Nic Olney is up for his latest challenge as a football coach. He led St. Mary’s to the playoffs in 2014 then served on staff at Liberty in 2015 before taking the head job at Widefield.
He coached the Gladiators for three years before stepping away. But now he’s found his new home as he’s been hired as the first football coach at Banning Lewis. His new challenge is building a program from the ground up, something he has always wanted to take on.
This challenge, however, is unique. In an uncertain time, he has to navigate his way through a spring and offseason clamped down with limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But he won’t be deterred. He’s using the avenues he can to keep his kids in shape and get them education on how he expects them to play.
The off-field stuff that comes with building a new program?
That’s the part he’s looking most forward to.
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Question: What was the main appeal in taking on a program coming into its infancy?
Olney: Just that. Starting out, I consulted with a lot of my coaching mentors and buddies and them what would it be like to do this? A lot of them just kept saying the same thing. Go do it. You’re going to do a good job at it. And it’s one of those things where you get to do everything. You get to pick the jerseys, you get to pick the helmets you get to go through and help, everything from, we don’t really have a home stadium, so help make the home stadium work and really just start everything from scratch. So that was definitely the biggest thing for me.
Q: How much motivation do you have to have from beyond just an X’s and O’s football standpoint to really embrace that kind of challenge?
Olney: I have a strong, strong passion for coaching and seeing kids succeed. So I think that the motivation is just naturally there. Anybody that can do what they love and have a passion to do. Seeing kids succeed and coaching high school football, there was no need for the motivation. It was already there.
Q: What did you miss the most about coaching since you had stepped down at Widefield?
Olney: The kids. I stepped out of teaching this year too and it’s hands down the kids. Scoring touchdowns and winning football games are great, but, I missed working with the kids and the relationships that you build with the kids, the parents, the administrators, the other coaches.
Q: You’ve coached both small school football and medium to big sized school football. What challenges that you’ve learned from, from each aspect of that is going to help you not just get this program off the ground, but grow the program into one that you were hoping is going to be successful?
Olney: I think with being a smaller school, it causes for a lot less kids, which usually causes a lot less problems on and off the field. But the biggest thing is if you’re at a Widefield, you know, anytime you face a Pine Creek, you’re going to see 15 different formations and three different types of defenses. Whereas at the 1A level where we’re starting out, I don’t plan on seeing that. I’m thinking that things are going to be a lot less complex. A Cover-3 teams is going to run a Cover-3 most of the game. They might trick us up here a little bit and run some Cover-2. But for the most part, you know, what you see is what you get.
Q: This isn’t an ideal time to take a new job as a football coach…
Olney: Yeah, definitely.
Q: What are the challenges you’re seeing given the current global situation and how are you navigating yourself through all that?
Olney: Well, you’re exactly right. I didn’t really think of it until now, but the biggest issue is hands down, not being able to work with the kids. Football is truly a year-round sport, no matter what level that you’re at. And not being able to work with the kids and see the kids right now is definitely a killer. Not being able to get in the weight room, but the main thing is not being able to install our culture, which we want to build there, and all the offseason stuff just as well as introducing the offense and introducing the defense and what kind of special teams we’re going to run.
Up until CHSAA sent out that email recently, I was really just sitting around twiddling my thumbs when it comes to it because it couldn’t have contact with the kids. We couldn’t be in the building or anything. So I haven’t been able to do a whole lot to be honest with you. So that kind of puts us way behind the 8-ball for sure.
Q: Are you able to get on and video conference with the kids and give them some general workout ideas, film to study, anything that can potentially keep them as much up to date as you can with the limitations?
Olney: I was able to get with the kids for about two and a half weeks after I got hired on, before we got put on hold. I left them with a couple of things. We need to make sure that we’re staying active and working out as best we can because at that point we didn’t know that we couldn’t get into weight rooms either. The kids that have been working out with us that weren’t engaging in spring sports, and even those that were, we gave them their offseason workouts. I’m lucky to have a great strength coach on staff and we left them with that. As far as the Zoom meetings, we’re going to start the Zoom meetings next week, the week of May 11th, to start, introducing what we’re going to run on offense and defense and so on.
Q: How much of this Banning Lewis football team is going to have the Nic Olney stamp or are you approaching this build as identifying things program on establishing an identity for Banning Lewis?
Olney: This is definitely going to be an us thing. I’m definitely a transformational coach, I like to get a lot of players involved in this stuff. That’s what’s cool about this. What’s been cool about starting a brand new program is nothing’s in place. There’s are traditions. There’s no specific way that we warm up or anything like that. So being able to start everything from scratch and establish traditions and how we do things is definitely going to be a big thing. Letting the kids decide what we do. It’s my job to guide and be the role model and be the leader. But at the same time, I let the kids decide what we’re going to do.
Shannel Swiader, a senior at Highlands Ranch High School, is the president of CHSAA’s student leadership state representatives. We caught up with her this week to get her thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic from a student leadership perspective.
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Question: We hope you are staying safe during this public health emergency. How are you doing?
Shannel Swiader: I’m doing well. I am missing school and interacting with my peers, but enjoying this time with my family and my pets, especially before heading off to college.
Q: What do you miss the most about the “normal” day-to-day of the school week?
Swiader: I miss seeing all of my fellow Falcons. Connecting with people, whether that’s peers, teachers, or administration, on a day-to-day basis was always really fulfilling. I’m glad we live in an age where technology allows us some connection, but it’s just not the same.
Q: How are you staying connected to your school community?
Swiader: My student council and I have been doing weekly Zoom calls and been talking a lot over our group message on GroupMe. We are planning a virtual spirit week to unite our student body and give somewhat a feeling of normalcy.
Social media has been an awesome tool when it came to communicating out information about free meals for those needing them, and technology distributions at the beginning of online learning. Using things like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter has been efficient.
Q: What are you seeing from schools and students across the state to help their communities?
Swiader: I’ve seen a lot of virtual spirit weeks. These include days like “Bring Your Pet to School” or “Fancy Day.” Typically student councils have had their students take pictures of themselves dressed up, and then repost their pictures.
Douglas County High School awarded free food delivery for the student with the best picture or outfit each day.
Rangeview High School did a mental health week. They encouraged students to take care of themselves by participating in activities like painting, cooking something they’ve never made, or enjoying the outdoors (safely, of course).
Mountain Vista High School ordered signs for all of their seniors with the hashtag #we’reallinthistogether for them to post in their yard. They also ordered a bunch of yard signs for students of all grades to grab to help unite their community.
Many schools are making sure their student body is staying connected and doing okay in their own ways.
Q: If you could share one message with your fellow seniors, what would it be?
Swiader: I would tell the other seniors that this situation isn’t all bad. Many of us are going off to college, starting a full-time job, or going into the armed forces in a few months. We have been given some extra time to slow down our crazy lives and spend time with our families and pets before we have to leave.
Also, this online learning format is very similar to what many of us will experience in college. We will have this kind of independence, and this experience lets us establish that work ethic early so we are ready to go in the fall.
I’ve been applying for tons of last-minute scholarships with my extra time as well and I’d encourage others to do the same. Get as much as you can so you won’t have to pay it off later!
Don’t get me wrong, it stinks we don’t get our senior proms and our graduations will look a little different, but high school isn’t all about the last quarter.
I encourage them to reflect on their last four years, take time to thank those who have helped them get to where they are, and stay grateful for the amazing times we did get to have.
Q: If you could share a message with other student leaders, what would it be?
Swiader: I would tell other student leaders to bear down right now. This is a weird time, but it’s a time to thrive. Your communities need you right now more than ever. It is important to stay connected, be creative, and check on your classmates and teachers.
It’s easy to be a leader when everything is laid out for you, but you can shine when times are uncertain. Take advantage of this opportunity.
Q: What are you looking forward to doing most when we start to get back to some level of normalcy?
Swiader: I can’t wait to connect with my friends. I’ve been doing a lot of Zoom calls and Netflix parties, but it’s just not the same as in-person contact. I’m glad I do get to see their faces, though, even if it’s just through a screen.
Q: What have you learned most about leadership in the last couple of months?
Swiader: I’ve learned it’s really important to stay positive in difficult situations. When you have a good attitude, people around you and people you talk to are more likely to shift their perspective on things. A positive attitude helps in every situation. It’s also a lot easier to get things done when you and those you’re working with have good attitudes. No matter what is happening, there is always something to be positive about.
The CHSAA office has found a few frequent topics when answering questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and the spring season.
So, we created a page dedicated to the latest information about the Coronavirus and included a list of Frequently Asked Questions. That page is here, and will be updated with the latest information, should updates be needed.
Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green answered these frequent questions, and we are also publishing them below.
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Why hasn’t the Commissioner made the decision to cancel spring sports?
We understand how extremely tough this is for our activity and athletic participants, especially graduating seniors, coaches and their school communities. We continue to extend dates aligned with restrictions, mandates and recommendations from state and health officials.
There are many factors that would need to be considered after the most recent extension of suspending spring sports to April 30. The primary factor in a decision like that will be a guarantee to our Association that activities can be conducted statewide without jeopardizing the safety of not only our students but our officials, coaches, staffs, volunteers and spectators. We are not confident that an assurance like that will be forthcoming after the 30th.
Our country and our state continue to adjust as they work to find answers and mitigate the spread of the virus. We don’t want to give false hope. Resuming spring activities and athletics statewide due to safety concerns does not appear promising.
May students have contact with coaches during this time?
We strongly encourage virtual contact by coaches and administrators to check on the well-being of their students as well as to upload workouts, but we have not permitted voluntary team workouts, rehearsals, or tryouts due to the direct or indirect implications of a mandatory participation by the students.
We need to be focused on our “Why”, which is ensuring that our students are navigating this disruption without pressure.
Some school districts have closed. How does that affect the spring season?
State, health and educational mandates and recommendations will take precedence in discussions leading to April 30. The cancellation of in-building instruction and athletics, as well as the closure of many HS and collegiate facilities will definitely be considered.
Will the summer be a consideration for the spring season?
If statewide spring activities and athletics are cancelled, we would not conduct a summer season outside of the educational construct. If the spring season is cancelled and once the defined school year ends, no events would be conducted.
This is not about creativity or an unwillingness to think outside the box. Our staff does that very well when inclement weather or facility availability disrupts an event.
This is a statewide health emergency and a statewide safety situation, and as a result a potential cancellation would end of the season.
Can students and/or coaches have access to school facilities during the moratorium?
No, per the Governor’s executive order all school facilities must remain closed through April 30.
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.
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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.
Rob Busmente knows the Sterling football program inside and out.
A 1992 graduate of the school, Busmenete just finished his 25th year on the football staff, and his seventh as the program’s head coach. He’s also a social studies teacher at the school.
“At heart,” he said, “I think I’m just kind of a small town guy.”
At the helm of the program, Busmente has turned the Tigers into perennial contenders. Sterling has been to the playoffs in five of the past six seasons, including a trip to at least the quarterfinals in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
Question: What does Sterling mean to you? It’s pretty rare that someone graduates from a school and spends their entire career there. So how important is Sterling in your life?
Rob Busmente: Well, I think some of it was the desire to come back. When I was finishing up my degree at Western State, there was going to be job availability because I knew some of the teachers in the school, in my department, that I was going into were going to be retiring. So I knew there would be an in there. Plus I was already familiar — the coaches that were on the staff, minus the head coach, were my high school coaches.
So there was that familiarity and just something about the school and even just the community as far as just kind of what fits a little bit of my personality. I’ve done some traveling around the world and things like that. But at heart, I think I’m just kind of a small town guy. You know, I kinda like the secluded part of being in a small town and just minus some of the hustle and bustle of some of the big cities. I like going and visiting the big cities and things like that. And I have lots of friends there and they’re fun to visit. But it’s just something about small town with me that that was a draw I think.
I had the opportunities that were available plus the relationships that had already had with people in the building. I knew it would be a pretty smooth transition.
Q: Do you ever draw on your experience as a player at Sterling and link that to your current players at all?
Busmente: We mostly try to draw on experiences. We kind of focus on the failures that we had as players, as far as trying to let our kids know that as coaches we’ve been in your position. We haven’t always done everything right and done everything perfect, and have had to learn through the trials and tribulations of areas where we failed: how to be smarter players, how to work harder.
So those are some of the things that we usually try to drum on as far as our experiences as former players. It also helps that I have other guys on my staff that also played here, so they know that some of the support that you can get from the community and how much they can kind of glue to sports. It’s always kind of nice to share that wisdom with those kids and let them know the things that they represent.
Q: What made you want to get into coaching?
Busmente: It was my, I guess my junior high school. There was a class that we took and we had to do like a career path thing as an assignment that they gave us to where we had to do some researching. I knew that I enjoyed social sciences, like history and government and those things as a student. I loved playing and I knew that somehow I probably wanted to be involved in the game in some way. And I knew that being able to go and play at the next level was a long shot. That’s a low percentage kind of thing. And knew that playing professionally probably wasn’t in the cards, but coaching was the avenue that I could go in.
So it allowed me to pursue a couple of things that I liked. And I was inspired by honestly my coaches I had in high school. My head coach, Pat Busteed, was a social science teacher and he was the head football coach and he was able to be good at doing both, so it was just something that I knew where my interests lay. And the idea of trying to give back to the game and give back to the community as far as the school was just a draw for me back then.
I just kind of stuck with it as I went through college and pursued that degree. And now I’m here.
(Joe Skerjanec/OTSPORTSCHEK)
Q: What kind of coach would you say you are? What do you think your players would say?
Busmente: The thing that we’ve always tried to instill is that when we push you to be your best and to pursue your best it is not just because we’re coaching who we think you can be, but also because we’re trying to instill the life lesson from this through the game of football.
Most importantly, I would hope that they would say at the end that us as coaches cared more about them, the individual, you know, we loved the player and not the jersey number and their personal relationships with us was our main motivator for what we are doing here and what we’re trying to accomplish.
And, looking at a big picture thing, winning championships and winning titles and everything, it’s important and it’s a goal that you set out. But in the overall big picture of things, we want people walking out of here to be better men and be better equipped to be husbands and fathers in their own right when their time comes. And hopefully we pointed them in the right direction so that when they look back, I hope that they look at us as coaches as those positive influences and inspirations to them.
Q: What kind of impact has football had on your life? Why do you think it’s important for young men to be involved in football?
Busmente: Well, I think it’s the ultimate team sport as opposed to other things. I mean, there’s other sports out there that require teamwork, but I just feel that football is that ultimate team perspective to where they have to learn that reliance on others and develop the trust and sacrifice, as far as everybody combining for the greater good. And I just think it helps teach and reinforce those lessons: There’s going to be lots of things that we are going to be expected to do on our own through our own work ethic and through our own focus and drive. But support systems are huge in anybody’s life. When you have those things in place, your chances of success increase.
We kinda try to use that as the team perspective. We try to make sure that we all understand that everybody in the room is important and everybody in the room has a part in what we’re doing because without each other, we’re not going to be able to accomplish the things that we have. We have to have the trust in the people in the room to be able to accomplish our goals and understand that everybody’s going to sacrifice a little part of themselves for the greater good.
And that’s what it takes to be a good family man, to be a good husband and things like that. Some of those lessons that you can teach through the game and hope that they carry into their life.
Q: So kind of switching gears into your season this year, what did you expect at fall camp? I mean, did you see a championship coming, or the potential for one?
Busmente: We felt coming out of our summer team camp and then kind of progressing into the fall that we had some tools, some pieces in place to where if we could get everything going in the right direction and take care of things that we could go and make some noise, as a conference team and as a playoff team. You set goals at the beginning with the team and one of the things they do write down, you know, “Let’s, let’s win the state championship.” And then we have to go back through our lessons through the week and ask ourselves a question: Are we doing those things that are helping us accomplish our goal, if that is indeed what it was.
As the season started to progress the kids just started to get more comfortable with schemes and more confident in their abilities. And we had some things just kind of go our way and things were looking positive and just started trending that way.
We just kinda rode that that wave there towards the end and fortunately we’re able to make plays and take advantage of opportunities that were given to us. We were fortunate to put the things together and have everything fall into place. We got everybody focused in on that one goal and everybody never really wavered from that and then focused in on the success of the team. And it just carried us to the end.
I guess in the beginning, I don’t want to say we were 100% sure that this was where we were going to be at the end, but that was the direction we were trying to point, and we were trying to do everything we could to just make sure that we could look ourselves in the mirror at the end regardless of what happened and say that we did what we had to do to try to accomplish that goal.
(Joe Skerjanec/OTSPORTSCHEK)
Q: So a lot of coaches always say you learn a lot more from a loss than from a win. If that’s the case, what did you guys take away from the Scottsbluff game? [Sterling trailed 28-0 at halftime, and lost 36-13 in Nebraska.]
Busmente: We knew that they were a tough opponent and they had lots of skill, size, speed, and we knew that it was going to be a tough task.
As the game was going through the first half, things weren’t going the way we wanted them to. We had given up some tough plays and we were having trouble being consistent on offense. But as we went into the second quarter and halftime, we just tried to make the deal with our players about, “We can’t go out there with an attitude that we’ve quit, that we’ve given up,” and “We got to continue to battle.”
That was one of the signs from our team — in that first half, it was early enough in the season that they were kind of teetering on that line of letting mistakes and unfortunate things that happened in the game get the better of them attitude-wise, to where they would kind of get down and lose focus. But they never really did, even in that game. They thought about it in the first half. You could kind of sense it and you could kind of feel it.
But then from that point on in a lot of the games when things would go bad, there wasn’t a lot of head-hanging and finger-pointing and woe-is-me type attitudes. They just kinda continued on and just kept playing the game and kept trying to make plays. I think that was one of the games that really taught us that resiliency matters and perseverance matters.
Q: Ultimately, you guys do end up putting together a string of wins winning that state title and it’s the first for the program. What was that like? What was the feeling like, and what did that mean?
Busmente: It still feels a little bit surreal and I’m not even a hundred percent sure that it’s totally sunk in with everybody. We had to stay an extra night in Pueblo because they closed the roads, and then we got back Sunday and had a celebration in the gym. And then the next day the guys went to basketball practice and they have a basketball game Thursday, they have a wrestling match Thursday and they jumped right into their next sport. We haven’t really kind of sat and reflected on it.
But it was an amazing feeling on the sideline, mostly just watching the enthusiasm of the kids and their faces. When that the final buzzer went off, just the elation on their faces and the joy that they were feeling on the field with each other. And then when they let the crowd out and the families out, just seeing the joy that people felt, it was an unreal scene being out there among the people.
It meant a lot for those guys to go out and win that for everybody. Like we said, “You’re always going to be the ones that they reference, no matter how many more titles Sterling wins between now and then, they’re going to reference you because you were the first ones to accomplish that feat through the history. So it’s something that you guys can definitely be proud of and take pride in the fact that you were able to do that.”
Shawn Mitchell was not having a good day last Thursday. Between snow days on Monday and Wednesday and District 20 deciding to cancel all afternoon activities on Tuesday because of an incoming storm, Mitchell’s team hadn’t seen the practice field all week.
All that was looming was a game against a top-10 opponent in Lutheran and major playoff and RPI implications.
To make the situation even better, Discovery Canyon’s practice field was covered with snow. He and athletic director Ron Sukle jumped into a truck and moving slowly and methodically, plowed the entire grass practice field so that the team could at least get one practice session in.
Thursday’s practice seemed to go well enough as the Thunder beat Lutheran 20-7 and will play for a league championship on Thursday.
A go-getter by nature, Mitchell wasn’t about to wait around for the sun to solve his problems. His willingness to spend hours removing snow so that he could get his team ready is the very attitude that is required in the world of high school athletics.
For that and the big win over Lutheran, Mitchell has been named the Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.
Previous stops: Harrison assistant (1995-99), Harrison head coach (2000-06), Discovery Canyon head coach (2007-present).
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Dan Mohrmann: Why did you get into coaching?
Shawn Mitchell: I fell in love with football in seventh grade, that was the first year I ever played football, and I still in love with it I think for all the reasons that anybody falls in love with football. I loved being around my teammates and I loved the competitive part of it. I loved the physical part of it. But the added part to that is that I just always admired these coaches. You know what I mean?
I think back to the guys that were my middle school coaches and my high school coaches and then eventually my college coaches. I really admired what they did and I look up to them and they were role models. When I think back to my high school days and how much time I wanted to spend with those guys. Those are the guys I’d go back and visit when I was in college. Those coaches just made a real impact on me and I think that just stuck with me. Later on as I’m thinking about what I want do and I start thinking about those guys as role models, I think it just was a natural fit.
Mohrmann: From your player’s perspective, what do you think it’s like to be coached by you?
Mitchell: The joke is that I’m intimidating and unapproachable. But I would hope that that’s more of a joke than it is the way they really feel. I’ve had former players come back and coach with me at both places, Harrison and Discovery Canyon.
When I moved up here to Discovery Canyon, I had at least two former Harrison players come in and coach with me. So I think that there is a relationship that has been built there. And of course they have a lot of funny stories. They always want to talk about how mean I was to them or how I’m so soft on these guys now when I was tough on them.
I’ve been in a former player’s wedding, I had former players at my wedding, so I would say that there certainly is a strong relationship that develops.
Mohrmann: Let’s go back to last week, you’re approaching the playoffs and the weather kind of disrupts everything. What was it like going into Thursday, which was going be the first day that you were going to be able to practice for that Friday night game?
Mitchell: I was anxious. I was feeling that pressure. We are trying to protect a legacy. Prior to this year, we’ve been a playoff team for seven straight years. Certainly you’re trying to protect that legacy. I am certainly a system guy. I have a system and this is how we practice and this is how many days and how many minutes. I like my systems and I like my approach. When that gets disrupted, that bothers me and I become anxious.
But I’m also realistic. This is what we get and so we need to make the most of this. And so as coaches we did some things for our kids that we don’t normally do. We used some Hudl applications that we don’t normally use with those guys to hopefully get them information that we couldn’t give them.
When we came in on Thursday, we had some business to take care of we also had to bring some calm to this. I we come in anxious and there’s a lot of anxiety and whatnot, that’s not going to do much for your guys at practice, right? We don’t want people to be stressed and nervous. We want to commit and whatever time you have, let’s use it and get better and prepare as best we can.
Mohrmann: Was there ever a point when you’re riding on a snow plow on a Thursday afternoon to clear off the field for your first practice of the week that you’re ever thinking you didn’t sign up for this?
Mitchell: Well, I’ll tell you this, that was a first. In 20 some years of coaching, I’ve never had to do that. It ended up being therapy.
Ron and I were joking about that because we were both kind of grumpy about this and you were both bothered by the fact that we couldn’t practice and we had to come and do that. Certainly we’re both feeling that.
But for the two of us to sit in that truck for a couple hours and tell stories and tell jokes and complain about the situation, but when it was all said and done, it was exactly what I needed on that day.
Mohrmann: What is this whole journey for you been like overall, whether it’s this season, whether it’s last season, just the whole experience at Discovery Canyon and building this consistent program that you’ve found yourself with?
Mitchell: It’s been one of the most rewarding things that I’ve done in my career, at all levels. To start the program, but to also open a building and to be part of that culture.
I’m also the department chair for the social studies department. I’ve been responsible for hiring the members of the social studies department and the football staff. I’ve been a part of this campus growing up together.
We started with this tiny little freshman class, so I’ve been there through all of this and it’s rewarding. But it’s also been a lot of work.
You always expect with coaching, this is going to be a lot of work and this is going to take some time. I don’t know if you fully understand that until you have that first day of football practice and when you open this new building and there are 15 kids and I don’t even know if we can put together a team. And then eventually we got up to like 19 kids. Okay, yeah, we can play a game.
That was one of those moments that I don’t know if this is what I signed up for. I had a different picture in my head and then we struggled early on. We had some ups and downs and you start to wonder are we ever going to get this thing rolling?
Now, I wouldn’t trade it for the world and if I could do it all over again, I would absolutely do it again.
Mohrmann: What’s the biggest challenge this time of year? You’re looking like a safe bet for the playoffs, but what’s the biggest challenge in making sure that the boys continue to show up, know, their assignments and do what needs to be done in order to come away with a win?
Mitchell: Like everybody in the state at this time of year, you’re battling things like injury. Guys get banged up and some of them make it back and some don’t. You’re definitely battling injury. And even if guys aren’t injured, they’re banged up. They have aches and pains and the thing that was nagging them in week two or week three. Now it’s really bothering them and you never really get a chance to heal up. You have to keep them motivated, right?
Some of these drills that we do that we think are a necessity to be successful after 14 weeks of it or 13 weeks, whatever we’re in right now, that can be a little monotonous. So you have to find a way to get through the monotony, whether it’s shortening the amount of time that you’re on the field or whether it’s mixing in some new things to keep them engaged, but that’s a battle too: Keeping their focus.
You would think that this is an exciting time in the season, and we’re playing for a league championship on Thursday and there’s a more-than-likely chance we’re going to make the playoffs again the following week and that’s exciting, but they’re tired and they’re mentally tired and they’re physically tired and they’re beat up. You to find a way to keep them motivated. And that’s a challenge.
Rifle football is definitely getting the Western Slope some attention. The Bears have been dominant in the 2019 season with an 8-0 record and a No. 3 ranking in the Class 2A RPI.
But that’s not what the Bears are after. Coach Damon Wells and his team have ambitions of making the playoffs and playing for as long as they can. Not because a state championship tops a list of stated goals in the locker room, but because they enjoy spending time together.
Wells is in his second stint as the head coach at Rifle and he came back because of the joys that come with coaching and developing kids into men.
With a league title already wrapped up, the Bears just have one game ahead of them and are on track to end the regular season with an undefeated record. Then it’s on to the postseason. That’s where Wells really hopes his kids understand the team goals.
It’s not to win games for the sake of winning. It’s to win games with the intent of getting seven more days to bond as a team. That goal alone is worthy of Wells’ selection as this week’s Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.
Previous stops: Cyprus Lake (Fla.) assistant (1996, 1998-99), North Fort Myers (Fla.) assistant (1997), Rifle running backs coach (2000-02), Rifle defensive coordinator (2003-04, 2009), Rifle head coach (2005-07, 2010-present).
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Dan Mohrmann: Why did you initially get into coaching?
Damon Wells: I think because of the impact it had on my own life. I saw how profoundly powerful of an impact you can have, and that’s what happened for me. I owe so much to the guys, all the guys all along the way that coached me and I hoped that I could in any way replicate that.
Mohrmann: From your player’s perspective, what do you think it’s like to be coached by you?
Wells: What a great question. I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. Hopefully they would agree that we have high standards. I don’t know that they would say it’s any different than being coached by anybody else. I’m sure everybody’s heart is in it for all the right reasons. And everybody aspires to build better men. So it’s probably the same as everybody else.
Mohrmann: What what are some of your favorite memories when it comes to coaching?
Wells: I think it’s like seeing kids get experiences that they couldn’t have had otherwise if they wouldn’t have been a part of this particular group. Like last year, the Broncos were gracious enough to let us practice in their facility before the quarterfinals. I really don’t think it helped us in the game. It probably hurt us, but whatever. It was such a cool experience for those kids.
I think one of the things I’m most proud of is it 2014 we won the academic state championship and played for the state championship on the field. I think that’s pretty neat.
Mohrmann: You’ve had a heck of a year. What’s been the main driving force behind the Bears’ success this season?
Wells: I don’t know that this year has been very much different than past years. In the past decade we’ve gone 78-9 in the regular season. So this year has been great and all, but it’s kind of what we’ve been doing.
We’re just blessed. I can say that here in Rifle we are absolutely blessed to have kids that are willing to go above and beyond with what they do before school, after school, over the summer. They literally do everything we ask them to do.
Mohrmann: For the last four years or so, 2A been dominated pretty much by Bayfield and LA Junta. With you guys having a much better year than them in 2019, is that part of the reason why people are paying attention to what’s going on in Rifle this year?
Wells: No, I don’t think so. It doesn’t feel any different for us. We’ve had an incredibly successful run so what people talk about is the least of my concerns.
Mohrmann: Let’s go back to that game against Delta. Up until a few weeks ago they hadn’t given up a whole lot of points this year and you guys were able to put up 47. What does that say about the talent level that, that you have at Rifle the challenges that these boys are able to rise to?
Wells: I think so much about high school football has to deal with match-ups. I think when we get in the business of rankings and RPI and stuff like that, those are all well and good but match-ups matters so much. And we had a good night.
Part of the reason why it was such a good night was because Delta’s coached so well and their kids are so tough and we were able to make some things happen.
Mohrmann: You’ve wrapped up a league title I think at this point. When you’re in a situation like that, aside from maybe playoff seeding ranking, RPI, how do you make sure that the boys stay up heading into this week to cap off your regular season?
Wells: You know, we believe that culture beats strategy every time. And I think that it has to do with our culture. I think that our culture is something that took a long time to establish by over the course of the last decade.
Like I mentioned, I think our history won’t permit our kids to slack off. And that doesn’t mean we’re going win all the time. The other people practice too. They lift weights as well. So I think our culture definitely helps in that capacity.
Mohrmann: How much fun has 2A football been on the west side of Vail Pass? From my perspective as a Front Range guy, it looks like you guys had a lot of fun out there.
Wells: Absolutely. And it’s funny that people talk that I think people need a bigger deal about us going from 3A to 2A than we did. First, we were one of the smallest 3A schools for six straight years and went to two state finals during that time. And when we finally did move down to 2A, it’s half of what the old 3A Western Slope League used to be with Moffat County and Delta. So it’s really more normal than anything else.
Mohrmann: You know you’re playoff bound, so how does your mentality shift after this week and getting these boys ready for win or go home as opposed to just bettering your overall record or your league record?
Wells: We talk all season long about trying to get seven more days together. We don’t necessarily want to make the playoffs because we want to make this glorious run or to say we did or to get a cool tee shirt.
We just like spending time with our boys so much and working and practicing and being immersed in our culture that we don’t want to to end. That’s the beauty of making the playoffs.
Mohrmann: That seems like a great mentality to have and maybe slightly different from what I hear on week to week basis, is that something that really helps drive the success of that team?
Wells: It’s very important to us and we tell them we do not focus on winning championships because when you win you get a cool tee shirt and that’s about the end of it. All the memories come from when you’re in it and during the journey. So we care way more about the journey than winning the league.
Among the ways to get noticed as a football team, knocking off the top-ranked team in the state is certainly one of the best.
That’s exactly what Matt Loyd’s Ralston Valley Mustangs did last Friday. Their 24-23 win over Columbine sent shock waves throughout the Class 5A landscape and instantly thrust Ralston Valley into the state championship conversation.
Loyd would love to see that for his players, but wins and losses have never been the most important thing to him. Developing his players into better people is his main priority, but he’s shown that when done right, monumental wins have a tendency to pop up every now and then.
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Ralston Valley now sits at 8-0 is tied with Pomona atop the 5A Metro West standings.
Loyd prefers to keep his focus week to week, but with that focus paying off last week he has been named the Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.
Previous stops: Bear Creek assistant (1990), Golden assistant (1991-92), Golden head coach (1993-98), Ralston Valley head coach (1999-present).
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(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Dan Mohrmann: What got you into coaching?
Matt Loyd: I decided to be a football coach because of my high school coach, Ed Kintz.
Mohrmann: How did he make that a desirable path for you?
Loyd: I’m not looking for some sob story, but the story is that I’ve never seen my father. He was the next best thing to a father figure for me.
Mohrmann: From your kids’ perspective, what do you think it’s like to be coached by you?
Loyd: Hopefully they know I care about them because that’s why I’m doing it.
Mohrmann: What are some of your favorite memories from coaching?
Loyd: The best thing is just working with the kids each day. The wins and losses and everything, that’s something my sons can keep up with that. But that’s not why I got into it in the first place. I just like working with the kids and my number one goal is to make them better men. It’s that simple.
Mohrmann: And occasionally when you do that, you get to accomplish something special, like knocking off the number one team in the state. What was the emotion like after that win on Friday?
Loyd: I was very pleased for our seniors because they hadn’t beaten Columbine. I was really happy for them. And they had kind of set that as a goal to make that happen. And they did.
Mohrmann: As the game was playing out, was there ever a point where you got the sense like it was going to go your way?
Loyd: I guess I just believe like we always have a chance. Until the time runs out, we’re going keep trying. Obviously Columbine is a really, really, really good football team and we knew it would be a battle and we have to get the ball last with a chance to at least score and either go for a tie or go for two. There was no chance — there was no way I was going to go for the tie. I was going for two.
Mohrmann: Everyone makes a big deal mostly after a loss about, you know, turning the page and moving forward to the next week, but how do you do that after such a monumental win?
Loyd: That is really what we focus on each week. I realize it’s tough after a big win, but one of our captains, JJ Galbreath — we usually get together at the end and then I usually talk — and as we got together he said, “Coach you mind if I say something to everybody?” I said sure, no problem.
He basically said, “Hey guys, this is great. Great win, but we have to focus on next week. This isn’t all we can do.” So the kids had already said it. That’s a true story. He asked if he could talk to the team before I could.
And he had already said, “Guys, this is awesome. It’s great that we beat them, but we need to get focused on next week.” So it was pretty simple.
Mohrmann: A lot of people have made big deals about certain teams whether it’s Columbine, whether it’s Cherry Creek, whether it’s Valor Christian, what did people find out about your team on Friday night?
Loyd: We’ve always been a good team, but I guess the way that Columbine was beating opponents with not giving up a lot of points and scoring a lot with the way they run their offense, for our guys to be able to beat them, that’s probably the biggest thing.
You’re going to have to show some toughness and you’re going to have to show that regardless of how physical the game is that we can hang with that.
Mohrmann: You talked about how, how much you enjoy working with the kids and, and building them into better men and I’m sure you’ve dealt with your fair share of heartbreaking losses, so how does this win really help them in that process?
Loyd: To be honest, I don’t talk about winning and losing very much. We just talked about going out and do the best we can. That’s really how it is. I know our kids wanted to win this game because they had not beaten Columbine since they were in high school.
There are some times when you can do, you can win a game and not learn anything from it. There are times when you can lose a game and learn a lot. I felt even though we won the game, we learned a lot about ourselves as far as how tough we can be. I’m sure we can still get better, but our kids are in a good mindset.
They just focus on things week to week and that’s how it should be. Everybody says that, but like I said, it was the kids doing that before I had even said anything.
Mohrmann: What did they all say when they gathered for practice Monday? If they’re looking week to week, what was the first thing that was talked about at the first practice following that win?
Loyd: To be honest, it was probably more about the wind. We get a lot of wind at Ralston Valley, and it was windy and cold and they knew regardless of the weather, it’s just time to go get the job done.
We have to do what we have to do. So that’s probably the first thing they were talking about.
Vista PEAK is, quite literally, in the midst of the best football season in school history.
The Bison, which started varsity play in 2012, are 5-0 for the first time, and are coming off a big 48-27 win over then-No. 3 Dakota Ridge last week — a win that opened some eyes around the state, and emphatically announced that this team was for real.
That’s not to say there’s any celebrating going on yet. Vista PEAK, now ranked No. 5 in Class 4A, has another big game this week, against No. 10 Hinkley, an Aurora Public School rival.
But before then, there’s another first: Vista PEAK coach John Sullivan has been named the Broncos high school football coach of the week. It is the first time the Bison have been honored as part of the program.
Previous stops: Rangeview assistant (1999-2012), Vista PEAK assistant (2013-14), Vista PEAK head coach (2015-present).
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(Courtney Oakes/Sentinel Colorado)
Ryan Casey: Why did you want to become a coach?
John Sullivan: It was just kinda in my blood. My dad was one of my high school coaches, and I actually got into teaching so I could coach. At the time, when I first got into it, it was just because I loved the sport. But the longer I was in it, your priorities and your values kind of shift a little bit.
Just seeing the kids when they finish playing football, and when they come back to see you, it just puts a really warm place in my heart, makes me feel good. I can see that I had some sort of impact on these kids, whether it be on the football field, or in life, helping these kids grow up, and being there for them. It’s just something that has really been important for me.
Casey: What kind of coach do you think you are?
Sullivan: I like to challenge the kids, off the field and on the field. I put a high premium on character, and put a high premium on work ethic. But there’s also a place where myself and our coaching staff is not afraid to tell the kids we love them, and we value them and believe in them.
There’s kind of both ends of it, where we want to push the kids but also let them know that we’re here for them, and it’s unconditional, and we’ll do whatever we can to help them be successful in life.
Casey: You guys are 5-0. What has the first part of the season been like?
Sullivan: As with pretty much every program in the state, we have kids that work hard during the summer, in the weight room and in 7-on-7. We had a pretty good idea, based on returners from last year, that we could possibly be a good team this year. There’s a lot that goes into being a good team outside of football — chemistry, and the involvement of the parents in a positive. And we had all those things.
We started the season with a lightning storm down at Mesa Ridge, and came back to school at 1 o’clock in the morning. We had some adversity right away, and our kids have really stepped up. I give them a ton of credit. They’ve absorbed what we’ve thrown at them.
This is also Year 2 of us kinda changing our offensive and defensively philosophy, and putting a greater premium on the character development stuff. And we’re really seeing the fruits of our labor with that.
Casey: Last week, you beat Dakota Ridge 48-27. I think people thought you were a good team, but I think that win opened a few eyes. Do you feel that way, too?
Sullivan: I think so. I hope so. As a newer school, you’re always struggling for an identity and trying to get noticed. We had a pretty good idea of what we have here, and then going into the game, our kids knew this was an opportunity for people outside of Aurora to try to take notice.
We hope that happened, and we’re on to the next week. We have a big game against Hinkley, who is also undefeated.
Casey: I was going to say, that’s pretty cool for Aurora Public Schools to have this game on Friday …
Sullivan: It is. It’s awesome. You know, Rangeview has had some great success in basketball, but other than that, there hasn’t been a whole lot of team sports in APS that have garnered a lot of attention, so it is really cool that two teams can go in and play a meaningful game in the middle of the year that has playoff implications.
They’re a good team, and we are really looking forward to this game, as well.
The 2018 season was not kind to Branson/Kim. Winners of just one game, the Bearcats had one of the more difficult seasons in all of Colorado high school football.
But those days appear to be long gone.
Through the first five games of the 2019 season, Branson/Kim has yet to suffer a loss. And it’s not like the team is scraping together games or have just gotten lucky. So far this season the Bearcats have outscored opponents 271-69. They’ve almost doubled the amount of points they scored a year ago and have a legitimate chance to end the regular season unbeaten.
And everyone in the state is noticing.
In recent weeks, they’ve cracked the top 10 of the 6-man state football rankings and are hoping to remain a fixture there for the remainder of the season. Head coach Brad Doherty has done a great job turning things around in just his second year at the helm but will be the first to pass on credit to the rest of his staff and to his players.
But considering the remarkable turnaround the program has seen, Doherty has been named the Denver Broncos High School football coach of the week.
Previous stops: Branson/Kim assistant coach (2015-17); Branson/Kim head coach (2018-present).
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Dan Mohrmann: Why did you initially get into coaching?
Brad Doherty: Well, I was asked by our head coach at the time when we started our football program to assist. I responded to the need. I also got into coaching to spend time with the boys and young men in our community.
In addition to working at our school I’m also the pastor of the only church here in Branson. My wife and I have been involved in youth ministry and kids programs for many years and we noticed that we were connecting less and less with kids as their schedules got fuller and busier with junior high and high school activities, particularly sports and FFA.
We both felt the best way to stay involved with the teens in our school was to be involved in their activities. I began helping out as much as I could with basketball and was asked to be an assistant football coach by our program’s first head coach, Mr. Brad Caldwell.
My wife and I also have three sons (one in high school and two in junior high), all of whom play football. Coaching is a great way for me to spend as much time with my boys as I can.
Mohrmann: What was appealing about the idea of coming into a new program?
Doherty: It was something brand new for our school. We’ve only had a football program for five years. So this was a brand new experience to start something new for our community, just to learn the game and to be around somebody that’s coached for 30 plus years and be around a great group of boys.
Mohrmann: What do you think it’s like from your kids’ perspective to be coached by you?
Doherty: I’d like to think that my players feel respected and treated fairly by me and our coaching staff. I respond best to people when I feel respected by them — this is as true now as it was when I was a teenager. We also love to laugh at ourselves and each other.
Mohrmann: How much has your staff played into the turnaround you’ve had from last year to this year?
Doherty: I am currently the AD and head football coach for our school. After last year’s very difficult season (1-7 record and only nine players), my one assistant coach from last year, Chris Martinez, and I realized we needed to improve our program to give the young men we’ve been blessed with the best experience possible.
Last spring, our junior high football coach, John Cranson, encouraged me to cast a vision statement for our program. Working with him and Coach Martinez, we came up with the following statement for our program: “The Bearcat Football Program exists to develop young adults into student-athletes that strive for personal, academic, and athletic excellence.” This captures our shared belief that our goal is building up young men of character and integrity, and football happens to be a tool we get to use to help accomplish that goal.
The next step in the program improvement process was asking for help. Chris and I reached out to several men in our community with football experience and a heart for helping kids. We were blessed with the response.
We added two new assistant coaches: Adam Lucero (a teacher at our co-op school, Kim) and Carlos Duran. I can’t give enough credit to Coach Lucero for the guidance and inspiration he’s been to the team. He has instilled a belief in the boys that they can accomplish great things if they put in the work. His experience playing college football and his exposure to great coaching staffs has brought an invaluable perspective to everything we do.
Very early on in the process I could very easily see his natural gifting as a coach and his heart for the team, so I gave him the reigns and freedom to run with the program. Several other men in the community also stepped up to assist during games as additional eyes and voices on the sidelines. With this level of commitment from men in our community, we had a great foundation of leadership going into this season.
In 6-man football, just a few kids makes a huge difference. Last year, we only had nine varsity players. This made for challenging practices (not enough for a 6-on-6 scrimmage) and nearly impossible games where most of our boys had to play every down.
This season we knew we had seven returning players and four incoming freshmen. The new vision and coaching staff helped generate some excitement and we added four new boys that didn’t play last year.
It also helps that those boys are pretty athletic! With 15 boys on the roster, we can run much more productive practices and have enough fresh legs on the sidelines to last the whole game.
With the addition of new coaching staff and more players, I’ve become more of a GM and less of a “head coach.” I focus less on X’s and O’s and more on strategic and logistic functions for the team.
My duties revolve around travel planning for games and practices, scheduling weekly team dinners and foosball matches at my house, getting game film for upcoming opponents, washing water bottles and making Gatorade, making sure the field gets painted, setting up video recording equipment, borrowing bleachers from our co-op school, checking eligibility and keeping all of “my boys” accountable.
Mohrmann: What’s the hardest part about now having these expectations? You’re 5-0, are you losing sleep at all over this winning streak; that it might come to an end?
Doherty: Well, hopefully if it will come to an end, it comes to an end before we get to the postseason. We don’t want it to come through and end there. It’s a good bunch of boys, a good bunch of athletes that, that have really bonded well.
The challenge at this point is keeping them focused on the task at hand. Not getting caught up in the attention or rankings or if we may or may not show up on Colorado Preps or MaxPreps or wherever, but just taking care of their business in the right now. Keeping their heads where they need to be is kind of a challenge.
Mohrmann: How do they respond to that challenge of just focusing on the task at hand and not maybe taking a peek at these media outlets to see if people are giving them the credit that they need?
Doherty: I think they are doing it well. You know, we’re still young. We’re still the underdog, Yes, we cracked the top 10, but we’re not near the top in everybody else’s eyes. That kind of fuels the fire and we encourage them to not really take any of that into consideration.
Those decisions are made by people that don’t know them and only they know them and their desire and determination. We try to just keep it focused inward as much as possible.
Mohrmann: I’ve talked to players who have really enjoyed playing the 6-man game. How much fun is it or how challenging is it to coach the 6-man game?
Doherty: It’s a blast. It is a couple of notches up from backyard football. The hits are just as hard and just as fast. And I think they may even be a little faster and harder because the field’s more wide open.
You have to be creative with your plays. You have to be creative with your defensive schemes. But you can’t get away from the fundamentals. If you don’t block, you don’t win ball games. You don’t tackle, you don’t win ball games.
You have to think outside the traditional box, but not let go of the fundamentals.
Mohrmann: I’ve seen 6-man games and they’re often a scoring Bonanza except for the teams that have been playing you this year. What is it been about your defense that’s kept every team from scoring more than 20 points?
Doherty: We have a bunch of boys that have embraced that dog mentality. They don’t like allowing people to score. They take it personal. Not against the other players but against their own expectations. And it’s their goal to keep everybody out of the end zone and they put it on the line.
We hang our hat on defense and they’ve really embraced that. A lot of that came from our new assistant coach Adam Lucero instilling that fight in each of them and they’ve risen to the occasion.
Mohrmann: You have three regular season games left and then the playoffs get rolling. What’s in store for the rest of the season for Branson/Kim?
Doherty: We’re really trying to take it one game at a time and stay focused. We have two home games and one more away game, I believe. It’s really a matter of keeping the boys kind of looking at it one step at a time, not getting too excited about the postseason or about our conference and really tried to prepare every game like we’re preparing for the championship.
Whether it’s against a Kit Carson or a Stratton/Liberty or one of the perennial powerhouses, that’s what we want them to prepare for every practice.
Mohrmann: What’s it going to be like going into next year for you now the expectations of this season where you came out on and caught fire and won a lot of games?
Doherty: There will be an expectation to continue the success. We will lose five seniors, which will be a challenge for us. But we will gain six freshman, several of which are pretty athletic and the kids that we’ll still have from this year moving forward are a great core.
I think we’ve got the tools in place to continue the success, but yes the expectation will definitely be there.
