It’s been a banner offseason so far for the athletics program of Mountain Ridge.

On Thursday, it achieved the highest coaching certification level the National Federation of State High School Associations offers, Level 3. A couple of days ago, the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association announced that the Glendale high school will receive its prestigious Quality Program Assessment award.

The NIAAA’s QPA program evaluates a high school athletics program and provides instruction to help elevate it as well. On Dec. 15, during the NIAAA/NFHS National Conference in Austin, Texas, Mountain Ridge Athletic Director Tony Miller will receive a QPA plaque, banner and commendation letter.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling when you’ve done this together as a group,” said Miller during a phone interview. “This wasn’t an individual or an individual program. This was the entire athletic department working on this. From my secretary to our equipment manager, assistant coaches, and head coaches, this was everyone.”

The two awards come on the heels of Mountain Ridge receiving the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s 6A Glen Treadaway Sportsmanship Award in May.

Miller said he was informed recently that Mountain Ridge is the first high school in the nation to receive the Level 3 and QPA honors in the same year.

“They are two distinctive awards that really show that we are efficient, taking care of our students athletes and coaches and setting a standard and a culture to better ourselves as a whole,” Miller said.