ROANOKE, Va. – The Josh Leonard, Character, Courage, and Commitment Award is named after Josh.
Josh Leonard is a young man with autism who successfully went out for high school football a decade ago at Lord Botetourt. Josh taught us all a lesson or two about those three words!
In the fall of 2022, Cave Spring’s football coaching staff lost one of their own during the season. But thanks to the leadership of a top-notch staff – led by head coach Nick Leftwich, the Knights players got the support they needed. Cave Spring was able to move forward, completing a successful 6-4 regular season which included a playoff berth. The 1st and 10 Trophy Tour dropped in on Cave Spring’s region basketball game to honor the coaching staff for their efforts, as they helped their young people process one of life’s most difficult lessons.
“Kudos to our kids, we had a great group of young men, senior leaders, that that helped push our program forward. Something we preach to our kids especially after that moment – adversity is always going to come in life. The only thing that you can control is how you respond. So just to be able to persevere, move forward and continue to try and be a better football program was our goal, and help these men grow – as men – and just to help them learn that things in life aren’t always going to go your way but it’s how you handle it and how you persevere that really defines who you can become. So ... just very proud of our kids,” Coach Leftwich says.
The Knights staff includes assistant coaches Ricky Lonker, Ryan Poff, Tim Roberts, Mark Madden, Scott Agee, Matt Herron, and Jeff Leftwich.