Coach Joe Earns Southern Nevada PGA of America Person of the Year

Coronado Golf Coach Joe Sawaia has had one of the best coaching careers in the history of Southern Nevada. But not only does he help his teams win on the course he volunteers his time to support junior golf and high school golf. Plus for several years prior to his two sons getting older and taking up the game, Coach Joe was an active amateur and one of the best amateur golfers in Southern Nevada.

In recognition of all of the above, Sawaia was recently awarded the prestigious Southwest Section, Southern Nevada Chapter, PGA of America Person of the Year award during the annual dinner at Las Vegas Country Club. Sawaia was the only non-PGA of America professional honored.

“Receiving the Citizen of the Year award from the Southern Nevada chapter of the PGA southwest section is a great honor and I’m truly humbled,” says Sawaia. “I am really proud of the accomplishments of our golf programs over the years at Coronado as well as my playing career in the SNGA. I am also excited about the direction of high school and junior golf in the valley. I feel fortunate to be in the position to help out.”

The Coronado program is in its 15th year and added the 5th overall Nevada State title to the trophy case in the fall of 2015 when the girls won their second-straight championship. The boys won three-straight titles from 2010-12. In addition, the girls (4) and boys (10) teams have combined for fourteen Sunrise Region titles and dozens of regular match victories. Sawaia has been at the helm from day one.

“I am proud of what our players have accomplished as a team and individually,” Sawaia, who was 2010 Southern Nevada Golf Association Player of the Year, told this writer recently for an article in Las Vegas Golf and Leisure Magazine. “We have been blessed with great players over the years and that’s what it’s all about, but we also have terrific support from the parents, the community and our courses, especially Anthem Country Club and their staff and membership. Also Rio Secco and Revere help us a lot and we couldn’t do what we do without that support.”

In addition to the team success, the program has also helped more than a dozen players move on to play at the Division I college level. Currently AJ McInerney, who was a part of the three state titles, is the captain of the UNLV Men’s Golf team. McInerney recently won his first collegiate event, the LMU Invitational played at Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas. Several players who are still at Coronado will also play at the collegiate level once their Cougar days are complete.

“The commitment of our players to make playing for their high school team a priority has been huge for us,” says Sawaia. “We have been successful in instilling our philosophy of playing for team first, and the kids have really bought into that over the years. Golf, for the most part, is a selfish game and for a majority of the year the kids are playing for themselves. We’ve been fortunate because our kids and parents understand that the team comes before everything else here at Coronado, and our success on the course is a direct result of our philosophy.”

Way to go, Coach Joe.

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