Skerry Honored With Guardians Of The Game Award
Rob Washburn
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Towson Head Basketball Coach Pat Skerry received the 2015 Guardians of the Game Award for Service by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Skerry was presented the award at the annual AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show on Sunday, April 5, at the Muraf Theater at Old National Centre in Indianapolis.
Skerry, along with Georgia Tech assistant coach Tom Herrion, were honored for their efforts in bringing awareness to autism, the fastest growing developmental disorder in our society.
In 2014, the coaches, with help from their wives, Kristen Skerry and Leslie Herrion, sent out blue puzzle piece pins to all of the coaches who had a televised game on one weekend. The puzzle piece is an awareness tool for people to learn more about autism. Currently, 1-in-68 children, including 1-in-42 boys are affected.
This full-court press worked so well that almost every coach wore the pin on their lapel for national and regional television audiences. Coaches in the 2015 Final Four, including Tom Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski, wore them, as well as many of the network broadcasters on the games. It was the birth of Coaches Powering Forward for Autism benefitting Autism Speaks.
Coaches Powering Forward for Autism, benefitting Autism Speaks, had its second successful awareness campaign in February of this year and will continue its efforts to increase awareness, seek out available resources and raise funds for research.