This year, Logan Services A/C, Heat & Plumbing is proud to sponsor The Coach of the Year award in both the 2021 Central Ohio High School Awards and 2021 Cincinnati High School Sports Awards. The votes are tallied, and on June 30th, Columbus and Cincinnati will each announce its winners for Coach of the Year for high school athletics. This honor highlights personal and professional characteristics that have guided these leaders in their commitment to excellence for the communities they serve.
In the spirit of leadership, we are pleased to display the successes of our very own coach, Kevin P., the President of Logan Services. Kevin’s earlier career path allowed him to hone his personal development skills while working as a coach for various scholastic sports programs. Coaching is all about developing people and Kevin’s experience in the sports world fluently transfers into the day-to-day leadership responsibilities at Ohio’s number-one volume, residential Trane dealer, Logan Services.
Recently, our writers asked Kevin to reflect on his previous sports coaching experiences. Read on to learn Kevin’s perspective and the similarities of leading both sports and HVAC teams.
Where did you take on coaching responsibilities, and what sports departments did you lead?
Men’s basketball: University of Rio Grande, Ohio University, The Citadel, and The University of Wyoming.
Men’s gymnastics: Eastern Kentucky University.
Men’s Cross Country/ Track & Field: University of Rio Grande.
Who was your mentor? Did anyone inspire you to become a coach?
I’ve had several mentors, but from a coaching perspective, I reflect back to the first coach I served under as an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Rio Grande. John Lawhorn inspired players and coaches alike with a tireless work ethic and passion to succeed. He also possessed a unique ability to maximize people’s potential from different athletic and cultural backgrounds. I will forever be indebted to him for giving me the opportunity to coach at the collegiate level while investing time in personal growth and development.
What did you enjoy about coaching a sports team?
I enjoy being a part of a culture that strives every day for optimal performance academically and athletically. Also, being part of a culture that places a high priority on individual development, which ultimately translates into TEAM success is important to me.
What was the hardest part of coaching a sports team?
In my experiences, there are many examples of challenging situations, but probably the most difficult was related to people. Typically on a basketball team, there are 15 man rosters, but only 5 can play. Your challenge as a coach at any given time and situation is to determine who should be on the court. Those decisions are made by anticipating, so game preparation including every potential situation has to be reviewed prior to every game.
What made you decide to leave coaching sports to coach the team at Logan Services?
Prioritizing family and work/life balance vs. chasing a personal goal of coaching Division 1 Basketball. Coaching at the collegiate level is a year-round commitment that requires a lot of travel, long weekdays and weekends, missed holidays, and limited family time.
What are the differences between coaching a sports team and the Logan Service team?
Honestly, there isn’t much of a difference; successful athletic teams like sales organizations have a primary focus on people, which includes personal development, career pathing, accountability, and TEAM success. It’s no different than coaching an athlete.
What are the similarities between coaching sports and the Logan Services team?
Sports TEAMs typically have a scoreboard; that’s no different at Logan Services. We have organizational scoreboards that measure our performance ranging from appointments scheduled to sales generated. When performance isn’t meeting expectations like a basketball team at halftime you make adjustments that change the trajectory of your performance. The other similarity that I’ve experienced is TEAM chemistry… Great mutual respect, support teammates and show no selfishness towards other success.
What do you enjoy about coaching the Logan Services team?
I enjoy most being part of and/or observing people grow and develop. We have several examples of associates on their developmental journey that significantly impact our organization daily.
What’s the hardest part of coaching the Logan Services team?
Like with any team you make strategic decisions that could potentially impact people’s lives, so I take this responsibility very seriously and consider all aspects of the situation before making a conclusion.
What advice would you give to any team?
Work hard, work smart, treat people right, and have fun. It’s been my experience if you follow this simple motto as a coach and/or player there is a good possibility of you having success. This certainly doesn’t guarantee that outcome, but it does set the tone for a successful journey.
What advice would you give to a coach?
Take your responsibility seriously, and realize as a coach, you can positively change the lives of people. Whether you are a teacher, mentor, advocate, or providing accountability, never underestimate your role and opportunity.
