EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - Emily Muller, who is in her fifth year as a part-time assistant softball coach for head coach Leslie Huntington, is the recipient of the Ade & Margaret Olson Coaching Award.
The award will be presented at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Hall of Fame banquet Friday, September 30. The banquet is open to the public and tickets, which are $25, can be obtained by contacting the UWEC Alumni Office at 715 836-3266 or larsojan@uwec.edu. The awards program will begin at 6:30 p.m. preceded by a social at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m.
The Ade & Margaret Olson Coaching Award is a $500 cash stipend available to any part-time assistant coach, graduate assistant or community coach in any of the 22 sports in the Blugold sports module. The award honors the memory of two UW-Eau Claire legends who dedicated their teaching to helping students achieve their education goals. Ade Olson was a charter member of the Blugold Hall of Fame in 1973. The criteria for the award named in honor of Olson and his wife Margaret dictate that the recipient demonstrate a deep commitment to the student athletes and embody a passion for lifelong learning and a love of the game.
In nominating Muller, who played four years for the Blugolds, Huntington expressed praise and admiration for Muller's abilities. "Emily has been heavily involved in running our conditioning program, as well as our defense. She possesses great knowledge of the game, and I honestly wouldn't hesitate to put her in charge of the team in the event I had to be away."
Huntington's respect for Muller, a Lancaster, Wisconsin native, began during Muller's playing days. "Emily did not dress for the NCAA tournament as a freshman due to squad size limitations. After that she was determined to make her mark on the program. She became our starting shortstop and ultimately a team captain. My admiration and respect grew for her every year, as she was one of those players who just kept her mouth shut and let her work ethic and commitment do the talking."
After she completed her Bachelor's degree at UWEC, Muller pursued her Master's at the University of Minnesota. She did this while also working for Group Health and being a part-time assistant on the Blugold staff. She earned her Master's in Occupational Therapy and is now working full-time as an Occupational Therapist at Mayo Clinic's Osseo branch.
Huntington says that "Emily is the type of coach that still loves to play. She brings such energy to practice every day and has extremely high expectations for the current players. She will stay after practice to hit more ground balls, throw more batting practice or whatever a player on the team needs or wants her to do. She gets so much enjoyment out of staying around the game and keeps my energy up all the time as well. She is a great role model for our current players because she understands and models how to balance the fun and the work. She has been committed to the university and the team for a long time and shows no signs of slowing down."
The previous Olson award winners are Becca Bestul, Jodi Risen and Derrick Swanigan.