Next week, Pat Farrell and Royce Youree will join a distinguished list of Arizona coaches who are members of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Induction will take place July 24 in Fargo, N.D.

I can’t think of two more deserving people. These guys paid their dues, won multiple state championships and molded boys into men.

Farrell was a star defensive back for coach Ed Doherty at Phoenix St. Mary’s in the late 1960s, then took over as head coach at his alma mater about a decade later.

He went on to win 234 games in 27 years, and was one of the best that I ever saw in making adjustments during the game. He also would be the first to tell you that he wouldn’t have reached that level had it not been for his assistants, most notably his friend and defensive coordinator, the late Joe Vales.

Farrell did not sugar-coat the truth. If one of his teams played poorly, he would say so, without pointing fingers at anyone other than himself. He always was cooperative with reporters.

Youree, a one-time star baseball player at Arizona State, strolled the boys’ basketball hardwood for nearly 30 years at Phoenix East. He seldom took a seat, bellowing instructions to his players and occasionally offering his viewpoint to officials. He, too, was good with the media.

His teams played with a disciplined style that was second to none. It was a situation similar to what legendary coach Dean Smith had at North Carolina. Smith had players who could take over and dominate a game if they so desired or were in other coaching systems, but they played well as a team. Youree’s players were very similar.

Youree’s teams played in the heyday of basketball in the Phoenix Union High School District. Gyms at East, Phoenix Union, Phoenix South Mountain and Phoenix Alhambra were jammed to the rafters. The games were emotional. The games were classics.  There isn’t much to rival that these days.

Several of Youree’s assistant coaches went on to lead their own programs. Youree later helped out friend Tom Bennett as a co-coach at Mesa Community College.

Coach of Year candidates

A handful of Arizona coaches are on the list as finalists for national Coach of the Year honors in their respective sports.

They are Rick Baker of Keams Canyon Hopi (boys cross country), Steve Belles of Chandler Hamilton (football), Bob Fredericks of Phoenix Scottsdale Christian (boys basketball), Rich Hamilton of Mesa Red Mountain (softball) and Dan Kuiper of Chandler Valley Christian (girls track).

THE LIST

Here is a list of coaches who have been named to the Hall of Fame and who were named Coach of the Year . . .

Hall of Fame

2011 – Frank Castro, football, Tempe Marcos de Niza; Jesse Parker, football, Mesa Mountain View, Gilbert, Phoenix Camelback.

2010 --  Sharon Austerman, volleyball, Phoenix Cortez; Roy Fenton, track-football, El Mirage Dysart.

2009 – Larry Hart, football, Tucson Flowing Wells; Don Petranovich, basketball, Winslow.

2008 – Vern Friedli, football, Tucson Amphitheater; Dick McConnell, basketball, Tucson Sahuaro.

2007 – Bill McDermott, basketball, Phoenix North; Neola (Sis) Voegtli, volleyball, Window Rock.

2006 – Craig Anderson, wrestling, Phoenix Shadow Mountain; Gretchen James, golf-tennis-archery, Phoenix Camelback.

2005 – Joe Hunter, wrestling, Peoria.

2004 – Mike Dyer, basketball, Marana.

2003 – Bob Schuster, track and field, Phoenix Maryvale; Cherry Roberds, girls tennis, Miami.

2002 – Buck Hall, football, Phoenix Maryvale; Bo (Bear) Whitelock, basketball, Window Rock.

2001 – Jim Crawford, football, St. David; Thurman Simmons, football, Holbrook-Tolleson.

2000 – Roy Coppinger, baseball, Scottsdale Coronado; Earl Clupper, football, Phoenix South Mountain.

1999 – O.K. Fulton, basketball, Avondale Agua Fria; Tot Workman, football, Round Valley.

1998 – Norma Bellamy, volleyball, Safford.

1997 – Earl Putman, football, Phoenix Moon Valley.

1996 – Emil Nasser, football, Winslow.

National Coaches of the Year

2011 – Don Petranovich, girls basketball, Winslow; Paul Moro, football, Lakeside Blue Ridge.

2008 – Rob Robinson, boys track and field, Mesa Mountain View.

2007 – Jerry Dawson, baseball, Scottsdale Chaparral.

2006 – Steve Scott, boys basketball, Chinle.

2005 – Ron Davini, baseball, Tempe Corona del Sol.

2004 – Herman Andrews, girls track and field, Safford.

2002 – Nancy Ellis, softball, Mesa Dobson.