Congratulations to the 2011-12 Bob King Award winners as Girls' Coaches of the Year.
Amy Govert
Merrillville - District 1
Amy Govert recently completed her seventh year as the Merrillville High School girls basketball coach with the school’s first undefeated regular season.
A 1995 graduate of Highland High School where she played for coach Annie Equihua, Govert attended Valparaiso University on a softball scholarship and earned her bachelor’s degree in 2000.
Govert became the Merrillville girls basketball coach in 2005, and she has compiled a 122-36 record during her time with the Pirates. Her tenure includes Duneland Conference championships in 2006, 2010 and 2012 as well as a Class 4A state runner-up finish in 2010 with a 25-2 record. Her 2011-12 squad finished with a 21-1 mark.
In 2010, Govert was honored as The Times of Northwest Indiana Coach of the Year, the Gary Post-Tribune Coach of the Year and an ICGSA District 1 Coach of the Year. She also was selected an Indiana All-Star assistant coach in 2010.
Steve Neff
NorthWood - District I
Thirty-five years ago, when Jimmy Carter was president and the United States was celebrating its bicentennial, Steve Neff took over as girls basketball coach at NorthWood, believing it would be a one-year interim post.
In 2011-12, 35 years later, Neff is a District 1 Coach of the Year after guiding his Panthers to a 22-4 season and pushing his career record to 612-171.
Along the way, NorthWood has posted 34 winning seasons, won 22 sectionals, 10 regionals, two semistates and the 1999 Class 3A state championship. The Panthers also have claimed 10 Northern Lakes Conference titles.
A 1970 graduate of Wakarusa High School and a 1974 graduate of Manchester College, Neff was a four-sport star (baseball, basketball, football and track) in high school. In college, he was the Spartans’ baseball MVP and figured he would coach that sport.
Still, he coached junior high boys basketball for one year each at Northfield and Jimtown before returning to his home school – which had consolidated into NorthWood. In addition to teaching science, he also served as an assistant football coach for more than 30 years.
Neff was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
He and his wife, Becca, have two adult daughters – Stephani and Cori.
Jeff Knoy
McCutcheon - District II
Jeff Knoy recently completed his seventh season as coach of the McCutcheon High School girls basketball. His teams have compiled a record of 111-56 during his tenure.
The Mavericks have had a 45-6 record the past two years on their way to a third sectional title, three Journal & Courier Hoops Championships, one Rumble on the River Championship and one regional championship. The Mavericks finished 20-4 in 2011-12, falling in the regional to eventual Class 4A state champion North Central in overtime.
Knoy has had one Indiana All-Star in Jessica Valley, a 2011 graduate who is currently playing at Indiana State University.
Knoy is a 1986 graduate of Harrison High School in West Lafayette, where he played basketball and football. He matriculated to Purdue University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education with a minor in U.S. History and economics. Knoy is the social studies department head at McCutcheon.
He previously was a boys’ JV coach at McCutheon for 12 seasons, and he also has coached football and baseball.
Knoy and his wife, Peggy, are the parents of Brady (20), Madison (17) and Anabelle (12).
Eric Thornton
Norwell - District II
Eric Thornton has had tremendous success as the girls basketball coach at Norwell High School.
A 1987 graduate of Churubusco High School, Thornton attended Ball State and received his bachelor’s degree in business education in 1992. He was a student-teacher and volunteer boys basketball assistant coach at Warsaw in 1991-92, then became an assistant girls basketball coach at Plymouth from 1992-97.
He landed the Norwell job in 1997 and has compiled a 208-127 record with the Knights over 15 seasons. His tenure has included five Northeast Hoosier Conference championships, three sectional titles, a City Securities Hall of Fame Classic appearance and a Class 3A No. 1 ranking at the end of the 2011-12 regular season.
Thornton has been selected NHC Coach of the Year six times, and he was the ICGSA District 2 Coach of the Year in 2009.
Thornton and his wife, Kelley have four children – Ryne, 5; Cade, 3; and 15-month-old twins Avery and Maddux. In his free time, Thornton enjoys playing golf and spending time with he family.
Mark Holt
Barr-Reeve - District III
Mark Holt directed Barr-Reeve to a 22-1 record and an undefeated regular season in 2011-12 and is recognized as an IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year.
This season’s win total set the school record for most wins, the third time in the last four years to best the previous mark. It also included a Blue Chip Conference championship and a Class A Sectional 63 championship. Holt’s teams have averaged more than 19 wins per season over the last five years. His overall record with the Lady Vikings is 133-67 in nine seasons.
In his 29 years of teaching mathematics and coaching, all at Barr-Reeve, Holt spent 20 years in the Barr-Reeve boys’ basketball program before spending the last nine years as the head coach of the Lady Vikings.
Holt is a 1979 graduate of Shoals High School and a 1983 graduate of Ball State University. He received his master’s degree from Indiana University in 1987 in mathematics education.
He and his wife, Teri, both teach at Barr-Reeve. The couple has two daughters – Kellianne, a 2009 graduate of Butler, and Stephanie, a 2011 graduate of the University of Evansville.
Greg Werner
Southridge - District III
Greg Werner has coached eight seasons at Southridge High School with a record of 123-54. The Lady Raiders finished this season 19-3 and 8-0 in the Pocket Athletic Conference. Overall, Werner has completed 17 seasons as a varsity head coach – he earlier coached from 1995-2002 at Washington Catholic and 2002-04 at Greensburg – with a career mark of 227-149.
At Southridge, Werner has guided four teams to conference championships and one sectional title. At Washington Catholic, his teams won two sectionals and two regionals. He also teaches math at Southridge.
Listed are his coaching accomplishments and awards:
- 1999 Washington Times-Herald Coach of the Year
- 1999 Sectional and Regional Champions, Semi-State Finalists (record 19-7)
- 2001 Washington Times-Herald Coach of the Year
- 2001 Sectional and Regional Champions (18-6)
- 2002 Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association District Coach of the Year
- 2005 Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association District Coach of the Year
- 2005 Undefeated Regular Season (20-0)
- 2005 PAC Conference Champions (7-0)
- 2007 Sectional Champions (record 22-2)
- 2007 Indiana Basketball Coaches Association District III Coach of the year
- 2007 PAC Conference Champions (7-0)
- 2011 Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association District Coach of the Year
- 2011 PAC Conference Champions (8-0)
- 2012 Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association District Coach of the Year
- 2012 Indiana Basketball Coaches Association District III Coach of the Year
- 2012 PAC Conference Champions (8-0)
