Semoball Awards is more than a sports awards show — It's a night to be inspired

This summer we will celebrate more than 150 athletes and coaches at the Semoball Awards. It’s an incredible evening that makes for lifelong memories for the athletes, their parents and coaches, and many others.

Throughout the year, I speak with individuals throughout Southeast Missouri about the event. Invariably I bring up certain stories from previous years.

There’s the sportsmanship award, which recognizes individual athletes and teams for their selfless acts of kindness. One of my favorites is Notre Dame’s Thomas Himmelberg, a 2015 recipient.

During Notre Dame’s state championship where the Bulldogs were winning big over their opponent, Himmelberg asked coach Jeff Graviett to let teammate Derek Hulshof hit in his place. Hulshof, who was in his senior year, missed the baseball season due to an ACL tear playing basketball. Before the championship, he was cleared by doctors to play. Himmelberg wanted his teammate to have an opportunity to make a baseball memory. Graviett agreed, and Hulshof drove in a run with an RBI single.

“Derek had just been working so hard since he went down in basketball season, and I’d kind of been there by his side through it all,” Himmelberg told Semoball that summer. “Our relationship has gotten so much better from basketball season into baseball season. I really wanted to see that moment for him, but I don’t think anybody expected him to get a base hit and drive in a run. That was just incredible.”

Yes, the hit was incredible for Hulshof, but the real takeaway for me was the selfless act of letting a teammate take his spot in the lineup.

There have been many incredible finalists over the last five years for Comeback Player of the Year, but 2017 recipient Dru Hemmann stands out. The Perryville volleyball player was in a horrible ATV accident resulting in amputation of her left leg above the knee. A freshmen, she came back months after the accident to play volleyball for Perryville. In the spring, she played soccer.

I remember standing on the stage with that year’s keynote speaker David Eckstein as Hemmann’s name was called. She graciously walked to the stage to receive the award, clearly humbled by the recognition. But the moment wasn’t lost on me — or the nearly 1,000 attendees. She personified the word “Comeback.”

The Scholar Athletes of the Year are always impressive. Most have a 4.0 (or near perfect) grade-point average and played competitively in at least one sport; sometimes two or three. This is the one award we rely on the 56 Semoball schools to help us identify finalists.

Each athletic director has the opportunity to nominate male and female scholar athlete. These athletes are automatically invited to attend the show as finalists. Our sports panel then has the unenviable task of determining the recipients based on several factors (grades, sports performance and other activities).

The 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Terry Kitchen, gave one of most inspirational speeches I have ever witnessed (Semoball Awards or otherwise). Kitchen, who died just six months later, battled cancer and had been in remission before the awards show. Most of our Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will give brief remarks to thank friends and family who stood by their side over their careers. Kitchen used the opportunity to do that and much more. You can listen to his full speech with this column online.

His remarks were a testament to hard work, dedication to one school from high school through his career, and, most importantly, his strong faith in Christ.

This summer, we get the opportunity to recognize another sports legend in Paul Hale, a celebrated basketball coach at Notre Dame, Dexter and Bernie. He played at Scott County Central, and his coaching career included 573 wins.

This summer’s show will feature its own stories. On Tuesday, the spring sports finalists as well as the finalists for the top awards were announced. If you missed the announcement, check out the story on www.semoball.com (which also appears with this column on www.semissourian.com). Read the full list at www.semoball.com/awards.

The Semoball Awards is more than a sports awards show. It’s a night to put a spotlight on those who do sports the right way and inspire with their performance on the field, in the classroom and with their character.

If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, do so now. Tickets are available online at www.semoball.com/awards. VIP tickets also include a meet-and-greet with keynote speaker Rick Horton, a former pitcher and current Cardinals TV and radio broadcaster.

Special thanks to presenting sponsor SoutheastHEALTH; The Bank of Missouri (Official Bank Sponsor); title sponsors SEMO ESPN Radio, the St. Louis Cardinals and rustmedia; and the individual sports sponsors.

Maybe you know an athlete or coach to be recognized July 13 at the River Campus. Great. Come join us as we celebrate. But even if you don’t, you will still want to attend. You’ll leave inspired.

Lucas Presson is assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.