Needham's Dave Duffy Named 2012 MA Football Coach of the Year

By Micah Hauben, NHS Director of Athletics

Head Varsity Football Coach David Duffy has been named the 2012 Massachusetts Football Coach of the Year.  

The award was announced on April 2 by the MIAA Educational Athletics Department and Coaches Education Program.

Duffy's selection was based upon excellence of character, impact upon students and community and coaching quality. 

All of these characteristics, and more, were on display this fall, as Duffy and his staff helped lead the Rockets, through injury and adversity, to one of the strongest seasons in program history. After winning the Bay State Conference Carey Division Title and in the Division I semi-finals, the team advanced on to its first ever Super Bowl, at Gillette Stadium.

In addition to this MIAA honor, for the 2011 season, Duffy was named the New England Patriots , the Association of Independent Football Officials and the Boston Globe Division I Coach of the Year. The program also took home the prestigious MIAA Sportsmanship Award, and saw one athlete named to the and two athletes to the annual Shriners Game to be played back at Gillette Stadium in June.  

Several of this year's seniors have also committed to play collegiate football next year at some of the top academic/athletic institutions in the Northeast.

As the state award winner, Duffy will also be the Massachusetts nomination to the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) National Coach of the Year Award for 2012-13.

He will be honored at a banquet, along with the other Massachusetts Coach of the Year recipients, on Wednesday, May 30 at the MIAA offices in Franklin.