes who enrich the high school athletics experience. The winners will be finalists for an overall award at the spring event.
Finally, we need your help. We will ask readers and fans to help us recognize the best Fan Experience during the football and basketball seasons. We’ll ask you to help us pick the schools with the best game-day experience, with categories ranging from halftime shows to mascots, cheer/spirit squad performances to student sections. The overall winning schools will receive a special prize.
This is your chance to tell us why your school deserves recognition. We can’t be everywhere so we’re relying on you to be our eyes and ears.
The Republic and azcentral.com will keep you up-to-date with details of the program and year-end event as they are finalized.
The season begins now. The celebration awaits.
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