The Blue Valley Northwest girl’s soccer program had not one but two members recognized at the National Soccer Coaches of America Association (NSCAA) Convention this past weekend in Philadelphia. Head coach Rick Pribyl was celebrated as the National High School Girl’s Coach of the Year, Large Class, and junior Lauren Stalcup was elected as the National Referee of the Year.

While both were honored on the same weekend, the ceremonies took place at different times and under different circumstances; Pribyl was acknowledged at the Coaches Convention and Stalcup at the US Youth Soccer convention.

Pribyl had been informed in December about his nomination, and said up until he saw his name in the booklet at the convention and held the plaque in his hands on stage, he was still in denial with regards to winning.

“[When I found out] I was blind sided,” Pribyl said. “There’s 20,000 high school coaches out there. I’m not competing to be the best. I must’ve been born under the right star, I guess, I don’t know. I don’t think we did anything different this year than what we’ve done in previous years. We go out and have fun and play the sport, and that’s what it’s about. And for some reason, people seem to look up to that. We’ve had several students who are amazing athletes, and I just happen to get them in my program every year.”

According to Pribyl, the NSCAA is the largest coaches association in the world and all the hotels were sold out in Philadelphia over the weekend for the event. The banquet itself lasted three hours, and Pribyl said toward the end they recognized the college and high school coaches of the year, himself included.

“I had mixed emotions,” Pribyl said. “On one hand, it was pretty special to be there. But I also felt guilty because I felt that our assistant coaches should be up there with me, and because the team should’ve been up there with me. Because this is not supposed to be about me.”

According to athletic director Steve Harms and Stalcup, Pribyl winning the award reflects on the entire program. Harms said coaches honors go past the coach and out to the entire program and coaching staff.

While Pribyl was already aware he had won upon arriving in Philadelphia, Stalcup was not informed until the banquet itself. According to Stalcup, she was accompanied to the convention by her mother (Lisa Stalcup) and twin sister (BVNW junior, Emily Stalcup). Prior to the banquet, Stalcup and her sister attended different refereeing seminars, and according to Lisa, this speaks to the sisters’ dedication to their jobs since the seminars and discussions were not required.

Following the convention, the Stalcups attended the awards banquet. According to Stalcup, she had not considered the possibility of actually winning until she began to meet with different referees from Region II (Midwest) and other national referees.

“They were talking to me and saying, ‘Oh, well do you have a speech ready?’” Stalcup said. “I knew that if I won, I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to say, but I didn’t think I would actually need a speech. So that kind of got me starting to think about what would happen if I did actually win.”

“There were four girls who were nominated, but one girl didn’t come. So we were talking and saying, ‘Well she’s from Hawaii so maybe she asked if she won or not because she lives so far away. So it has to be one of us three.’ And then we went up on stage and my heart was beating, like I could feel it pounding in my chest.”

The three nominees each received a plaque, and according to Stalcup when the comentator brought up the trophy to announce the winner, the girl beside her saw Stalcup’s name on the plate.

“She turned to me and said, ‘You won,’” Stalcup said. “And I was like, ‘What?’ And then I looked and saw my name, so I kind of knew before he read it. But once he read it, I was still shocked. Even though I kind of knew, it was surreal. I’m pretty sure I was shaking. I had no idea what to do.”

Stalcup said she did have to give a speech, and according to Lisa, Stalcup nailed it. Despite the thousands of people there, Lisa said Stalcup was able to effectively convey her thanks to multiple people who had supported her.

“It was an amazing thing,” Lisa said. “The Kansas Soccer Association and the Region II folks were there. They all came up to her and were really super gracious. They were appreciative of all the hard work, so it was just neat to see the amount of support from all those people that she had.”

While Stalcup said she is unsure why she specifically was chosen, Lisa believes it is Stalcup’s dedication to her job that allowed her to win the award.

“She’s really willing to work hard at what she loves and she’ll go the extra mile and pick up games that she doesn’t need to,” Lisa said.  “She’s always stepping in and helping, she’s at the complex a lot doing what she can and being around the game and other officials and learning as much as she can.”

Although Stalcup believes she can only be nominated for the award once, once is enough for her.  Stalcup said winning the award provided a mental security regarding her job.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, you must be a super good referee,’” Stalcup said. “And I’m just like, ‘No, I’m just like everyone else.’ For me, it’s more reinforcement, like I can actually do this and I’m actually good. It’s a mental thing.”

According to Pribyl, while he was not able to attend Stalcup’s ceremony, he was thrilled she won.

“She’s a great kid,” Pribyl said. “It certainly speaks an awful lot about her dedication and love for the sport. We desperately, desperately need female referees in all sports. So I’m glad she won.”

According to Lisa, it was a neat experience for both her daughters to be together at the convention and ceremony.

“[When they announced her name] I was just filled with pride,” Lisa said. “So I was super excited for her and it was just a really, really exciting moment.”

For the story on Stalcup’s nomination process as well as her referring career thus far, see pages 12 and 13 of the December issue of the Express. For the story on Pribyl first winning the award, see here.