Sherman A. Kinney Basketball Award

For outstanding contributions to the sport of high school basketball.

Any individual who has made a significant contribution to the sport of basketball in your school or community. An individual who has consistently served as a positive role model for young student athletes. An individual whose actions consistently exemplify the tenets of the MIAA Sportsmanship Philosophy. An individual who has provided long term service in the sport of basketball in your school or community.

Sherman A. Kinney
May 1, 1931 - October 4, 1999

This Award honors Sherm Kinney, who passed away in 1999 after serving the MIAA in an executive capacity since its inception. Kinney left a legacy of integrity, honesty and sportsmanship, and the award is intended to recognize an individual who reflects those values.

A graduate of Fairhaven High School, Sherm Kinney was a three sport all-star participant in football, basketball and baseball, a captain in all three sports, and President of his Senior Class. At Springfield College, he played football and distinguished himself at baseball. Entering the teaching and coaching ranks at Somerset High School and later at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, Kinney established a reputation for combining the physical and mental aspects of teaching and coaching. The student-athletes under his guidance experienced fully the educational values of participation in high school athletics.

Over 22 seasons, his basketball teams compiled a record of 323 wins and 111 losses. Sherm’s teams qualified for tournament play in 18 of those years, winning eight league championships and three times reaching the semi-finals of the MIAA tournament. In 1987 Sherm was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches’ Hall of Fame. Kinney’s background, which included a stint as a professional baseball player and coach of a championship baseball team in Holland in addition to his experience as a high school football, basketball, baseball and golf coach, prepared him well for the responsibilities of an MIAA Associate Director, a position he held for 18 years.

Among his many MIAA duties, Kinney held executive leadership responsibility for football, basketball, baseball and wrestling. One proud element of his MIAA legacy is the leadership and initiative he demonstrated during the creation of the MIAA Committee on Sportsmanship, Integrity and Ethics. These values reflect and define the life and career of Sherman A. Kinney. High school sport lost a treasure with his passing, but his impact continues to positively affect interscholastic athletics throughout Massachusetts.