Peter Hoffman Award
Peter was a beloved member of the Dashers back in the early 1990's and was one of the original members of the first Dashers' cross country team. He was a hard worker with a tremendously positive attitude. At every practice and meet, Peter consistently demonstrated sportsmanship with both his teammates and competitors. He was never one to shy away from a big race and had much success as one of our strongest distance runners - even competing at the National AAU Cross Country Championships held in Cleveland, Ohio, when he was just twelve years old. My strongest memory of Peter was that every night at the end of practice without fail he used to thank me. He was a true pleasure to coach and I am fortunate to have known him. Sadly, at the young age of 24, Peter passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Though he is gone, he is most certainly not forgotten and will always remain in my heart. In honor of Peter, each year one boy and one girl will be selected as the recipients of the Peter Hoffman award, given to those two athletes who best demonstrate kindness, respect and sportsmanship towards their teammates, competitors and coaches.
- Dermot Anderson
Lisa Smith-Spence, known to the kids as Miss Lisa, was at the track every Tuesday and Thursday night coaching her "young wings." All of the children who were fortunate enough to be coached by her were touched by her gentleness of spirit and her kindness. She loved coaching and she especially loved the children. In the fall of 2014 we lost a dear friend when our beloved Miss Lisa passed away. We will miss her tremendously but know that she will forever be in our hearts. The Young Wings Award will go to the Junior Coach who embodies the kindness, dedication to the team, and care for young children that Miss Lisa embodied.
Young Wings Award
DASHERS AWARDS
Dermot Anderson Award
for Dedication
Dermot founded the team in 1989 and was a steady presence on the track for 30 years. Dermot coached the first Dashers team taking them to 10 hour meets on Saturdays at Gratz Stadium in Philadelphia. Several of the members of the first team went on to compete in the National Jesse Owens meet at UCLA and the National Junior Olympics in San Antonio, Texas. Dermot went on to establish the Suburban Developmental League and hosted meets for up to 400 runners at Lower Merion High School. The league provided a way for the suburban teams to compete locally each spring. Dermot formed lasting bonds with the coaches of the teams in the league. In 30 years Dermot has welcomed runners of all abilities to the team and offered scholarships to all runner who needed them in order to participate fully. Dermot retired from leading the team and the league in 2019. The Dermot Anderson Award for Dedication is awarded to the athlete who shows up to every practice and meet with enthusiasm, is passionate about their goals, and demonstrates a commitment to making him/herself and the team better, all qualities that Dermot modeled and tried to inspire in other coaches and athletes on the Dashers teams over the past 30 years.