Benedictine Award Winners/Sports Night

Joel Hahn has been serving youth as a volunteer high school coach since the late 1970’s. His invlovlement includes the Millard Stars program and coaching at Holy Cross since 1994. He has been the Holy Cross rep to the Catholic Youth Soccer League, and started micro soccer for 4 and 5 year olds. He added in house clinics for coaches that had never coached before. He created agility camps for players who wanted to improve but could not join select programs. Joel uses positive reinforcement to inspire young athletes to learn and improve to the best of their ability.

David Haller has served as the JCC youth/select coach for the past six years. His coaching resume also includes serving as a YMCA youth coach for five years, and St. Wenceslaus Parochial Athletic League Coach for three years. He is a loyal, passionate, dependable and caring coach. He gives each child an A+ for effort. His expectations for his players are high, yet respected. He puts fundamental development ahead of winning, yet still manages to always have some of the most competitive of teams. He has the childrens best interest at heart and therefore they continue to embrace his coaching style.

Tom Hastings served as assistant coach to the legendary Jim Kane from 1968-1969. During this time, he also attended St. John’s Seminary. In 1988 he formed a 5th and 6th grade youth basketball league in Gretna, which has grown into what is now known as the Twin River Valley Youth Basketball Conference. Today it includes over thirty five teams in four states. Tom currently oversees the entire league, and, as of this year, he celebrates his 20th anniversary of involvement with youth athletics. Tom has experienced on of the greatest rewards of youth involvement… coaching his three sons when they were involved in youth athletics.

Mike Langnenegger has served youth as a coach since the 1970’s. From 2004 - present, Mike has been the PAL coach of St. Cecilia in Omaha. Much can be attributed to Mike over his three decades of involvement, not the least of which is generosity... he has acquired and maintained the field at 89th & Boyd for the St. Cecilia team. He also arranges winter clinics for youth who have never had a chance to play baseball, and multiple times has served as a coach in PAL All Star situations. Mike’s goal is to make the youth better players as well as better people.

Scott Nelson has been coaching youth sports for the past ten years. Scott believes that all children should have a sound fundamental base in any sport they play. He works to identify the strengths of each player and helps them to develop those strengths, as well as introduce new athletic skills. He has been coaching at St. Patrick’s since 2001, and his efforts has helped to establish a quality sports program. He has also worked with youth basketball at the YMCA. He spent seven years as an assistant coach for EVW (Elkhorn, Valley, Waterloo), and has logged six years coaching with Elkhorn baseball.

Clark Toner has an impressive coaching resume. It includes: Basketball at the Jewish community center from 2002-2004; football coach at the Omaha Suburban Athletic Association and St. Vincent DePaul, 2002-present; and baseball coach at the Omaha Suburban Athletic Association and St. Vincent DePaul, 2002-present. Clark teaches players how to practice hard, play hard, be good sports, win with grace, and lose with class. He is known as a wonderful example for all young boys, because he teaches them to do their best no matter what their talent level is. To know Coach Toner, is to respect Coach Toner.