National award 'humbling' for Clovers' Rady

Thursday, January 15, 2015
Pat Rady

CLOVERDALE -- As the wins and seasons continue to add up for Cloverdale High School coach Pat Rady, so do the honors.

The coach is already an Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame member, the second winningest boys' basketball coach in IHSAA history and even had the basketball court at Terre Haute South named after him late last month.

Now comes a national honor, as Rady has been named the 2013-14 boys' basketball National Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association.

"It is a very humbling award," Rady said. "It really got me."

The coach found out about the honor following a recent game when CHS Principal Sonny Stoltz and Athletic Director J.J. Wade called Rady in for a private meeting.

"Mr. Stoltz and Mr. Wade called me in after the game the other night wanting me to read a letter. Then I read it, and I was got," Rady said. "I asked them, 'Does this mean what I think it does?' They said, 'Yes, coach, you're the National Coach of the Year.' At that point, I just lost it."

The 2013-14 season for which Rady was chosen wasn't only his 50th as a varsity coach, it was one of his best. The Clovers went 19-2, including a 12-game win streak to close the regular season.

Rady is one of 21 coaches from different sports to receive the honor this year. On his way to the national award, Rady was first selected by the IHSAA and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association as the Indiana boys' basketball coach of the year.

"When the IBCA and IHSAA said they were submitting my name to represent Indiana, I thought that was an honor," Rady said. "Just for me to represent the 400 coaches in the state of Indiana, that's enough right there."

Thereafter, he was selected as coach of the year from Section 4 - Central, which includes Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. The NFHS Coaches Association has an advisory committee, composed of a chairman and eight sectional representatives. The sectional committee representatives evaluate the state award recipients from the states in their respective sections and select the best candidates for the sectional award in each sport category.

The NFHS Coaches Association Advisory Committee then considers the sectional candidates in each sport, ranks them according to a point system, and determines a national winner for each of the 21 categories.

While Rady recognizes the significance of such an award, he does so with the self-effacing nature of the kid who started playing basketball as a Roachdale fifth-grader back in 1953. Not taking credit for himself, Rady credited his family, players, assistants and any other supporters.

"I've been blessed with a beautiful wife in Margaret and two great sons in Patrick and Michael who've allowed me to pursue my dream," Rady said.

"Whenever a coach receives any award like this, it's really an award for the players, the school and all the assistant coaches," he added. "It's not just an honor for the coach, it's an honor for the community."

That community, he said, also includes his previous coaching stints at Bainbridge, Southmont, Winchester, Shelbyville and Terre Haute South. His playing days at Roachdale, first varsity coaching job at Bainbridge and current job at Cloverdale are especially important to the Putnam County kid.

"I appreciate the fact that I started in Putnam County and I think I'm going to finish in Putnam County," Rady said. "Putnam County's been very good to me."

Rady has a 131-105 mark with the Clovers.

"We have been lucky to have Coach for the last 10 of his 51 years coaching," Wade wrote in a statement announcing the award. "While here he has helped bring 131 victories to Cloverdale and we are looking forward to many more."

Rady will seek his 750th win as a head coach when the Clovers (10-4, 1-0 WCC) host Cascade at 7:30 p.m. in the second half of a girl-boy doubleheader.

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  • Congratulation Coach Rady. You are a class act on and off the court.

    -- Posted by interested party on Thu, Jan 15, 2015, at 7:14 PM
  • Great Job Coach!

    -- Posted by clmn396 on Fri, Jan 16, 2015, at 5:21 AM
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