Coach Perel pictured with assistant Coach Fabricio Benitez and Bulldog Co-Captains Alex and Chris, was honored by Positive Coaching Alliance and Liberty Mutual for the Duel Coaching Award.

Andrew J. Perel, Manhattan Youth Baseball Bulldogs (New York, NY)

Leading a team of players from “socioeconomic backgrounds that are wanting,” according to Perel, he emphasizes academic growth, demanding weekly progress reports and often taking calls from players seeking help in their studies. Perel’s approach to teaching life lessons through baseball on and off the field “has shown these kids that if they work hard enough, they can succeed at anything,” he said. “That’s what these kids really need, to be able to hold on to that dream, and that dream gets lateraled to their younger siblings and to the siblings’ friends, and it becomes contagious within the community.”