CEDAR RAPIDS — Former Cedar Rapids Jefferson coach Larry Niemeyer is a recipient of the 2013 Character Counts Coach of the Year Award.

Niemeyer coached softball and girls basketball at Jefferson through 2012. He is the winningest softball coach in the nation, and will coach this summer at Waterloo West.

The award is presented by the Institute of Character Development, the Iowa Sports Foundation and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Niemeyer will be awarded at halftime of the Class 1A championship game at the girls’ state basketball tournament March 1 at Wells Fargo Arena.