GLENVAR, Va. – Our annual 1st and 10 Trophy Tour makes its final stop--a return trip to Glenvar High School where we were excited to to present our inaugural 1st and 10 Unsung Hero Award. We couldn’t think of a more deserving person to present this to--no other than volunteer coach Steve Motley.
A huge fan and supporter of local sports, Motley has helped the Glenvar program for a number of years now. From practical things in practice to keeping guys encouraged on the sidelines during games--everyone knows and has come to love coach Steve. His impact at times, immeasurable for the Highlanders. He supports them and they support him even during his basketball games with Special Olympics.
“They’re here for me, I’m here for them and stuff like that,” Motley said. “Coach Clifford is a nice guy. I love him like my dad to me. I love them. I go, you know, and I walk in that school, my face is happy. I come over here on Friday nights. I love football. I like sports. I like people.”
“I think number one, it teaches us a lot about just accepting people for who they are,” said Glenvar head coach Kevin Clifford. “Steve sees nothing but the content of a person. And I think that’s really how his vision is clearly crystal clear when he looks at other people. It’s not skewed by race or gender or religion or anything, political, whatever. He’s just, with Steve, it’s what it should be with all of us. And I think we should all inspire to be more like Steve.”
Steve is no stranger to a number of student-athletes in the Roanoke Valley. While he spends his time with Glenvar during the football season, he can be seen on the sidelines with Cave Spring during the high school basketball season. In the past he’s also been with Oak Hill Academy.