Division Avenue High School is proud to announce that Tom Casey, assistant baseball coach, has been selected by the "AFLAC" Corporation as the National Assistant Coach of the Year.

Coach Casey was presented this award by "AFLAC" representatives Greg Maloney and Joan Perrini. In the course of the presentation, Maloney said that Coach Casey won this honor over 200,000 applicants that were considered and over half a million assistant coaches in the country who were eligible for this award.

Anyone who has come in contact with Coach Casey knows that his work ethic and loyalty are unbelievable traits that any coach would be proud to have. Coach Casey's knowledge of the game rivals any head varsity coach and he could easily obtain a varsity job elsewhere, but he chooses to remain as a coach at Division.

Coach Casey started as a teacher and coach in Levittown in the fall of 1977. When he took his first coaching job in Levittown, it was as the freshman baseball coach at the old Levittown Memorial High School in 1978. In those days, baseball was a sport that was relatively unknown after struggling through many dismal seasons throughout the '60s and early '70s. That did not last long though because with Coach Casey at the helm, the teams developed and flourished each season. It comes no surprise that the Memorial varsity teams of '79,' 80, '81 and '83 all made it to the county finals, with the '82 team losing in the semi-finals. This was a different era where there was only one County champ, unlike today where you have "AA," "A," "B," "C" and "D" County champions.

Memorial was the top team in the county annually beating all the largest schools around, despite being the seventh smallest school in Nassau County in enrollment. Since those days, Memorial consolidated with Division in 1984 and has gone on to play in the State Championship in 1984 and 1996. During the 1989 and 1995 seasons, they lost in the State Championship game. The Dragons have played for the Long Island Championship nine times winning seven Long Island titles.

Casey is also the assistant football coach at Garden City High School. The Garden City football program is one of the most successful programs on all of Long Island. Over the last 15 years, they have won more county football championships than any other football program in Nassau County. Coach Casey's enthusiasm and hard work plays a major role in the success of both the Division baseball program and the Garden City football program.

Coach Casey has helped athletes reach their fullest potential and has shown the ability to get his team to the pinnacle of success.