Steve Ingram, former girls basketball coach, and Makayla Gooch, a member of his basketball team last year, were nominated for the NAIA’s Champions of Character awards. The overall winners will be recognized at the NAIA’s Champions of Character Foundation Luncheon on Nov. 7.

These awards are meant to honor coaches and players who exhibit the following five core values: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

Ingram previously won this award in 2006.

Most nominees only win this award once.  Ingram has been a winner twice.

“Yeah, it was a real big shock to win it again and a great feeling,” Ingram said. This award shows how much a coach cares about his team and the team’s legacy.

Ingram was nominated by fellow coaches in the building.

“It was a great honor,both  to win this award and knowing that (my) fellow coaches nominated myself,” he said.

The respect that Ingram’s fellow coaches in the building have for him was evident in their nomination.

One of Ingram’s players, Gooch, has also been nominated for this award from the NAIA.

“It was a great feeling to win this award,” Gooch said.

Players get nominated by their coaches for a chance to win the award. The coaches nominate the students who show the best character and exhibit the five core values.

“It was great to have my character noticed by the coaches,” Gooch said. The coaches chose Gooch from 20 nominated student-athletes at the school.

The athletic director then narrowed it down to three student candidates; after that the coaches voted and Gooch became the nominee.

“I didn’t know I was nominated until I was told that I was one of the candidates,” Gooch said.

Jerry Colangelo, managing director for the U.S.’s men’s basketball team, will serve as the keynote speaker at the fourth annual luncheon at the Kansas City Convention Center Grand Ballroom.

Awards will be given not only to a coach and high school student-athlete of character, but also to a collegiate student-athlete, a company and a team of character.

Last year’s luncheon was attended by more than 850 different people.