By Joshua Koch
Public Communications
Shock and awe.
Sitting with the newest piece of hardware for his history classroom at Kingwood Park High School in the form of a Houston Sports Award in front of him, those are the two words Eric Coovert could find to describe what had just transpired.
The Kingwood Park history teacher and coach was one of three Inspiration Award honorees chosen for the 7th annual Houston Sports Awards, which was held at 713 Music Hall on Tuesday night, along with the Houston Texans receiver John Metchie III and Doug Dillard.
Little did Coovert know that he in-fact had been selected as the winner of the Inspiration Award.
"To hear my name blew me away," Coovert said. "Literally. I was just in shock and awe. I almost started crying."
Coovert made his way to the stage in front of a packed 713 Music Hall, accepted his award and gave a short speech, which drew a rousing applause.
It has been a busy and tumultuous few months for the Kingwood Park coach and teacher.
First, Coovert started with the high of being selected as the 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year for Kingwood Park and continued on to become a Top 10 Finalist for the district.
Then came a low. On June 4, Coovert was diagnosed with plasmablastic lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Then came a series of highs. In September, Coovert and his wife welcomed their first child and in October, he was declared cancer free.
Coovert, who is a football and wrestling coach at Kingwood Park, addressed the football team prior to one of their games once he had received the news. He told them that he had "gone 1-0 against cancer."
The video went viral. Another high.
His inspirational journey caught the attention of a football team, school and community. But as he sat with his new trophy, Coovert admitted that he never imagined being chosen for an award like this.
"I think the only thing I ever wanted was to be able to hold my daughter, see my family and see my other family at Kingwood Park in Kingwood and Humble ISD," Coovert said. "To be able to be out there and teach and coach. Never in 100 years that I think this was going to happen.
"As I've always said with teaching. It's my job to help others. And if this helps others achieve their fight and their victories, then all the sacrifice was worth it."
So, where will the trophy go?
"I've got to make a place now," Coovert said with a smile about a place for the award in his classroom. "I don't have a place for the Teacher of the Year Awards from last year, I don't have a place for this. My wife said as she was giving me a hug that we need to make a new shelf now and it's not for books."