Category: Features

Regis Jesuit’s Morgan Schilling and Niwot’s Neil Wilcox on pace for historic boys tennis run

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

On the same day, at two different sites, Regis Jesuit’s Morgan Schilling and Niwot’s Neil Wilcox shared a similar feeling. A championship feeling.

Both boys tennis standouts had worked their way through their collective brackets to claim the No. 1 singles championships. Both had come up short the year before, Schilling falling in the Class 5A final while Wilcox got tripped up in 4A semis.

After winning their championships in 2019, they have a chance to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in over 20 years.

The last time that both the 5A and 4A boys No. 1 singles champions won back-to-back championships the same year was during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Cherry Creek’s Chad Harris and Kent Denver’s Cory Ross won their titles together in those two years. Schilling and Wilcox weren’t even born.

Since then, the 5A No. 1 singles position has seen a repeat champion four times in Fruita Monument’s Richard Johnson (2002-03), Rocky Mountain’s Casey MacMaster (2008-09), Highlands Ranch’s Hayden Sabatka (2011-12) and Chatfield’s Christian Holmes (2017-18). In 4A there has only been one back-to-back champion since Ross and that was his little brother Casey in 2015-16. Niwot did get a two-champion in Harrison Lang but he won his titles in 2010 and 2012 with a loss in the championship match to Kent’s David Mitchell in 2011.

As the boys tennis season enters its full swing now, Wilcox and Schilling will attempt to tie their names together in a way that’s over two decades in the making.

“That’s amazing,” Wilcox said. “It’s motivational and I would love to be a part of any kind of small history that I can.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The catch is that both players know that nothing is a given simply because they won a title the year before. Both have suffered defeats late in the bracket and both have seen talented senior players fall in either the semifinals or the championship final.

The key, according to both players, is to maintain focus and act as though each opponent on the court is more than capable of ending their championship runs.

“My mentality is to take it one match at a time,” Schilling said. “I’m not thinking about regionals or state. I have to get there first. Just because I found success last year and won state, it doesn’t mean I’m guaranteed that.”

The good news is their seasons are off to a good start. Both players have a few dual matches under their belt and neither has dropped a match yet. Wilcox is especially dominant as he’s only dropped one game all season. His talent is demonstrating that he has what it takes to make another run at Pueblo City Park.

“My strength is my versatility,” he said. “I feel like I can do anything on the court. No matter what position I’m put in, I always feel like I have a way out.”

He proved that in his championship winning match after dropping the first set to Cheyenne Mountain’s Joey Geisz. Wilcox rallied to win the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Schilling’s lone dropped set of his season came in a Sept. 30 win over Cherry Creek’s George Cavo. He rallied to win that one in three sets and never dropped a set for the remainder of the season. Like Wilcox, Schilling knows that the path to another championship – and the path at a chance at shared history with the Niwot senior – lies with how dominant he needs to be, not how dominant he has been.

“I’ve know George and (Fairview’s) Luke (Silverman) for a long time,” Schilling said. “These aren’t new faces from last year or anything. George and I are really good friends and we know how each other play.”

Regardless, when Wilcox and Schilling take the court, all friendships are put on pause. They’ve exhibited nothing but great sportsmanship in their time with their schools, but they both have the same mission in mind. Should they each come away with another championship, that accomplishment will tie them together in Colorado high school tennis history.

August 27, 2020
Buena Vista’s Seth Moss takes on a new challenge with cross country

(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School)

As Buena Vista junior Seth Moss took to the starting line for his first cross country race, he noticed a glaring difference between him and the other runners.

It was just that they naturally looked like they belonged at the starting line of a foot race. That much was obvious. It had more to do with the fact that when Moss is typically running in the fall, it’s to deliver a downfield block for his quarterback or running back.

Moss is an offensive lineman now living in a distance runner’s world.

Wanting to maintain a level of competition in the fall, he decided to take on cross country as a new adventure. And as he walked up to the starting line, it was easy to see that he was well outside his comfort zone.

“I was probably the only person over 150 pounds there,” Moss said. “I’m around 180, 185 and I started laughing when I got to the start line.”

But he’s keeping a good attitude about it. Looking at the unique year that’s ahead of him he wanted to do something that would keep his competitive interest alive and potentially serve him well in prepping for the wrestling and football seasons, seasons that he cherishes as a high school athlete.

He even tried to encourage some of his football teammates to go out with him, but it went to no avail.

He did get the opportunity to let Demons head football coach Matt Flavin know that he was going to taking on distance running this fall.

“He thought I was kidding at first,” Moss said. “He was happy that I’m doing it. He thinks it’s going to be great for me. All of the coaches have been supportive which is super cool.”

That’s been the prevalent theme for most coaches throughout the year. With a lot of traditional fall sports being played at a different time of year, coaches just want their kids staying involved with athletics especially if it’s tied to the school.

(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School)

Moss sees another added benefit. There is some worry that distance running and a general increase in a cardio sport could lead to him shedding weight for both wrestling and football. He believes that he can get the weight back on once cross country ends, but is excited about what running will do for his overall endurance for those two sports.

“It’s tough,” he said. “With football once the play is over you get into the huddle and get that quick breather. This is just 24 minutes and if you slow down it means you’re losing and if you start too fast you’re not going to have anything left in the tank. But hey, if I can get out and run a 5K, I’m going to be fine come the fourth quarter of a football game.”

Moss spends his spring playing baseball for the Demons so he’s now prideful that he gets to go through this year a four-sport athlete. And he has no regrets over trying something outside of his comfort zone because of the way things have shifted with the calendar this year.

“I would recommend if this situation ever came up again,” he said. “We should try to get as many people as we can doing something like this.”

(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School)

August 26, 2020
Primero’s Lance Peters walks his boys golf journey alone

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

One of the normal behaviors for a high school golf tournament of late has been that teammates have been paired together. The idea is a product of the COVID-19 sports landscape that has altered so much of normalcy in the last six months.

Among the pairings at the first Class 3A Tri-Peaks League tournament at the Trinidad Municipal Golf Course, a senior from Primero High School walks alone.

When Lance Peters walks toward a driving range or a practice putting green, he looks almost out of place. At first glance, he appears to be a tight end that is taking up golf due to the shift of the high school sports calendar. When he rips his driver, however, there is no doubt that his aggressively controlled swing is that of a kid who would rather spend his fall days hunting for birdies than hauling in touchdowns.

“My dad (got me into golf),” Peters said. “When I was little he was always into golf so he got me going and it just stuck.”

Like most kids in their sport of choice, once it stuck and he continued to practice he developed a lot of ability when it came to navigating the course.

His body frame would make a casual observer believe he’s a bomber who enjoys mashing his driver then trying to figure things out from there. While that looks like fun on the professional circuit with the likes of a Bryson DeChambeau, Peters’ game is far more complete. Even on an off day, his irons sound crisp and are rarely off line. His hands are soft enough to control his wedges and navigate his way around the greens.

And his putting? For someone who certainly has the ability to hit the ball hard, he might be far better with the flat stick than anything else in his bag.

“I wish I could say (the best part of my game) was my driving,” Peters said. “But I have to go with my putting right now. It helps me get up and down and save those pars and some bad holes. It helps out.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

In just three events this season, his name has become a fixture at or near the top of the leaderboard. He won his first tournament of the year, the La Junta Stapleford. He shot a casual 5-under-par 67 which was good enough to score 31 points and keep him 10 ahead of Pueblo East’s Evan Smith.

With golf teams around his area somewhat limited, Peters and Primero have joined up with the Tri-Peaks League where he can battle with top-notch players such as Lamar’s Jimmy Clark or St. Mary’s standout Peter Stinar. Peters and Clark shot matching 74’s at the Alamosa Invitational and Clark got the win via handicap hole tiebreaker.

Peters finished third at Monday’s Tri-Peaks Tournament after shooting 80. Clark’s 77 was good enough to get the win, but Peters has shown that he’ll thrive while playing against talented golfers for the duration of the season despite coming from a school with an enrollment of just 86 kids.

“Competition always makes you play better,” he said. “I like that coming from bigger schools.”

Another part of what he feels will make him play better is status as a one-kid team. He is the only golfer to represent Primero this year and as other players in the state are now routinely getting paired with their teammates, Peters is truly out on an island.

“It helps me work harder,” Peters said. “I don’t have a lot of distractions and that can actually be a lot of fun.”

Peters finished 27th at the 3A state tournament at Eisenhower Golf Course last year. He’s hoping he can play well through the season and be someone that other players will have to worry about this year when the 3A tournament heads to Dos Rios in Gunnison.

August 25, 2020
Football players across the state are turning to boys tennis as an alternative

(Photo courtesy of University athletic director Ryan Wehrman)

Gunnar Ponzer always wanted to give tennis a shot. He and his friends would sometimes go to a court and hit some balls around just for fun, but rarely was there ever a chance to do it competitively.

At least until COVID-19 turned high school sports on their head. Boys tennis was one of four XDC V sports given the green light to compete in the fall. Ponzer had spent his previous falls making a name for himself on the University football team.

“A linebacker and a running back,” he boasted proudly.

In 2020 his shoulder pads and helmet have to wait. Instead, he’s lacing a pair of sneakers and grabbing a racket to play tennis at a competitive level.

“This was my best opportunity because nothing’s going on right now,” Ponzer said. “I might as well just play tennis because I’ve always wanted to.”

His football coaches offered encouragement that he find an activity for the fall, much like the Limon coaches toward their boys golf team.

For Ponzer it was a no-brainer but he had no desire to do it alone. He pushed fellow junior Jack Virgil to join the team, too.

“There was a little back and forth on if I’d do it but there are still fall and winter workouts,” Virgil said. “That was something I took into consideration but overall I just wanted to stay active.”

(Photo courtesy of University athletic director Ryan Wehrman)

Athletically, this is one of the biggest ways for a high school kid to go out on a limb. As a couple of kids who have played football their entire lives, taking on a new challenge with no previous experience can be a risky decision.

“I’ve had people just ask me how it’s going and things like that,” Virgil said. “There were a few friends that asked why I was doing it and I should just be working out. But for the most part friends and coaches just ask how it’s going. There’s no real negative or positive reaction, it’s very neutral.”

If he needs reassurances, he doesn’t need to look far. University athletic director Ryan Wehrman pointed out that during a match against Riverdale Ridge there was an opposing player who also jumped at the chance to play tennis with football getting pushed back. Before long the players’ parents were talking about the shared experience.

About 30 miles away, Mead added an entire tennis program. It also got a boost in numbers when Brayden Keys, Nathan Bailey and Porter Eastin all grabbed a racket and jumped at the chance to compete in something different this fall.

Kids want to continue to be kids. And as the world and the Colorado high school sports world tries to claw its way back to normal, nothing is going to stop a group of competitive-minded athletes from finding different ways to battle.

August 21, 2020
Without football in the fall, Limon football players band together to resurrect the school’s boys golf program

(Photo courtesy of Sherri Smithburg)

Two weeks ago, Kory Tacha received the news that he and his Limon teammates had been fearing. High school football was getting moved to the spring to increase the chances of getting a complete season in the books.

The reigning Class 1A football player of the year had a normal reaction to the news. He was heartbroken. But he quickly decided that he wasn’t one to just sit around and wallow. He and his teammates, who have won the past two 1A championships, knew they needed something to do this fall. They had to compete. So they went to the school and asked if they could restart the Limon golf program.

“I cannot feel sorry for myself,” Tacha said. “I had to do something about it and we talked to a couple of coaches and asked if we could start a golf team. It got passed by the board and we all decided to go out for golf.”

(Photo courtesy of Sherri Smithburg)

Assistant football and baseball coach Andy Love, a Limon alum, asked the administration if it was possible to get a team together and he even offered to coach. They got approval and with just a few practices under their belt, the Badgers hit the links.

Unlike what the boys were used to on the football field or even the basketball court, golf isn’t coming easy to them. But at their core, the kids are competitors and if someone like Tacha can break tackles and drag someone into the endzone, he isn’t going to let a small, dimpled ball get the better of him.

At the team’s first tournament, the Yuma Invitational, Camden Smithburg led the team with a 23-over-par 95 to finish in 16th place. Tacha shot 104 and realized right away that football might demanding physically, but golf presents every bit the challenge from an emotional standpoint.

“I have a lot more respect for golfers now than I did before,” Tacha said. “It’s a very different game and it’s very taxing mentally.”

For Love, he loves seeing a group of kids willing to go out and battle in a venue that’s unfamiliar to them. The importance to him as a coach of multiple sports is making sure that the kids are doing something as the state awaits the return of the majority of sports in January.

“Sports are our lifeline,” Love said. “That’s what people do on Friday and Saturday nights. Our community follows our sports so strongly. It gives our kids this great atmosphere and environment whether it’s the football field, the basketball court or whatever. Our community rallies around our kids.”

And they rally around the ability to compete together. There is talk about trying to improve enough to reach the state tournament. Love’s attitude with the team is that it should enter every season with the intention of winning a state title. For the first year of the relaunched golf program, he’d be thrilled to a see couple kids find their way to Dos Rios Country Club in Gunnison.

For the kids, they’re just happy that they’re getting back to competition and finding a way to battle together as they wait for football to return.

“I enjoy where I am,” Tacha said. “I’ve been going to school with the same buddies since we were four years old. One last season would mean the world to me.”

(Photo courtesy of Sherri Smithburg)

August 20, 2020
Basalt’s Sierra Bower relishing her chance to claim another cross country title

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

When Sierra Bower crossed the finish line at the Norris Penrose Event Center last fall, it wasn’t joy or elation that she felt from winning the Class 3A girls state cross country title.

It was relief.

Her time of 18 minutes, 00.1 seconds is a 3A course record and something she had been aiming for all season. Heading into 2020, she wants to be a good or better but will have a deeper appreciation for that feeling of crossing the finish line at the state meet.

“That was the goal all year to do that and break that record,” Bower said. “It felt good to finally do that especially because it’s something I think about all the time on my runs and when I’m training.”

To say the growth she experienced as a runner between her sophomore and junior season was remarkable doesn’t quite do her justice.

In 2018, she finished 28th in the state race and her time was two minutes behind where she ended her championship run. It was regimented offseason training that led to her being better and it was the same approach she took on in the time since the season ended.

“It’s hard to peak for state then peak for some of those (regional and national) postseason races that happen in the five or six weeks after,” Basalt coach Ron Lund said. “It’s what you do in between that can have a lot to do with it.”

This year certainly provides a unique circumstance given the COVID-19 pandemic that has engulfed a lot of high school athletics. She was fortunate enough to claim her state championship a year ago and according to Lund, she has colleges knocking down her door trying to get her to run for them.

That makes this season’s bid to repeat more about her own personal competitive nature rather than what life after high school is going to look like.

“From a recruiting standpoint, she doesn’t need to (repeat),” Lund stressed.

But she wants that satisfaction of being the first runner to cross that finish line once again. With a lot on the line for her a year ago, it was that sense of relief that washed over her when she finished 44 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. If she finds herself in the same position this year, she’ll be able to enjoy the accomplishment for what it is on the surface: a championship run.

More than that, she just wants to enjoy everything about competing this year.

“Last year I raced a bunch and never thought a lot about it,” Bower said. “Going into this season I know that nothing is promised. I’m going to take full advantage of a lot of these races. I’m taking each race and almost thinking about it as if it’s my last.”

Her desire to claim another championship will be powered by that mentality. When the starting gun gets fired, she and hundreds of other runners will take off thinking they have everything to win and nothing to lose.

August 14, 2020
Q&A: Assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig on modifications to cross country’s season

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The cross country season can begin competition on Saturday.

Before that happens, we caught up with Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, the assistant commissioner in charge of the sport, to talk about key modifications to the sport in order to ensure it complies with state guidelines around the COVID-19 pandemic.

[divider]

Question: How will things look different this season?

Roberts-Uhlig: Typically, a season will have 11 meets, and that has been reduced to seven. We have shortened the season by two weeks in order to have our state championship event completed prior to the late-fall moratorium.

In working with the Governor’s COVID Response Team and other health agencies, we worked together to get cross country up and running within the established guidelines. These guidelines allow us to have starts in waves of no more than 25, with a minimum of two minutes between the waves starting.

Regular season races can have no more than 50 participants total. At regionals, there will be no more than 75 total. At the state meet, it’s 100 per classification, per gender.

Start and finish lines could look different, and we’ve approved time-trial starts.

Truly, for cross country — and really, for all of our sports — it is very important that coaches, teams and community members abide by the state guidelines to ensure safety and risk minimization for athletes, and to allow us to finish the season. That’s not just for the regular season. Everyone is going to have to follow these guidelines.

This means things like wearing masks, appropriate social distancing, and not congregating in one area. The start and finish areas may look different for spectators, as well.

Q: What about masks?

Roberts-Uhlig: Athletes are going to be required to have a mask at the start line. As they proceed into a part of the course where they aren’t around a mass of people, they can remove the mask, but it must be back on at the finish line.

Spectators are going to be required to wear a mask at all times. They need to social distance outside of their family units. Again, we need everyone to follow these guidelines to ensure we can finish the season.

Q: We’ve already heard about schools moving away from big invitationals and are instead planning dual, triangular, and quad meets. Can you expand on that?

Roberts-Uhlig: Yes, and this is allowed so long as they meet the requirements of 50 athletes per race.

This season, we expect to see more of those types of meets as everyone navigates trying to stay within the maximum athletes allowed, and trying to limit the amount of teams participating.

Also, as league meets and big invitationals navigate this, they are looking at setting up multi-day meets, such as having two races of 50 per day.

Q: What about the postseason? What is that going to look like?

Roberts-Uhlig: Qualifying into regionals will look different. We’ll have more information on this soon.

State will continue to be held at Norris Penrose Event Center on Oct. 17. There will be plenty of time in between races to allow for a transition.

We are now putting classifications together at the state meet, so, for example, 4A girls and 4A boys will run back-to-back. As soon as those races are over, those participants, coaches and spectators will exit the venue, and the next classification will come in following a buffer of at least an hour. We need to be sure they’re cleared out between races.

Doing this will allow us to have 100 participants, per classification, per gender at the state event.

Q: Are you seeing schools add cross country this fall?

Roberts-Uhlig: Yes, we have had about 10 schools add a program. In addition, existing programs are seeing a lot more kids come out within their school.

In general, the cross country community is growing as kids are finding that this is a way to participate this fall, and that’s exciting to see.

August 14, 2020
No. 6 Smoky Hill softball has its eyes set on an historic season

(Paul Soriano)

When Smoky Hill was eliminated in the first round of the Class 5A state softball tournament, an easy reason to pinpoint is the overall lack of experience for the team.

That won’t be the case in 2020.

The Buffaloes are poised to make program history thanks to a talented junior class that returns to the field. An acceptable goal alone would be to get past the first round, but coach BJ Kingsbaker thinks this team is capable of so much more.

“Our motto this year is ‘Go Finish,’” Kingsbaker said. “I think this group can play with any team in the state.”

He’s probably not wrong. He returns a lineup that doesn’t have a lot of holes on the offensive side. Juniors Izzy Giroux and Amarjie Bass blasted eight and seven home runs respectively and Grioux led the team in both batting average (.512) and doubles (13).

“I”m excited,” Giroux said. “We’re pretty stacked. We didn’t lose and we’ve only added good players so we’re one of the most feared teams in our league this year.”

Checking in at No. 6 in the preseason softball rankings, the Buffs are heading into the season with a bit of added fuel. In their first-round loss at state, a mishap occurred at the start of the game that greatly changed momentum early. In all the hustle and craziness surrounding the state tournament, Kingsbaker accidentally mixed up Grioux’s spot on the lineup card with Bass. When the girls batted out of order it killed a potentially big first inning. Smoky Hill went on to lose the game.

“What would’ve been a four-run first inning turned into a zero-run first inning all because of my mistake,” he said. “We spent that entire game trying to battle back and even had a one-run lead heading into the seventh inning and just ran out of gas.”

That inning and that overall result has this team running on a full tank of gas for the 2020 year.

“There’s a lot of (motivation),” senior Jahlisa Klear said. “I can tell a lot of girls are ready to show up this year and get that (state) championship for Smoky Hill.”

The Buffs are certainly capable of bringing home a title, and if they do it would be the first in program history. From the top of the lineup down, the lineup looks stacked. But it’s complemented with a pitching staff that Kingsbaker would put up against anyone in the state. Juniors Delaney Farnsworth and Kenedy Sandoval went a combined 15-2 last season. Farnsworth finished the year with an ERA of 1.86 and Sandoval proved to be an effective lefty to mix things up when needed.

Adding to the mix is fellow junior Paris Elsberry, who missed most of last season due to an injury.

“She throws every curveball and screwball imaginable,” Kingsbaker said. “She throws the kitchen sink at you.”

That’s going to give the Buffs a lot of different looks in the circle which only makes them more dangerous.

And considering the way last year ended, a deep and dangerous Smoky Hill team could go on an historical run in 2020.

“I felt like we deserved to go further,” Grioux said. “I feel like that gives us a little more drive this season. We have a lot of good players and we all want it. We want to go out and win that state championship.”

August 12, 2020
Q&A: Assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann talks modifications to the softball season

(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

The softball season begins with games on Thursday.

With things ramping up, we caught up with Bert Borgmann, the assistant commissioner in charge of the sport, to dig into the details about the modifications which were made to ensure softball complies with current health guidelines.

[divider]

Question: Softball was among the first sports to be given a green light to play this fall. Can you go into detail as to why?

Borgmann: Early on, softball was identified by the Governor’s COVID Response team as a sport that could be played because it easily adjusts to the social distancing requirements.

Resuming athletics and activities requires answering and demonstrating certain safety measures to many different groups — including state, health, and educational decision makers. We believe softball can complete their season if all those involved — players, coaches and schools — adhere to the guidelines.

Q: Many sports have made adjustments to the sport seasons because of COVID. What are some ways that softball will look different?

Borgmann: Since the COVID-19 virus is a new disease and information changes quickly, we determined that to maintain the health and safety guidelines, limiting potential contact through games was a logical step. So teams will play 16 regular season games at maximum, as opposed to the typical 23.

When it became apparent that other sports would have to move to abbreviated seasons, and the potential for regional flare-ups this fall, reducing the season length was appropriate.

Teams are also limited to 12 players on a game day roster, and teams will qualify directly to the state tournament from the regular season.

[Note: These health and safety guidelines are outlined in the softball bulletin.]

Q: Why is the game roster limited to 12 players?

Borgmann: Current state-mandated guidelines allow for a total of 25 players on any one field. We adjusted to 12 players for each team to maintain equity. CHSAA will respond with appropriate modifications to this roster limit should restrictions be lessened in coming weeks.

Teams may have more than 12 players on their varsity roster, but can only put 12 in uniform for any single game. A player may be replaced on the roster after each game of the state tournament has been completed, but no more than 12 players may be suited up for each team during each game.

Q: What was the reason to have teams qualify directly to the state brackets and not have regionals this year?

Borgmann: As noted earlier, we want the players to have as long a regular season as possible. And, coupled with the exposure issues that arise for schools when there are multiple days of a state tournament, we looked at how to conduct a one-day tournament for 16 teams in each of the classifications.

The sport had already adjusted its qualifying and seeding procedure to employ RPI, CHSAANow Coaches Poll and MaxPreps rankings, so this will provide a competitive field for those that qualify.

Q: Will players be required to wear masks?

Borgmann: The requirement of masks is determined by state, county and local health officials. Currently, the entire state is under a requirement to wear masks when in public places.

Players, coaches and all team personnel, including umpires, are required by CHSAA to wear masks upon entering and exiting the ballpark. The state, county and local rules will dictate if they have to wear face-coverings on the field.

Additionally, players and coaches must wear mask and social distance while in the team dugouts. That may require some players placed outside the field or inside near the fences when on offense.

Borgmann: A final thought: If we want to see the 2020 season come to completion with the crowning of a state champion, it is imperative that all those involved in the sport follow the guideline established by the state, county and local health departments, along with the CHSAA. We have a personal responsibility to ensure that we protect the sport we love.

And that may mean doing things we do not like, but it’s the only way we can have a positive conclusion to the season!

August 12, 2020
Q&A: Insight into having the girls volleyball season in the spring with assistant commissioner Bethany Brookens

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

With girls volleyball’s move to the spring, we thought it was a good idea to take a glance at more info about the move.

So we caught up with Bethany Brookens, the assistant commissioner who oversees volleyball, to ask her some questions.

[divider]

Question: What was the reasoning behind moving volleyball to the Season C in March?

Brookens: We worked really hard to try to offer girls volleyball this fall, and I was very optimistic that it would be approved. There are 346 of our 363 member schools that offer girls volleyball. That’s 95 percent of our membership. We wanted to give them an opportunity to fully participate and engage with a sport at the start of school.

With that being said, when we found out on Tuesday that volleyball was not approved to move forward in Season A, we placed it in Season C to maintain consistency with sports that traditionally compete in the same season. So volleyball is with other traditional fall sports, like football, boys soccer and field hockey.

Q: Why wasn’t volleyball placed in another season, such as D, or B?

Bethany Brookens. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

Brookens: When looking where to place volleyball, we had to take a global approach to figure out what was best for all high school participants across the state. The reality is that this is not just about volleyball. Knowing that facility space would be tough, as well as overlap of student-athletes, made the process tricky.

With all the winter sports being moved to Season B, we could not place volleyball there due to a lack of gym space, and the fact that many smaller and rural schools have a high number of basketball players who also play volleyball.

We did look to try to move girls volleyball to Season D, where our traditional spring sports are now offered. We wanted to offer volleyball during a season that would allow girls to have as many opportunities for participation as possible, which aligns with Title IX. If we were to move it to Season D, this would only limit participation opportunities for girls.

There are five other girls sports offered in Season D — most notably, track and field, which is a huge sport for our small schools and rural communities. Again, this is a state-wide decision. We are not just making decisions for metro-area volleyball players.

There are nearly 17,000 girls who play volleyball as part of our school programs across the state. We looked to do what is best for all female student-athletes interested in playing volleyball and all of our sports as a whole. We didn’t want to limit participation opportunities in other high school activities.

Q: What about club volleyball and high school volleyball now sharing a season?

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

Brookens: It’s unfortunate that the main club volleyball season overlaps with Season C. Colorado state law, and our bylaws, allow students to participate in both a high school season and a club season concurrently, with permission from their principal.

With that being said, realistically, it may be tough for some players to do both. I know that club coaches and high school coaches have high expectations for their players, and they should. I do not view us as in competition with club volleyball.

Families and student-athletes may ultimately have to make a choice and a decision that is best for them. We are in the midst of a pandemic, and things are not going to be normal, or fair. We are living through challenging times.

If athletes choose to play club instead of high school this year, we understand their decision. At the same time, this may open up other opportunities for high school student-athletes who may not have had an opportunity to participate for the high school team otherwise.

CHSAA is an organization for all student-participants, not only the high-profile players who may have college opportunities after they graduate.

August 6, 2020