When you’ve been coaching most of your life, as is the case with Fountain Hills Unified School District’s Jean Serrano, chances are pretty good that you become pretty good at your job.

Often times that leads to peer acknowledgement for your work, which is also the case for Serrano, who has now been named the 2013 Division III Section I Coach of the Year.

Serrano has been coaching within the district for the past 10 years, spread across middle school sports like volleyball, basketball and soccer, as well as the high school sports of girls soccer and tennis.

According to Serrano, though, she’s been coaching for a lot longer than the past decade.

“I have been coaching since I was 14, when I started my own business teaching dance out of our converted garage,” Serrano said.

“The same year I started teaching swim lessons from our backyard swimming pool. I have continued teaching/coaching a variety of sports since then.”

Serrano said she is constantly learning ways to improve her coaching, becoming a certified referee for soccer and volleyball, judging synchronized swimming, taking college courses on the subject matter and more.

“Learning new skills to add to my coaching repertoire is ongoing,” she continued.

“Coaching is my passion and it is my way of life…I love coaching.”

That labor of love led to Serrano being named the Coach of the Year in girls soccer back in 2011 and, this year, she achieved the same honor for girls tennis.

For the award, fellow coaches make nominations and then vote on who they think should receive the honor.

“I was ecstatic when I first saw the nomination,” Serrano said.

“I found out [I had been selected] a week before the awards banquet when a parent congratulated me in the school parking lot. She had been looking on the AIA website for tennis winners and had seen that I had won. I knew I was nominated, but I had to run to a computer and confirm that I had won it.”

Serrano said her athletes were excited for her when they found out about the honor.

Serrano actually started coaching the local tennis program back in 2005, assisting her father, Larry Schmit.

She became co-coach in 2006 when the girls made a clean sweep at state, winning in singles, doubles and team play.

The duo have been coaching together for nine years and always worked well together.

“We complement each other in our coaching methods and enjoy working together,” Serrano said, adding that they are both open and flexible when it comes to working with the boys and girls teams.

According to Schmit, it was Serrano’s coaching that helped him move through some pretty tough obstacles back in 2000.

“I was on the fast track to the grave, six months to live,” Schmit said.

“That’s why we moved to Arizona, to have my wife, Betty, be located near family.”

However, Schmit said he was still moving quite well and starting to improve health-wise. That’s when his daughter stepped in.

“While Betty encouraged me, Jean directed me to physical activity,” he explained.

“Jean was the one who got me to take classes to be a soccer ref, pushed for the soccer coaching and then the tennis coaching.”

Schmit said Serrano gave him constant reassurance and direction through his physical recovery.

“I appreciate the work she did for me and have developed great respect for her coaching ability, which incidentally has become much better than mine,” Schmit added.

Back in 2000, Schmit was something of an underdog, one Serrano wanted to help guide back up to the top.

It’s something she had to do in her own life, too, which is perhaps why she has found so much success on the court, pitch and field.

“Sports didn’t come easy to me when God blessed me with being vertically challenged,” she said.

“I always had to look for innovative ways to become better or to overcome the height differential. Therefore, I look at every player, no matter what their current ability, to see what their best potential is.”

Serrano said she looks to see if she can tap into that potential to help them become the best athlete they can be. When it comes to the team, she said decisions are made based on ability, not seniority.

“Each player has to earn their spot and continue to earn it all season,” Serrano concluded.

“We treat the players with respect and the players respond likewise. The benefits of doing so are enormous, and it is visible on the courts.”