There were several coaches in the Roanoke-Chowan who were at the top of their trade in 2009-2010.

There were stories of success on the football field, volleyball court, tennis courts, basketball courts and baseball and softball fields.

One coach, however, stood out during a year of successful leaders. That man was Hertford County High School’s Justin Frederes.

In just his first season at the helm of the Lady Bears’ basketball team, Frederes led Hertford County to a Northeastern Coastal Conference championship and a berth in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A state playoffs.

“He took a group of girls that had some talent, but didn’t have a lot of confidence and instilled that confidence in them,” said HCHS Athletic Director Charles Simmons. “He helped them play at a level that we haven’t seen a girl’s basketball team play at for 10 or 15 years.”

Frederes took over a team that had finished in the bottom half of the Northeastern Coastal Conference for nearly a decade and led them to the league title.

In the process, he garnered the support of the young ladies who suited up for him. During a post-season interview, the young ladies on the HCHS roster overwhelmingly credited their coach for the outstanding season.

“The coach was the big difference,” said Briante Bond. “We really didn’t have the same bond with any coach before as we did this year.”

Jaleesa Chinn agreed.

The difference in this year and the ones before is that we were given a new coach,” she said. “Coach Frederes helped us all see that we have the potential and skill to be a winning team.

“He believed in us and had faith when no one else did which helped us come together,” she added.

While they credited the coach with instilling confidence, the players also appreciated his knowledge of the game.

“We have a new coach that really knows basketball and pushes us to build a great foundation that we started this year,” said Camaryn Jones. “Another thing that was different was our mindset. We really began to believe we could be great because, like coach said, ‘we have the talent, we just have to believe’.”

In addition to his winning ways on the basketball court, Frederes was outstanding in leading the team to be better young women off the court.

On Christmas Day, the Lady Bears helped with a free meal program held in Ahoskie. They said donating their time taught them how important it was to think of others at that time of year.

In addition, the Lady Bears won the inaugural Richard Murray Sportsmanship Award at the annual Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald Holiday Classic sponsored by United Country Joe Murray Realty.

While all of that success may have been unusual for a first-year coach, Simmons said he just wasn’t surprised at all.

“I wasn’t surprised, in all honesty,” Simmons said. “I had already seen the way kids respond to Coach Frederes in the classroom. I had no doubt he would be able to get that same sort of response on the basketball court.”

It is his hard work, dedication and success that led Justin Frederes to be named Coach of the Year in the Roanoke-Chowan region.

Runner-up

The coach who finished as runner-up for the Coach of the Year Award was Hertford County High School Head Football Coach Scott Privott. Privott finished 13-1 in his first season at the helm of the Bears in 2009.

Others receiving honors

Others who received votes for Coach of the Year included Ridgecroft Soccer Coach Aron Martin, Lawrence Academy boys basketball coach Jon Powell and Lawrence Academy Volleyball Coach Dr. Ed Clouse.