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FWDailyNews.com
January 4, 2013
Homestead baseball coach Sotir to accept award for 100 victories
New group will hone in on everyday health By Valerie Gough
By Garth Snow gsnow@kpcnews.net
When the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association honors Homestead coach Steve Sotir for his 100 victories, he might deflect the credit to his players. After all, he did that twice during a brief account of his evolving career. “I want to give the credit to the kids where it’s mostly deserved,” Sotir said. “At Homestead, we’re blessed with outstanding student athletes, and success can come when you have very talented players on the field. Any high school coach will tell you that.” Sotir will accept the award Jan. 25 at the Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites, during the coaches’ winter clinics. Sotir said he wasn’t aware of the milestone until Homestead school radio announcer Adam Schenkel approached him after the 7-0, May 5 victory over Snider. “He was the one who came down and said congratulations about the win, and I said thanks,” Sotir said. “And he said, ‘You don’t know what this one is,’ ” Sotir recalled. Barb Lake, the athletic
Courtesy photo
Steve Sotir passed the 100victory mark during his fifth year as Homestead High School baseball coach. He will accept an award for that milestone at the January meeting of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association. department secretary, said Sotir has earned the respect of the players, the parents and the community as a whole. “Everyone associated with baseball here at Homestead and I think here in this area, they know him and respect him,” Lake said. “He does a great job with the kids. He holds his players to high standards and they perform.” Sotir played second base and shortstop, including high school ball at Anderson High School
in Cincinnati. “In order to play baseball, most people say you go to junior college in Florida,” Sotir said. “So I went to St. Petersburg Junior College and played there a couple of years, where you can play baseball all year-round.” He earned a baseball scholarship to Newberry College, in South Carolina, and played there two more years. “Then I started thinking about what I wanted to do in life.” He wanted to stay close to the game. “If I can’t play it, then the next best thing is to coach it,” he said. He coached at Clearwater High School in Clearwater, Fla., then became an assistant at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., He became an assistant at the University of Florida. But Sotir was drawn back to Statesboro. “People said if you want to learn the game, you want to go to Georgia Southern and study under Jack Stallings,” Sotir said. Stallings, who also coached at Wake Forest and Florida State, won more than 1,200 games as a college coach. “I realized how much I didn’t know,” Sotir said. He became a graduate
Children join in Aldersgate concert
Photo by Jane Snow
Aldersgate United Methodist Church singers from the children’s choir and the Renaissance Praise teen group perform for the Christmas concert at the Getz Road church. The 38-member Old Crown Brass Band supported the concert, and will return for two dates in 2013. For details and more photos, visit fwdailynews.com.
assistant in the health and physical education department. He taught classes and took classes, and was an assistant baseball coach. “And those two years were just a learning experience for me,” Sotir said. “Not only did I learn the game, but I learned how to teach the game.” Sotir credits Stallings with introducing him to the American Baseball Association, based in Atlanta, and ultimately to the International Baseball Association. “They needed someone who could teach the game,” Sotir said. “Not necessarily pro experience, but a teacher of the game.” Sotir was charged with conducting coaching clinics in Australia, Italy and around the globe. The 10-day clinics drew players from nearby, and coaches from a wider See COACH, Page A8
vgough@kpcnews.net
As much as critics like to say that social media has made us less social, the same cannot be said in every instance. In fact, each month in Fort Wayne, individuals using social media come together over breakfast to discuss its application and influence in business and everyday life. The Social Media Breakfast, which started in Boston, now exists in more than 25 U.S. cities and serves as a time to network with like-minded people or get help from industry experts. It was at one of these events where Justin Springer saw potential in the Social Media Breakfast model, and how it could positively influence another aspect of daily life — health. “I went to a Social Media Breakfast in December and I loved it,” said Springer, who founded My Healthy City. “You know, here is a complete newbie to really understanding social media and I got to go into this environment and a lot of experts were there. I walked away with so much valuable information.” Springer, who owns Fort Wayne Strength and Conditioning, has long wanted to find a way to make Fort Wayne a healthier place to live, work and play, but he wasn’t entirely sure how to go about bringing people together with that common goal. “I thought, here is the venue that I’ve been looking for — something that’s not about me, or my gym, or anybody’s business, but that’s a resource to the community.” Springer created My Healthy City, a group open to See HEALTH, Page A4
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