By Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
Photos by Jennifer Morgan Photography
The Making a Difference Award was established in 2011 by former Alabama High School Athletic Association Director Steve Savarese in conjunction with Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association, according to the AHSAA website. The award recognizes individuals who go beyond their normal duties as a coach, teacher, or administrator, to make a positive impact in their schools and communities. There was one recipient for each of the seven classifications. Prattville Lady Lions Basketball Coach Erica DuBois won the award for Class 7A.
“Receiving this award fills me with deep gratitude and pride, knowing that my efforts as a person and coach have truly made an impact on my school and community,” said DuBois. “Being chosen as the one for all of 7A out of all the coaches and administrators nominated, is both humbling and inspiring. It reminds me that dedication and heart do not go unnoticed. This recognition fuels my passion to continue leading, uplifting others, and striving for positive change every day.”
DuBois, or Coach D as she is known by her players, was a starting point guard for the Lady Lions in 1998 when they advanced to the school’s first ever Final 4. She was named All-Metro as a junior and senior and selected to the North-South All-Star game. She also went on to play basketball at Shelton State Community College, and then run track at the University of Alabama from 2002-2004.
Coach D returned to her alma mater in 2019 to lead the Lady Lions basketball program. Since that time, she has racked up an impressive number of awards and accomplishments. She led Prattville to the Class 7A Regional Championship and a Final Four berth in 2023 and 2024, and in 2025 she led the Lady Lions to the Autauga County Tournament Championship. She also was named All-Metro Coach of the Year in 2023.
But it was more than her on-court accomplishments that led to this award. The AHSAA website notes that her nominator wrote, “Coach DuBois has poured a lot of time and effort into raising her basketball players and their commitment to be better people. While teaching them to learn the skills of the game of basketball, more importantly, she has taught them life skills. Coach D leads by example and shows what it looks like to make the right decision all the time.”
In addition to leading the Lady Lions basketball program, she is a member of Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, and volunteers at Gillespie Senior Center or YMCA events.
Coach D cited her own parents as the role models she tries to reflect when she pours her time and energy into her athletes. “My biggest role models growing up were my parents. My personality is more like my dad. And he fed my love of sports. The way I view life and life’s situations has a lot to do with him and just always being a daddy’s girl. The lessons and mentality that my mom instilled in me and my sisters, having all girls, has a lot to do with how I handle life. The confidence I have in being myself unapologetically! Them raising us up in the church gave me the best blueprint on what type of individual I am supposed to be in my walk of life.”
DuBois will be recognized as the recipient of the Class 7A ‘Making a Difference’ Award winner at the 2025 AHSAA Summer Conference Championship Coaches’ Awards Banquet on July 24 at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.
