Coburn Named Outstanding Official Of The Year
LEESBURG – Eric Coburn has been tabbed as the “Outstanding Official of the Year” for IHSAA basketball and will be honored this weekend during halftime of the IHSAA Class 3-A boys basketball championship game in Indianapolis.
Coburn, a Leesburg native, has been licensed in basketball for 29 years. His first boys sectional was in 1990 at East Noble, and since that time he has worked 18 sectionals, 10 regionals, six semi-states and four state finals. In total, Coburn has officiated over 90 IHSAA tournament assignments.
Coburn has been the secretary of the Northern Indiana Officials Association for 10 years and president for six years. He has been a rules interpreter for 12 years and a rules clinician for eight years as well as has served on the Awards Committee and Internal Committee for ASOA.
A graduate of Wawasee High School in 1974, Coburn worked in the retail business for seven years before being hired by the Warsaw Police Department in 1981. Working over 32 years in law enforcement, Coburn retired from the WPD June 1, 2009.
Coburn is also a private pilot and has over 1,000 hours of flying time and a member of Angel Flight Central where he has accumulated over 50 hours of flight time by giving air transportation to those in need of medical assistance or for humanitarian needs, free of charge. He has served three terms as president of the Warsaw Noon Optimist Club in Warsaw along with giving presentations to area civic clubs on the topics of refereeing basketball and law enforcement.
Eric and his wife, Yvonne, have been married for over 41 years and currently reside in Leesburg. They have two children, Erica and William, and currently have three grandchildren, Mason (10), Madison (6), and Gavin (4).
His daughter Erica works as the treasurer for the Warsaw Community School Corporation and son William is in the Air National Guard, working for the United States Air Force in Washington State.