SAN FRANCISCO -- Several coaches taught Ron Wotus about athletic fundamentals. But only one was particularly responsible for steeping Wotus in the importance of intangibles.

Wotus, the longest-tenured coach in Giants franchise history, learned valuable lessons from John McKiernan, his high school soccer coach at Bacon Academy in Colchester, Conn. As a gesture of thanks to McKiernan for his guidance, Wotus will honor his mentor at the sixth Coaching Corps Game Changer Awards ceremony on Thursday night at the Fairmont Hotel.

The event will premier on NBC Sports Bay Area on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. PT. It will repeat later that evening at 10:30, followed by two more airings on Wednesday night, Jan. 29, at 8 and 10 p.m.

As always, most of the Bay Area’s professional sports organizations will be represented by an athlete and a figure who proved to be an enduring influence upon him.

Golden State Warriors forward Eric Paschall will honor Villanova head coach Jay Wright; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Aric Armstead will pay tribute to high school coach Joe Cattolico; Oakland A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty will tip his cap to his father, Michael; and Oakland Raiders tight end Darren Waller will single out his position coach, Frank Smith.

Wotus, 58, is approaching his 23rd season on San Francisco’s staff. He returned to the third-base coach’s box last season after 19 years as bench coach. He’s also known as the club’s chief defensive strategist.

The fact that Wotus remained with the Giants through three managerial changes -- he’s the only coach returning after this offseason’s shift from Bruce Bochy to Gabe Kapler -- clearly reflects his value to the club. Wotus attributes his longevity to the wisdom he gained from McKiernan.

“I think it’s really important for young people to have a good coach because [a poor coach] could ruin the experience of the sport for them right off the bat,” Wotus said in an interview taped for the ceremony by NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s not so much that the coach teaches them how to shoot a basketball or swing a bat; it’s all the other things. Teaching them about the importance of hard work and commitment and giving your best effort. When you have people who care about you as an individual, that comes across. John was that way. … I really think he was preparing us to be productive and respectful human beings in society.”

Wotus routinely dominated opponents in soccer in high school. He was named to the All-New England team after scoring a then-record 89 career goals. That figure might have been higher if it weren’t for a game in which McKiernan decided to show his players a thing or two about sportsmanship. With Bacon leading handily, McKiernan moved Wotus from center-forward to the defense-oriented sweeper position and soon pulled him from the game entirely.

“He could tell from my body language that I wasn’t really happy about it,” recalled Wotus, who initially crossed paths with McKiernan when the latter was his gym teacher in middle school. “The lesson was: You have to respect the game and the opposition. We’re not going to run up the score.”

Asked about being a major influence in Wotus’ life, McKiernan said, “Well, I quibble with the word ‘major.’ I might have had a minor part in his development. I’m just so proud of him. He’s earned everything he’s got through hard work and dedication. It’s nice to see somebody you know who’s a very good person advance the way he has. I’m proud of the way he treats other people, that’s what I’m proud of. Obviously, his success with the Giants and the fact that he’s been there for so long speaks very well of what they think of him.”

Wotus, who also excelled in basketball and baseball, received scholarship offers to play all three sports in college. He liked soccer the most.

“I can honestly say that if John McKiernan wasn’t my coach, soccer wouldn’t have been my favorite sport,” Wotus said.

But he realized that baseball represented his best career opportunity. He was poised to accept a baseball scholarship from Clemson University when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the 16th round of the 1979 MLB Draft. Off he went into professional baseball, playing 32 games as a middle infielder for the Pirates in 1983-84.

“It was the right decision, because I’m still in the game,” Wotus said.

And he very much remains a product of McKiernan’s. Wotus doesn’t order Giants players to sprint themselves into exhaustion, as he and his teammates did under McKiernan.

“We did so much running in high school, I thought I signed up for the cross-country team,” Wotus said.

But the reasoning behind such exercise continues to drive Wotus when he’s trying to impart knowledge or improve technique.

Said Wotus, “I’ll never forget John said, ‘We may not have the most skill on the field, but there’s no way we’re going to be out-conditioned.’ That stuck with me, and I carried that my whole life. I wasn’t going to be out-conditioned; I wasn’t going to be outworked; I wasn’t going to be out-prepared. I think that I try to bring that into what I do today. And I learned that from John.”