Aragon’s head football coach and athletic director, Steve Sell, won the 49ers Charlie Wedemeyer Memorial Coach of the Week Award on Friday, Sept. 9, as the Dons cruised to a 33-0 win against South San Francisco. The Dons also won against Jefferson 44-6 on Sept. 16, bringing their overall record to 4-0.
Charlie Wedemeyer, memorialized by the award, was a teacher and football coach at Los Gatos High School who was famous for coaching the Los Gatos team despite being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and gradually losing control of his body, up until his death in 2010.
Coaches of the Week are selected based on their embodiment of the values Wedemeyer displayed — according to the 49ers, the award is intended to promote youth football and feature coaches that not only display leadership on the football field, but also set an example for players, staff, competitors and the local community.
“[It] makes me feel good to be recognized,” Sell says, “[It] definitely reinforces the idea of being the kind of coach that is worthy of this award — being a coach that puts service and care of the players as the primary role of the coach.”
The award is given to one high school football coach every week throughout the football season, for a total of 10 weeks. From the 10 winning coaches, one is selected as the Coach of the Year at the end of the season.
Recognition isn’t the only benefit from the award, however. The Aragon football team will receive a $1,000 grant from the 49ers Foundation.
“I’m not sure [how the money will be used] … hopefully it will be used to buy championship or playoff shirts,” Sell says.
Furthermore, Sell will be gifted two tickets to a 49ers home game, where he will be recognized for the award on the field. Sell is also invited to a closed 49ers practice prior to the game, where 49ers head coach Chip Kelly will officially present him with the award.
Congratulations