Shadow Ridge High School is home to many different sports programs, football, track and field, volleyball, basketball, the list goes on. Throughout the year, students give their best effort in their sport of choice. The ESPY Awards aim to recognize students for their efforts and celebrate them.
The Shadow Ridge High School ESPY Awards is an athletic award show that recognizes the top athletes and athletic accomplishments throughout the school year. The event is invite only. The nominees are invited along with two representatives per sport chosen by their coach. All level coaches are welcome to attend, as well as administration and staff members. The ESPY Award show also features guest speakers who attend the show. The ESPY awards will be held Monday, May 12th at 6:00 PM in the Shadow Ridge Theater.
Shadow Ridge High School, former Women’s Soccer Coach and current P.E. teacher Kalah Williams explains the origins of the ESPY Award show, stating, “I attended Eastern Oregon University as a college athlete, and they had something called The Mountie Awards. It was an athletic award show for the college that highlighted the most elite athletes. In 2018, I decided to bring our own version to Shadow Ridge.”
The ESPY Awards are hosted by the Shadow Ridge High School Coaches Association. The show features thirteen different sports categories, with three nominees per category. The show will also have three seasonal based sports video montages and a special appearance from a guest speaker or professional athlete. The winners of each category will receive plaques and other items. Over 200 people will be in attendance at the show.
“Each year, I try to make the show better than the year before,” states Williams, explaining her goals for the ESPY Award show. “This year, my goal was to host our first ever Media Day with our nominees. This past Staff Development Day, we hosted the nominees in the gym and took professional photos of each nominee. They partook in interviews and behind the scene details. A highlight video was made of the day and will be shown at the award show. As for my goals going forward, I just hope this event continues to make our student athletes feel special and recognized. Being a student athlete is an extremely hard thing to balance, and we want them to know that all their hard work on the field and behind the scenes has never gone unnoticed.
