The National Federation of High School Sports’ Coaches Association has chosen two head coaches from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh as the National Coaches of the Year for 2022-23.

Patricia Alexander was named the country’s top head coach in girls lacrosse and Jennifer Marks was chosen as the National Coach of the Year for spirit.

In 2023, Trish Alexander achieved her sixth state championship as the coach of the Crusaders’ girls lacrosse team. The Crusaders triumphed over Charlotte Catholic with a score of 15-11 in the 4A title game and ended the season with a record of 21-2. In 2019, Alexander was honored with the NCHSAA’s Doris Howard Female Coach of the Year award.

Jenny Marks led a squad that won the NCHSAA’s 2022 Super Large Varsity state championship and the 2023 North Carolina Cheerleading Coaches Association’s state championship. Marks has also won three CheerSport national championships as a head coach.

The NFHS has released a comprehensive report on all coaches.

Girls Spirit
Jennifer Marks
Raleigh, North Carolina

Jennifer Marks has served as the head coach for the cheerleading team at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina for 27 years. During her time as coach, she has led her teams to 23 state titles and four Carolina Cup championships. Most recently, Cardinal Gibbons was crowned the 2022 North Carolina High School Athletic Association Super Large Varsity state champions and the 2023 North Carolina Cheerleading Coaches Association state champions. In addition, Marks has guided her teams to three CheerSport national titles and three top five finishes at the UCA nationals. In recognition of her outstanding coaching abilities, Marks has been named Coach of the Year by the North Carolina Cheer Association in both 2008 and 2022. She also places a strong emphasis on giving back to the community, with her teams participating in various projects such as the Oxford Children’s Home of North Carolina and the Feed the Need program. Marks’ coaching philosophy is built on love, respect, and discipline, and she constantly reminds her athletes that a coach’s role is to push them to achieve things they never thought possible or would have been able to do on their own.

Lacrosse
Patricia Alexander
Raleigh, North Carolina

If it wasn’t for the shortened seasons caused by COVID in 2020 and 2021, Patricia Alexander and the Cardinal Gibbons High School girls lacrosse program may have had a streak of eight consecutive state championships. Under Alexander’s leadership, the team from Raleigh, North Carolina, won four straight North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) state titles from 2016 to 2019. They were on track for another successful season in 2020 with a 3-0 record before the pandemic halted play. In the winter season of 2021, the team went 13-1 and Alexander has since led them to back-to-back NCHSAA championships in 2022 and 2023. In just 13 years as head coach, Alexander holds an impressive record of 197 wins and 39 losses. She was recognized as the NCHSAA Doris Howard Female Coach of the Year in 2019 and has been named Conference Coach of the Year eight times. Along with her coaching duties, she is also actively involved in her community, leading the Cardinal Gibbons Youth Lacrosse Camp and the North Carolina Lacrosse Academy’s recreation program.

Source: highschoolot.com