SHEFFIELD Steelers boss Dave Matsos skated off with a top award at The Star and St John Sports Awards.
He won the Coach/Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by Outokumpu.
Click on the green play button to see our exclusive videoThe award was to honour an individual who has significantly contributed to the performance progress or the impact made by an individual or a team at a regional, national or international basis.
Matsos, now in his third season with the Sheffield Steelers, guided the ice hockey club to the 2008 Play-Off Championships.
He has managed the club's league position from fourth place in 2007 to second in 2008. The Steelers also made the Challenge Cup Final in 2008.
The glittering Edge Telecom sponsored Sports Awards, hosted at Ponds Forge by BBC Look North presenter Christa Ackroyd, recognised sporting excellence of all kinds – with the spotlight also on amateurs and business, as well as OIympic heroes, football superstars, boxing idols, cricket legends and other sporting greats.
Other finalists for the Coach/Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by Outokumpu, were:
Betty Codoma OBE: She founded the Sheffield Hatters in 1961 to become the first Women's Basketball team in England. During her reign the Hatters won more than 30 National league, cup and play off trophies, as the most successful squad in English women's team sport. More than 150 players from the Hatters have represented their country during this time.
Terry Edwards: One of the country's top boxing coaches – Terry was the leading member of the Beijing Seven who reached this summer's Olympics, coached from his base at EIS - Sheffield. He helped James DeGale win gold in the middleweight division and Tony Jeffries and David Price to clinch bronze. Terry brought through Audley Harrison and Amir Khan.
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