Maryville man given coach of the year honors from MPRA

Nathan Stoner has been a volunteer coach for various Maryville Parks and Rec sports throughout the past seven years.

On February 15 at the annual Missouri Parks and Rec Association conference at Tan-Tar-A, he was awarded with the MPRA Volunteer Coach of the Year.

Missouri Parks and Rec celebrates and recognizes a stand-out coach yearly, a high honor for Stoner. He has coached every youth sport offered through MPR, including soccer, baseball, football and basketball. Stoner has found a lot of his joy in coaching his three sons, and being able to spend quality time with them.

He first got into volunteer coaching when his twin sons were in kindergarten in 2015. They are now 12 years-old, and will soon be heading into their high school athletic careers. Stoner says he will keep doing it however, as he has a six year old son who will have many future years to participate in MPR sports.

“I just enjoy spending time with my kids, and my kids love sports. I think it’s a very important part of a childhood,” Stoner said. “I want to be able to support and be there so those kids have an opportunity. They enjoy being with their friends and competing. I just think it’s very important to have.”

Stoner appreciates being honored with the award, but still is just glad for the opportunity to coach his sons and other youth in the area.

“It just means that there has been a lot of kids that I have coached and I hope that I have helped them,” Stoner said.