Mishawaka High School football coach Kinder honored by Indianapolis Colts

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts are always on the lookout for in-state talent, and they have recognized Mishawaka High School Football Head Coach Keith Kinder as one of the most talented coaches in the state.

"Kinder earned this recognition after his Class 4A No.8 Cavemen (2-0) drilled Class 6A Penn 27-7," Colts officials said. "The 20-point win over Penn was the largest margin of victory for the Cavemen over the Kingsmen since 1977."

Football Development Commissioner for the Indianapolis Colts Mike Prior was on hand to present Mishawka High School with a $2,000 check in honor of Kinder's win.

Having found out he was to be honored on Sunday, Kinder was able to surprise his team in the Mishawaka High School auditorium Wednesday morning.

"It's important to me that that the players were involved in in the presentation this morning, just because they're the ones that actually played in the football game that I'm being recognized for, which is, if you think about it, seems kind of backwards, but that's the way," Kinder said. "That's why football such a great team game, because you need the hard work of so many people to accomplish something special."

He will be honored at an Indianapolis Colts game later this year.

"It's an incredible honor," Kinder said. "It's something I really appreciate just being nominated by the coaches in our area, but really, it's an honor. It's a program award, and that's what I've been telling our players, is the recognition is great for our kids, to see that hard work does pay off."

This season marks the 25th year the Colts are recognizing outstanding high school football coaches throughout Indiana each week.

"All high school head coaches in the state are eligible regardless of their school size, league or division. Coaches are evaluated on various factors including the coach’s impact on the team, school and community, as well as the team’s performance," Colts officials said. "The honorees are selected by a panel of football media, former athletic directors and other football representatives from across the state."

At the end of the season, each winning coach will receive a $1,000 donation from the NFL Foundation and a commemorative plaque.

"I was a little shocked. I got a call from Mr. Condry on a Sunday afternoon, and I thought, 'Why in the world would he be calling me on a Sunday?' I thought at first, well, maybe he just wants to be on his radio show, but once he told me the reason, you know, and my wife found out, then, you know, she was pretty excited," Kinder said. "So, just again, it's an incredible honor, but really, I just think about the hard work that gets put in by so many people to win something like this and like I told our players yesterday, you have to be able to accept praise and get recognition while focusing on moving forward. And that's been the main goal, is to keep our team moving forward and focused on next week and not what happened last week."

Sponsors Corteva Agriscience and Certor Sports will each contribute an additional $1,000 to the school’s athletic fund and Certor Sports will issue a $1,000 helmet credit to each winning program’s athletic department.