CHSAANow

Category: Features

  • Friday Night Lights in April: Schools light their stadiums for students

    The Be The Light, Colorado movement continued to spread through the end of its first week with an inspirational display of Friday Night Lights in April.

    The #BeTheLightCO trend, which started with five schools and districts on Monday night, and continued with 12 more on Tuesday, and 16 on Wednesday, has now spread across nearly 70 schools and school districts around the state.

    The movement seeks to provide a beacon of hope for students during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has closed schools and put the season on hold. Schools and school districts are lighting their stadiums as a way to show students they are in our hearts and on our minds.

    Among those taking part since Wednesday:

    Jefferson Academy:

    Springfield:

    Wiggins:

    https://twitter.com/Wiggins_50/status/1245895369197637633

    Rocky Ford:

    Vista Ridge:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B-i6GTKJSW8/

    Montrose:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B-izOkMnolF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    West Grand:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B-itsfDBZVr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Hayden:

    https://www.facebook.com/bryan.richards.944/videos/2519446381705883/

    Yuma:

    https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=2972451569501378&external_log_id=292e5a8304a311f2b31dd1bfc86e18c9&q=%23bethelightCO

    Fort Lupton:

    Lewis-Palmer Schools:

    Cheraw:

    Pagosa Springs:

    Valor Christian:

    Soroco:

    Lamar:

    Sand Creek:

    Mountain Range:

    Haxtun:

    Brush:

    Denver West:

    Windsor:

  • Josephine Howery never let high expectations slow down St. Mary’s girls basketball

    St. Mary's girls basketball Josephine Howery
    (Derek Regensburger/MaxPreps)

    After claiming a Class 3A girls state basketball title as just a sophomore, things were never going to get easier for Joesphine Howery and the St. Mary’s Pirates. That was especially true when heading into each year, the expectations of what she and her teammates could achieve only got higher.

    But she never let that slow her down. Instead, she embraced it and used it to help her become the very basketball player she was when the final buzzer sounded in her final game for the Pirates.

    Howery left her impression on teammates, fans and opponents en route to claiming her second 3A girls basketball Player of the Year award. By the time the 2019-20 season rolled around, Howery was used to the expectations and pressure being placed on her and her team, but as a senior she was well-equipped to handle everything and even play at higher level on the court.

    “This year it felt more businesslike,” Howery said. “We had seniors and leaders as team captains that we felt would lead us to another (state championship).”

    Howery had the best season of her career as a senior, scoring 21.2 points per game while pulling down 6.8 rebounds and dishing 4.6 assists. She averaged almost two more assists per game this season than she did as a junior.

    It didn’t matter if she needed to score or if she needed to get the ball to someone else to score, Howery had every bit of faith that the Pirates had the ability to get the ball to the right spot at the right time and come away with a bucket.

    “She’s had that confidence ever since freshman year,” her younger brother Sam said. “That’s just one thing that I would like to replicate to my game.”

    In a way, Josephine isn’t being fair to her three younger brothers. Through the course of her career she has won two state championships and two Player of the Year of awards.

    Sam earned a 3A boys all-state honorable mention nod this year as a sophomore. But he can’t help but look at what Josephine has done over the course of four years and realize that he has a lot of work to do to keep up with her efforts.

    “She’s definitely brought a legacy to St. Mary’s basketball,” Sam said. “If we don’t keep that going it’ll be kind of tough. She’s definitely put a lot of pressure on me and my siblings because we try to live up to her expectations.”

    For Josephine, those expectations on herself came fairly early. During their first title run, the Pirates beat defending 3A champion Lamar in the semifinals before taking down rival Colorado Springs Christian School in the championship game.

    “That first year is an experience you wouldn’t trade with a team that you wouldn’t trade either,” she said. “Those bonds and memories I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

    That second year looked a little the same in terms of the championship game. Once again, Tri-Peaks rival CSCS stood in the way of a St. Mary’s championship and again the Pirates came out on top.

    That was another aspect of what has made Howery’s career and the Pirates’ run of state championships all the more impressive. The Tri-Peaks League has been impressive in recent years. In fact, that league has seen at least one of its members playing for the championship since 2016 when Manitou Springs fell to Lutheran. Then next year, Lamar beat CSCS to claim the 3A title.

    For her entire career, Howery feels like her team’s league schedule consisted of the best teams in the state.

    “Having a strong a conference means everything,” she said. “It prepares you for the tough road ahead and some of the best players are in the Tri-Peaks League.”

    That includes her. She’ll continue her basketball career at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Her impact at St. Mary’s will be felt long after she’s gone, through tall tales of her play on the court as well as through her younger brothers, starting with Sam.

    One way her siblings can live up to the expectations she has created is to continue to develop as they get older. Josephine was never satisfied with who she was at any given moment because she felt like there was always room to get better whether it was on the court or as a team captain.

    “I think I’ve become a more confident person and player these last four years,” she said. “I wanted end the right way and the best way I could. Being a leader on and off the court was my biggest challenge and something I wanted to do.”

    It will be hard for future teams to talk about the Pirates’ state championships without acknowledging Howery’s impact. It’ll be tougher for those following in her shoes to replicate that impact and live up to the expectations she has created for the program.

    A proud Pirate, she’ll watch from a distance hoping to see those in green and white reach her level and even soar beyond. And he really won’t mind if happens to be one or all of her brothers climbing that ladder to stand next the standard-bearer of St. Mary’s basketball.

    CSCS St. Mary's girls basketball
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Kit Carson boys basketball’s Jayden McCombs-Farmer let his play do the talking

    (Ty Lin Williams/Kiowa County Independent)

    It’s not uncommon to see staggering numbers associated with any of the state’s players of the year. But Kit Carson’s Jayden McCombs-Farmer isn’t like the others.

    His numbers don’t jump off a stat sheet. He averages just 12.4 points per game. He throws in about six rebounds, three assists and two steals. The numbers are good, but not great.

    One glimpse at McCombs-Farmer when he’s on the floor tells a different story, however. Make no mistake, the kid is great as was a big reason for the Wildcats 22-1 record in the 2019-20 season.

    A naturally gifted athlete, he can almost jump out of the gym even if his numbers don’t jump off the page. It wasn’t a secret that he was the engine behind Kit Carson and it’s why coaches selected him as the Class 1A boys basketball Player of the Year.

    “I’ve always been taught to be respectful of opposing players before anything,” McCombs-Farmer said. “That’s what I want to be represented as is respectful to anyone. And this year, especially, I wanted to be a team player because in past years I’d let numbers get into my head.”

    It helped that a couple of his teammates were his brothers, Cordell and Sullivan – or “Sonny” as he’s known to his teammates.

    It was at the Wildcats’ state tournament game against Ouray when Jayden went down with an ankle injury that coach Damon Dechant knew his team would be okay because Sonny carried every bit as much emotional energy as Jayden.

    “Those two had really been our on the court leaders,” Dechant said. “There were a lot of games where Jayden had played 32 minutes and Sonny was right there with him.”

    It was a bond that Jayden was forever thankful for and with the season now concluded, he can look back at that state tournament game with fondness for the rest of his life.

    “I’m glad I got to play one state tournament game with him,” Jayden said. “It was awesome.”

    Those two were a big reason the Wildcats advanced to the Bank of Colorado Arena. But it was clear from the start when the ball was in play, Jayden was the leader of the team and if any opponent had any chance of getting a win, they would have to find a way to slow him down.

    That’s no easy task considering he approaches every practice and each game like it’s a job. He punches that clock and he’s ready to get his hands dirty.

    “This is the hardest working basketball group that I’ve ever been around,” Dechant said. “That includes teams that I’ve played or been around in high school, college or coaching. No team every worked this hard and Jayden was the leader of that. It would be hard for you to point out another kid who worked as hard as he did.”

    If there is one stat that might give some insight into his overall work ethic, ability and toughness it might be his rebounding.

    Jayden has all the makings of a terrific athlete, but stands just 5-foot-8. But he averaged 6.6 rebounds per game and grabbed more than 10 on four different occasions. That includes a 68-53 win over Granada where he scored 25 points and hauled in 17 a staggering 17 rebounds.

    “There are a few games there year where he almost had 20 rebounds,” Dechant said. “Him being the leading rebounder on our team shows he’s smart and he’s going to play his (tail) off. And he’s very tough.”

    In an analytical world, it has become all too easy to identify points, rebounds, assists and other stats as reasons to hand out annual awards.

    Jayden McCombs-Farmer is an exception to that rule. His numbers, while very good, weren’t gaudy by any means. But that didn’t matter. He let his play on the floor do the talking for him. And everyone seemed to notice.

  • Positivity helps Pueblo West girls basketball’s Hannah Simental shine

    Rampart Pueblo West girls basketball
    (Ismael Gomez)

    It’s never easy to look at the bright side of things following a loss. On March 6, the Pueblo West Cyclones suffered their worst and most shocking loss of the season.

    The No. 2 Cyclones fell to No. 7 Holy Family 50-39 in the Class 4A Great 8. The loss ended their state championship hopes.

    And while it was heartbreaking at the time, senior guard Hannah Simental can’t help but think about all of the great things her team accomplished this year. A state championship ring wouldn’t define the talent on the floor or the bond the team had throughout the course of the year.

    A positive attitude, team-first mentality and undeniable skill on the court were just a few reasons why Simental was chosen as the 4A girls basketball player of the year.

    “She’s as good as anybody I’ve had the pleasure of coaching or coaching against,” Cyclones coach Gil Lucero said. “Her numbers (this year) probably weren’t as good as they were in previous years but that’s because she did so much more that you didn’t see on the stat sheet.”

    For Simental it’s never about personal stats or accomplishments. She only wants success if she gets to share it with her friends and teammates. They’ve all relied on each other for years and even if they fell short on a goal, she never once felt like the team truly failed.

    “We learned so much together,” Simental said. “We learned what it took to become state champions. I felt like we did everything we needed to do and it just didn’t go our way. But we have no regrets and we left it all out on the floor. That’s the biggest lesson you can learn.”

    Lucero was right about one thing, Simental’s numbers weren’t quite what they were from her junior year. But there is a major tell on why when taking a deeper look. She scored nearly five fewer points per game which would indicate a decline in effectiveness. But she also took fewer shots on the season and her points-per-shot average held steady at 1.4.

    But her assists were up and Lucero noted that her mentality on the floor was geared toward making sure it wasn’t all about her.

    “She got her teammates involved a lot this year,” he said. “That was a big goal of hers.”

    It showed as sophomore Gabby Louther averaged over seven points per game and fellow senior Maya Sanchez added 6.8 per game.

    They were hoping it would be enough to get to the Denver Coliseum, but the loss a week earlier to Holy Family derailed that plan. As hard as it was at the time, Simental can now look back at that game and find the good that came out of it.

    “I think there are so many positives to take away from that game,” Simental said. “We didn’t win, but we never gave up as a team. I felt like my team stuck by me the whole way, even when we were down.”

    Next winter Simental will join her older siblings, Haley and David, as a college basketball player. She’ll head to Greeley to suit up for the UNC Bears.

    She learned very early in the recruiting process that UNC was the right fit for her and jumped at the scholarship offer that the Bears extended to her.

    “They came for a home visit and when they came they just had really great values and they really persuaded me with their faith and just the way they want to coach,” Sminetal told CHSAANow.com back in January.

    She’ll be working with a new coaching staff and with new teammates but she sees the opportunity as just the next step in her development as an athlete and person.

    And that means each lesson she learned while playing at Pueblo West will travel north with her and will continue to play a role in her basketball life. But the most important lesson she’s taking is that she needs to remain true to who she is. She needs to keep a positive attitude and team-first mentality.

    “My parents always tell me that my positivity really shines,” Simental said. “I”m going to keep doing that. I’m going to look toward the positives and cheer my teammates on, even if its a different group than my high school teammates.”

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Stadiums across the state light up as schools show students they are “in our hearts and minds”

    (@9RDurangoAD/Twitter)

    Stadiums across Colorado lit up on Monday night as schools and districts sought to offer a beacon of hope to their students.

    From Bennett to Steamboat Springs, local stadiums turned on their lights as they responded to an idea from CHSAA assistant commissioner Adam Bright to show students we are thinking of them, even as schools remained closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “High schools are so often the centerpiece of a community,” Bright said. “Shining the lights lets our communities and students know we miss them and look forward to being back. When this is over, these lights will be on and the stadiums will fill as we resume life as normal and celebrate our communities through high school athletics and activities.”

    “Seeing empty stadiums with lights on in other parts of the country on social media, I thought it would be a great way to engage our Colorado high school communities,” Bright added. “I wanted to see our social media feeds filled with Colorado stadiums being the light for Colorado so I consulted with a couple of schools across the state to create a ‘Be The Light’ challenge for our schools to compete in.”

    It even spawned a hashtag: #bethelightCO.

    Steamboat Springs athletic director Luke DeWolfe sent the following message to his school community: “Last night the lights at Gardner Field were turned as a beacon of solidarity that signifies our commitment to kids, and our community. The lights burned for 11 minutes (one minute for each day we have been out of school). Together we will continue to shine.”

    Said District 11 district athletic director Chris Noll: “The school is the hub of a community and kids love being at school. They might not always love class, but most of them love being at school and being around their peers and friends and staff members. Colorado Springs D11 is excited to participate in #BeTheLightCO as a way for us to tell our kids that we miss them and we are thinking of them! Even though we might not be together, we are still there for not only them, but the families of D11. ”

    Taking part on Monday night included:

    Durango, which wrote that “our stadium misses you, our halls miss you, our classrooms miss you!”

    Steamboat Springs:

    Colorado Springs District 11, which put together a video:

    Sierra, which wrote, “Let this be a light of hope and assurance that you are on our hearts and in our minds.”

    Bennett:

    Now the hope is that other schools and school districts jump in and take part.

    “More and more lights across Colorado will shine bright over the coming days as a symbol of hope and assurance that our communities are in our thoughts,” Bright said. “I’m proud of the sense of camaraderie our Colorado high schools share and will enjoy this challenge lighting up stadiums in solidarity of great days ahead across the state.”

    UPDATE: On Tuesday night, the movement continued to grow.

    (Photo courtesy of D11 Athletics)

  • Columbine boys basketball’s Luke O’Brien loves being “The Guy”

    Columbine Dakota Ridge boys basketball
    (Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

    January 13, 2018 was a very significant day for Columbine’s Luke O’Brien. He can recall the game in which he scored 40 points in an 86-79 overtime win over Bear Creek but doesn’t think too much of it just a couple years later.

    But the reaction outside of Columbine, Jefferson County and the greater Denver area was a little more telling of how much attention this year’s Class 5A CHSAANow.com boys basketball Player of the Year would get as an upperclassman.

    That kid’s a sophomore?

    “It was a defining moment,” O’Brien said. “When I hit that, that’s what I was most known for and it snowballed into the player that I am now. That’s one of the best games I’ve ever played.”

    It was on that day, the day that Columbine had won just its fifth game of the season, that a lot of people figured out who Luke O’Brien was.

    “He had an ability to take over,” Rebels coach Clay Thielking said. “That game went into overtime and he kind of just pushed us over the edge and made big plays late when it mattered. From a clutch perspective, that’s where he showed what he could do.”

    He had averaged a respectable 11 points per game as a freshman and that number jumped to almost 17 as a sophomore.

    As a junior and a senior he had gotten the attention of the people he really needed to get the attention of. Perhaps the most notable was Tad Boyle, a former standout Colorado player and current head men’s basketball coach at the University of Colorado.

    A scholarship offer was made and O’Brien quickly accepted.

    “The whole recruiting process was really stressful,” he said. “Every time I came up to CU, I was so welcomed. Tad really wanted. He kept persisting about how he wanted me to play there. Once I was offered, it was a no-brainer.”

    One look at the numbers and it’s a given that O’Brien is a Power 5 player. For his career, he shot 47 percent from the field, including 56 percent from inside the 3-point line. As his abilities grew, so did his body.

    Listed at 6-foot-8, O’Brien had no problem crashing the boards, even playing from a guard position for the Rebels. He finished the year tied at 13th in the state regardless of classification in rebounds per game at 12.4.

    “He’s so unique,” Thielking said. “He’s so skilled and he makes things look really easy because of his skill level. When you combine that with his length and the fact that he’s long and pretty athletic, he just does so many things that impact the game on both ends of the floor.”

    Six times in in the 2019-20 season, O’Brien scored 30 or more points. With even a brief, general knowledge of what he’s been capable of the last few seasons, that hardly comes as a surprise.

    But the reality is that it’s a stat that’s more impressive with a bit of added context to it. Because heading into each game, the Rebels’ opponents had a solid defensive gameplan.

    If they can slow down O’Brien, they give themselves their best chance at winning the game.

    He was constantly being attacked with double- and triple-team defensive sets. That just made his plan of attack a little more fun.

    “I love competition,” O’Brien said. “I love that defenses were throwing box-and-ones at me and double-teaming and triple-teaming me. It was fun taking over games and being that guy on the team.”

    Being ‘The Guy’ was a role he thrived in as he got the Rebels to the 5A Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum. After scoring 33 points in a Sweet 16 win over Boulder he got his team to a building where he had always dreamed of playing. 

    Next winter, O’Brien will bring the same qualities that made him a star at Columbine to the floor of the CU Events Center. He and 3A Player of the Year Dominique Clifford will help make up a freshman class that should be exciting for CU Buffs fans throughout the state.

    There’s no doubt that O’Brien passes the eye test that comes with being a next-level basketball player, but it was important for him to choose the right spot. And that just happened to be close to home.

    “He thought about it for a while,” Thielking said. “He fell in love with the people up there. He loved the coaching staff, he really enjoyed his time with the players up there and it just felt right to him. It also gave him the chance to play close to his family.”

    Which means they’ll be around to watch his continued development. And if it tracks the way it did at Columbine and he drops 40 points in a Pac-12 game as a sophomore, O’Brien and his family are going to have a lot of fun in the future.

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Q&A: Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green on high school activities, sports and COVID-19

    All-School Summit Rhonda Blanford-Green
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    As we navigate a “new normal” in the midst of COVID-19, we caught up with commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green to get her thoughts on the adjustments to the spring schedule and the impact the pandemic is having on communities.

    Currently, the spring sports season is suspended until April 18, but recent updates from the federal government have extended social distancing guidelines to April 30, so the suspension date is likely to be extended by Blanford-Green this week.

    [divider]

    Question: The public has a tendency to focus on sports, but the last A in CHSAA stands for “Activities.” How has the spring suspension impacted activities?

    Blanford-Green: I appreciate the opportunity to speak to how the moratorium has impacted our activities programs. The month of April is a celebration in our office in which we take a step back from athletics and celebrate our music participants. Our student participant numbers in music are the highest of any activity or sport we have. Last year, there were more than 41,000 music participants. For reference, our next-highest participation is in football, which has a little more than 16,500 participants.

    Because of that, the month of April has always been an opportunity for the CHSAA staff to travel state-wide to be a part of these events. In the recent years, schools hosting music competitions has increased two-fold. So the decision to cancel those events to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 was among the most difficult of all the decisions made to date.

    Q: What has gone into the decision-making in terms of suspending the season, or cancelling activities?

    Blanford-Green: Although the final decisions have been communicated to our school communities and the public directly from me, I have had the opportunity to be surrounded by an amazing CHSAA staff, the Board of Directors, state and educational leaders, as well as my 50 colleagues across the nation that are facing the same decisions and challenges as we are in Colorado.

    It’s important for anyone making these decisions to remember that no matter how emotionally tied we are to what the negative impacts will be, we have to be cognizant of the decisions being made above us which may dictate our next steps.

    Q: You spoke about emotions, and talk often about how your decisions are being made for the safety and well-being of our students. Can you dig deeper into that?

    Blanford-Green: Our CHSAA staff are former athletes. We’re coaches. We’re officials. We’re prep media writers. We’re volunteers. And even parents of former senior athletes. We know the impact of activities and athletics within our communities.

    Many people are invested in creating this positive high school experience that create memories for a lifetime. We don’t take these decisions lightly, and they do resonate from our own experiences, but we do have the responsibility to follow the guidance and mandates from our state and educational leaders, aside from our personal connections.

    Q: During this time, has CHSAA encouraged connection with students and coaches?

    Blanford-Green: Yes! From my first communication with schools, we have encouraged voluntary virtual connection — whether that’s just connecting with a kid, or uploading a work out. We tried to discourage those being solely about athletics, but we know that for some students that connection would maybe include a workout or a drill, or something of that nature. Even if it’s a teammate-to-teammate, or coach-to-athlete, we encourage virtual contact. What we have said is no physical contact, and that is to help mitigate the spread of the virus.

    All of our data has shown us that kids in crisis often times connect to their coach. And we wanted to maintain, even in the social distancing mandates, that our coaches could connect and communicate with their athletes, but especially those who are fragile without the additional of a pandemic.

    Q: If you had one statement that you would want others to hear from you, what would that be?

    Blanford-Green: We must put into perspective that this is a world-wide, national and state health crisis. It’s OK to feel the disappointment and levels of anxiety as we navigate this new normal. But I truly believe that we will come to appreciate many of the things that we have taken for granted.

  • Competitive drive leads Del Norte’s Kendra Parra to 2A girls basketball’s top honor

    Kendra Parra Del Norte girls basketball
    (Brent Murphy/MaxPreps)

    Kendra Parra doesn’t care what sport she’s playing or who she’s playing against. Once the signal is given that it’s time to start playing, she’s going to battle and do whatever it takes to out a winner.

    That’s what impresses Del Norte girls basketball coach Gilbert Sanchez so much about his star senior.

    “She is ultra competitive,” Sanchez said. “I don’t care what it is. Whether it’s something in class or being out on the volleyball court, the soccer field or the basketball court. She’s really competitive and if things don’t go her way she’ll figure out a way to get better.”

    It’s a family trait. A big part of Parra’s development came through competing with her older brother Carlos at their makeshift court at home.

    The results were exactly what she was hoping for as she was named the CHSAANow.com Class 2A girls basketball Player of the Year just last week.

    In fact, while she was competing for her team she still considered herself in competition with her brothers and it became just another tool for motivation on the court.

    “I hate to lose,” Parra said. “We’d track who had the most points, how much our team would score, who would win and stuff like that.”

    This season was the second year in a row in which Parra averaged 21 points and five rebounds per game. She was named first-team All-State in 2019, the only junior named to the squad. Her career will continue in college when she heads to Metro State in Denver. 

    But her basketball story is just a small part of her overall makeup as a student-athlete. She is a multi-sport athlete who battles on just out every field or court available to her as a Tiger.

    She recorded over 150 kills for the volleyball team this past fall. She scored a career-high 24 goals on the soccer field two years ago before adding 11 as a junior last spring. She even played for Del Norte’s baseball team last team last year and through 30 at-bats built an average of .500 while driving in six runs. Her OPS was an impressive 1.116. None of this was surprising to Sanchez, a man that had watched her develop into an overall tremendous athlete.

    “It doesn’t surprise me at all,” he said. “She’s a natural athlete. Heck, from pee wee all the way through junior high, she played football. She’s not shy to get up there and battle with anybody.”

    And it showed by the time her senior year ended. She was 51 points shy of becoming the 11th player in state history to score 2,000 career points. She’ll finish her career No. 13 on the state’s all-time scoring list.

    The only thing that eludes her resumé is a state championship, but the reality is that she will be long remembered for her play and more importantly, how she carried herself on the court. 

    “I was focused and prepared,” Parra said. “I was focused every single game and I knew that you practice like you play. There wasn’t a lot of time to joke around. You had to have your team involved and attitude was everything.”

    When hearing about what made Parra so special, future players will likely just use numbers as a basis of comparison. But her career point total or her average of points, rebounds and assists per game don’t come close to painting a full picture of what she meant to the Tigers.

    Those are the general evaluation tools when it comes to determining the greatness of athletes at all levels. The real story though, will come from someone like Sanchez. He’ll be able to gather them around and tell them about Parra as a player. He won’t use numbers. He’ll provide substance.

    “She’s been the hub of our team the last three years,” he said. “She had a great skill set to begin with but as she progressed, she embraced everything and rolled with it.”

    And more importantly, she competed while doing it. Every second of every day she battled and never once cared who she battled against.

  • Confined indoors, Colorado football coaches launch online clinic

    Fountain-Fort Carson Horizon football
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard, Fountain-Fort Carson coach Jake Novotny and FFC offensive coordinator Jeremy Mercer text each other and chat football often. Sometimes maybe a little too often, but that turned out to be a good thing about a week ago.

    Confined indoors and away from their players due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the three friends started thinking about how to use this time to get better as coaches. And also to help coaches throughout the state get better with them.

    With technology on their side, they worked quickly to create the Box State Blitz Online Coaches Clinic which is set to launch on Monday.

    “We consistently talk football,” Goddard said. “We wanted to continue to talk football and I had seen (camps) happening in a few other places. This was the opportunity to get it going in Colorado and we thought we had the opportunity to do and it took off from there.”

    The idea actually stemmed from a roundtable discussion not too long ago. CHSAA assistant commissioner Adam Bright hosted a collection of football coaches from around the state to assess the state of football in Colorado and continue to move it in a positive direction.

    “One of the things we talked about was that we needed more communication between our coaches with clinics and different things,” Bright said. “Ryan and those guys had the great idea that since we’re all sitting at home why don’t we accomplish one of those goals while we have the downtime.”

    This camp aims to do more than just check one box. Goddard was encouraged by the response he got when he announced the launch of the clinic over the weekend.

    “The response was better than what we were originally hoping for,” he said.

    After an initial trial clinic with Goddard, Novotny and Mercer all conferencing each other in, they moved quickly to get other coaches involved both in terms of speak and attending.

    “We feel it’s one way for us to give back to the state for what football has given to us,” Novotny said.

    He also feels like it can kickstart options to ensure that coaches aren’t falling behind when it comes to preparation for the fall season.

    “It’s even spurred ideas for my own staff,” Novotny added. “We’re talking about doing online staff meetings and doing some virtual stuff. We’ve met with kids online in terms of just checking in on them. And some kids have reached out to coaches about watching film and that kind of stuff. What it’s done more than anything is make us realize there are so many possibilities out there for us as a staff moving forward that we can save time as coaches and even for our players.”

    Ryan Goddard Pueblo South football
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    The idea alone was enough to spark interest from coaches all over the state. While social distancing has become a national necessity, these coaches are working to balance family lives while making sure kids of their own are getting educated from home. And online clinic has become something that they can utilize while doing both those things and making sure they’re keeping themselves healthy while adhering to the national call to stay home in order to stay healthy.

    “The world has really changed the last few decades with the amount of information you can access online,” Arapahoe coach Rod Sherman said. “An online clinic such as this is a great way to learn and learning might look different when I started my coaching career when it was all about sitting in the audience at a coaches clinic. Now you can do so much coaching development just by going online.”

    The time between the idea being floated out in a group text chain to the launch of a potentially vital tool was right around a week. Just like they tell the athletes they coach, Goddard, Novotny and Mercer didn’t wait around for their idea to just materialize. They jumped into action and saw their hard work generate their desired result.

    “I think what Ryan and Adam are doing is trying to bring a collaborative mentality to Colorado so that football coaches can all grow together,” Sherman added. “It will be good for all the kids and let’s put the competitiveness of the fall aside and do what’s good for kids.”

    Their genuine hope is that coaches from all over the state at every classification can benefit in the long run.

    “It shows that we have coaches who want to keep getting better but also want to help other coaches,” Bright said. “They want to see the game grow. I’m happy the guys putting this together are some of the ones we’ve partnered with at the CHSAA level to talk about where we want to get to and these guys are showing what kind of leaders they are.”

    This week’s clinic speakers include Jason Mohns (Saguaro High School, AZ), Brian Nelson (Mary Persons High School, GA), Jeff Rayburn (Lone Star High School, TX) and Woody Blevins (Assumption College, MA).

    Goddard is hoping that the online clinic can consistently feature speakers and also run on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.

    Coaches who are interested in online access to the Box State Blitz Clinic can email Ryan Goddard at ryan.goddard@pueblocityschools.us.

    Graphic courtesy of Ruth Productions)

  • Dutch Clark among favorite Colorado high school sports venues

    Pueblo South Wheat Ridge football
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    Throughout the state of Colorado there are countless high school sports venues, each of which provide a unique atmosphere.

    It’s part of what makes the preps level something truly special in the scope of all sports. With athletics on all levels on a current hiatus, a fun thought entered my head. What’s everyone’s favorite spot to play, coach or cover?

    The responses made for great interaction and representation from across the state.

    [divider]

    Pueblo’s Dutch Clark Stadium a popular choice

    The home of the Bell and Canon games, Dutch Clark Stadium has a storied history when it comes to Colorado high school athletics. It was a popular choice for media and athletes alike.

    Other football venues:

    La Junta football stages epic comeback to beat Bayfield in 2A semis

    [divider]

    The Pit in Yuma among basketball’s favorites

    Perhaps one of the most underrated venues in the state resides in the eastern plains. So many schools provide so many enclosed gym atmospheres but a couple of quick answers might put Yuma’s put on our must-see venues for future games.

    Other basketball venues:

    [divider]

    Like teams of all levels, everyone is fond of their own baseball fields. While there are several throughout the state, many of which offer outstanding views, those that are close to home tend to be classified as favorites. And they’re all worth highlighting.

    Other contributions

    Everyone has their thoughts and there are always going to be venues that stick out in everyone’s mind.