OCEAN CITY- Two members of the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department family were honored last week at a special ceremony in Annapolis with 2015 Dennis Callahan “Good Sports” Awards by the Mid-Atlantic Recreation and Parks Sports Alliance (MARPSA).
MARPSA each year recognizes youth players, coaches and administrators from across Maryland with a variety of awards including the Dennis Callahan Good Sports Awards. The awards provide an opportunity for member jurisdictions to recognize young athletes, coaches and administrators who have modeled good sports actions and behaviors in their local programs. The Good Sports Award is named for Dennis Callahan, co-founder of MARPSA and former director of the Anne Arundel County Parks and Recreation Department.
Last week, MARPSA honored two local residents with Good Sports Awards in Annapolis. Receiving a Good Sports Award was long-time Ocean City Recreation and Parks youth sports coach Van Browne, who has coached indoor soccer and basketball for the last six years for the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department and also sponsors teams each year. He is a true believer in good sportsmanship, and is a perfect representative of OCRP’s Sportsmanship Counts! Program as he constantly displays fairness, integrity and responsibility. He is one of OCRP’s many Certified Youth Sports Coaches through the National Alliance for Youth Sports.
Also recognized last week with a MARPSA Good Sports Award was Berlin Intermediate School fifth-grader Jonathon Wallace.
Wallace has set an example of what a Good Sports Leader is all about for the past several years. As a participant of OCRP youth sports programs and afterschool activities, he consistently displays great sportsmanship on and off the floor. He is fair to his teammates and his opponents, and is always helping other kids during the game, even if they are not on his team. He follows the rules, is responsible for his actions, plays with integrity, and has the courage to do the right thing.