It’s amazing what a person learns his first year on the job.

In my case, there were people to meet, events to cover and history to learn. Plus, there’s a network of high school boosters, parents and coaches to navigate.

So next year, I’m writing the Free State High awards column first so the Lawrence High coaches and parents have a chance to politick.

Not that I mind, but everyone deserves a shot at winning me over — which can be done with CDs, Royals tickets, some bratwursts or just a few kind words.

Just kidding. I can’t be bribed.

Now, in honor of my favorite food at FSHS events, bring on the Bratsies, the tastiest awards around. Mmmm, brats. …

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Team of the year: Girls tennis. FSHS didn’t win the state title because of a technicality, but came as close as possible. Senior Emily Wang cruised to the singles crown, while seniors Lacey Luina and Emily Loewen took the doubles. But Blue Valley North tied the Firebirds in points, then took the title because of more qualifiers. If the Kansas State High School Activities Assn. has any sense — cue snickers — it will amend the rule and call it the Firebird clause.

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Coach of the year: Mike Hill. Yeah, the Price brothers were a bonus. But this team started 13-0, had the No. 1 ranking most of the year and went to its first state tournament. Most of that came from the 11 seniors who Hill helped develop the last four years. In baseball, maybe more than any other sport, the little moves a coach makes matter the most. And Hill’s moves usually were perfect.

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Senior boy: Matt Lane. A close call over Matt Berner and Bijai Jones, Lane gets the nod because he was all-league in football and baseball. Who am I to disagree with those coaches? I wonder if basketball coach Jack Schreiner wishes the 6-foot-4 Lane had played hoops.

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Senior girl: Jayme Lisher. Few athletes are better all-around than Lisher. The city’s best volleyball player, a quality starter for basketball and state medalist in the javelin, she combines work ethic with natural ability and a demeanor that can’t be beat. I’d bet she excels next year for the Baker University volleyball team, too.

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Junior boy: Dain Dillingham. Is there a more explosive athlete at FSHS? Alex Brunfeldt could outswim him, but Dillingham is impossible to guard on the basketball court and opposing coaches’ worst nightmare on the football field. I can’t wait to see what he does as a senior.

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Junior girl: Lauren Abney, by a javelin length over Lacey Baxter. Abney had a state javelin title in her grasp until a monster throw from Maize’s Urlika Hinson snatched it away. Look for Abney to rectify that next year. This year, she was arguably 6A’s best javelin thrower, a rock at third base for the softball team and a part-time starter for the basketball squad.

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Sophomore boy: Anthony Portela. This will be a popular choice with FSHS girls, judging by the way the girls basketball team cheered for him at home meets. Portela is an explosive swimmer, owning or sharing four school marks and winning four league titles. He’s a second-team All-State swimmer and promises to get even better.

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Sophomore girl: Jamie Stanclift. Ashley Jackson has a state swimming title, but Stanclift could push Lisher for best all-around athlete. She led the volleyball team in blocks, was second-team all-league in basketball and led her team in scoring and rebounding, and was an all-league shortstop for softball.

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Freshman boy: Robby Price. The FSHS second baseman will have to compete with Brett Lisher for this spot in the future, but Price snags it this year — just like everything else hit his way. He hit .480, scored a team-high 33 runs and had poise like no freshman should.

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Freshman girl: Alysha Valencia. Close call over her buddy, Ashley Robinson, a state swimming champ. But Valencia’s dominance throughout the cross country season — including All-State honors and an 10th-place finish at the Rim Rock Farm High School Classic — and a monster, albeit shortened, track season gives her the edge. This year.

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Scholar-athlete: David Allen. Another example of an all-around athlete whose muscles excel upstairs. A two-way starter for the football team and the left fielder and lead-off batter for baseball, Allen is headed to Drake University, but just for academics, not sports

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Comeback of the year: FSHS football 20, Topeka Washburn Rural 12. The Firebirds already had two last-second wins over Shawnee Mission Northwest and SM West (one a pass from Berner to Dillingham, the other a pass from Berner to Lane). This one wasn’t last-second, but it came after a horrid first half and sealed the Firebirds’ second straight trip to the playoffs. Down 12-0, FSHS scored three unanswered touchdowns — a two-yard scamper from Berner, a 12-yard fumble recovery from junior Tyler Morgan and a 12-yard leaping grab from Berner to Jones.

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Shot/hit/goal of year: Brady Morningstar. LHS basketball coach Chris Davis still can’t get over this shot. Down 50-49 in overtime, senior Keith Wooden missed a game-tying free throw, but senior Cameron Karlin tipped the rebound to Jones, who passed to Dillingham at the top of the key. He zipped it to Morningstar in the left corner — 0-for-5 from three-point land till then — who drilled the game-winner with two seconds remaining.

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Game of the year: FSHS baseball 8, Lawrence 7, 8 innings. When senior Chris Coleman smacked a two-run single in the extra inning, it capped a four-run comeback against one of the Lions’ best pitchers, senior Aaron Madill. It was one of the few games a team outhit FSHS, 12-9, but the Firebirds pulled out the win anyway. Their ace, Lane, held LHS scoreless through the final five innings, and FSHS scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to knot it at 7. But when Robby Price scored off Coleman’s single, it signaled that FSHS was for real.

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Dominating performance (one day): Adrian Ludwig, state track meet. Before the 800-meter run, other runners asked Ludwig, headed to Kansas University, if he wanted them to set a fast pace so he could shoot for the 6A record. Seriously. He ran with a Shawnee Mission West’s Jeff Daniel for 500 meters, then displayed a kick of which Michael Johnson would be proud. His time of 1:53.58 was 1.22 seconds behind the record, but six seconds faster than second place.

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Dominating performance (all season): Emily Wang, girls tennis. She lost three matches in the last two years. She never lost a league match in her career. The University of Illinois-bound Wang so thoroughly dominated the field at state that she lost one game in the final.

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Breakthrough of the year: Valencia. In the first meet of her high school career, Valencia stomped the field at the Overland Park Aquinas Invitational. She covered the two-mile course in 11:40, nearly 20 seconds faster than the runner-up. The competition has had a hard time catching up since then.

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Transfer(s) of the year: Ryne and Robby Price. These two California boys — following dad, Ritch, the new KU baseball coach — provided the final push for the Firebirds’ first trip to the state tournament. Together, they led the team in nearly every offensive category.