CHSAANow

Category: Q&A

  • Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week: Silver Creek’s Brian McGee

    Monarch Vs Silver Creek Football
    (Matthew Jonas/BoCoPreps.com)

    Brian McGee only had about a month to prepare for his first season as a head football coach last year.

    The time crunch as he finalized a staff and installed a new offensive system led to some struggles, and Silver Creek went 2-8 in 2018.

    This year, they had an entire offseason to prepare for the season, and McGee’s players have bought in to what the second-year coach wants to do.

    Already, Silver Creek, sitting a 3-0, has eclipsed last year’s win total. Included are wins over Thomas Jefferson in Week 1 and a 17-14 upset of then-No. 9 Windsor last week. It was a win that was sealed by senior Caleb Sedegan’s goal-line interception late in the fourth quarter.

    “That was definitely one of the best moments I’ve had as a head coach, without a doubt,” McGee said.

    McGee is this week’s Denver Broncos High School Football Coach of the Week.

    The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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    Brian McGee bio

    Years as head coach: 2 (5-8)

    Years at Silver Creek: 2 (5-8, 3-0 this season)

    Previous stops: Silver Creek defensive line coach (2002-03); Silver Creek defensive coordinator (2004-17); Silver Creek head coach (2018-present).

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    Ryan Casey: What made you want to get into coaching?

    Brian McGee: Well I grew up in Longmont and went to Longmont High School and played for coach Gordon Cramer and coach VanderMolen were my coaches at Longmont High School. After I got out of high school, I went to CSU for a couple of years and then went into the military. Spent six years in the military and then came out and basically went to work in industry, and worked in industry for about 18 years and kind of started coaching before I started teaching.

    And I love it. I love the game of football. I love what playing the game gave to me when I was in high school. And I love the fact that I can give back to these kids at the high school level and, and hopefully give them some of the stuff that football gave to me when I was playing.

    Matter of fact, when the company I worked for told me they wanted me to stop coaching football, my wife basically told me, “You don’t want to stop coaching football. You love it too much. Just get your teaching license.” And so that’s what I did. I teach business education.

    Casey: What kind of coach do you think you are? How do you think it feels to be coached by you?

    McGee: I think my players understand that I’m going to hold them accountable. I’m going to push them to achieve what I see their potential is, which sometimes they don’t necessarily agree with me, but I hope they know that I love them.

    When I push them it’s because I know that they can give me more than what they’re giving me. And when we get to that point and when that happens, I think they learn that they’ve got more in them than they thought they had. It makes me feel proud that they’re living up to what I knew they could do.

    Casey: What has the transition to 4A for the program been like?

    McGee: I was here when Silver Creek was in its glory days — three state championship appearances in a row, winning one of them. Really the difference between those days and even last year and this year are really the kids. Do we get the buy-in from the kids?

    I think the biggest difference between 3A and 4A is just the depth of your team. We’ve never had great depth just because of the size of our school. I mean we’re a smaller 4A school, but even with that, when we’ve had those teams where the seniors really buy into what we’re trying to do or they’re committed to doing what we ask them to do and they bring everybody along with them. Those are the years we’ve been successful. And you just don’t get that every year.

    You know, we can’t go out and recruit. And so we get the kids that we get, and hopefully if we start them off as freshmen and by the time they get to being seniors, they know what it is. But that doesn’t always happen. Your class numbers vary all the time. It’s a process and every high school in the state of Colorado has the same issue.

    It’s just, do I have that core group of kids that I can lean on and depend on that are going to bring everybody up around them? And when you have those kids, good things happen. And when you don’t have those kids, you struggle.

    Casey: So what’s been the biggest difference from last year to this year? You guys have played some tough teams are are sitting 3-0.

    McGee: Last year was tough because I wasn’t named head coach until right before school started. And so we had to finalize the staff and bring in a new offensive coordinator and do all that kind of stuff right before the beginning of school.

    So we were learning a new system, a little bit of that. We had a fairly good number of seniors, but I don’t think they bought into what we were going to try to do with our new offense with some of the coaching changes that took place, some of that kind of stuff. This year, we had all summer to work with them. We got them all coming into our offseason stuff and being committed to what we were trying to do, not only in the weight room but with our summer conditioning and our 7-on-7s.

    We won our bracket in the Broncos’ 7-on-7, which I think gave us a tremendous boost. We didn’t get to go to Dove Valley because I had too many kids also playing baseball. So we gave that spot up. But we got to do all those kinds of things together as a unit and finalized our coaching staff well before the season started. I think being in that better place was a big part of it. And then also the fact that we’ve got kids that they’ve committed to what we want to do early on over the summer and have put the time in.

    Casey: Take me through last week’s game. Obviously, Windsor is a very prominent program. I think the second quarter seemed to be pretty important for you guys, going up 10 right before half. What was that game like?

    McGee: After going back and forth on the two opening drives and neither one of us really doing anything, being able to go out and get the first score, I think was really important for us. That kind of proved to us, “Hey, we’re in this, we’re here, we’re here to win. We’re not backing down just because they’re Windsor.”

    Being able to go in (at halftime) up 10 points was huge for us. Windsor’s a tough team and they’re going to get their yards and our kids, the resilience we had on the defensive side of the ball, and the fact that we got three takeaways. We went into that game telling our guys, “Look, you know, whoever wins the takeaway battle in this game is probably gonna win the game.” And we won it. And I think that played a key role.

    They made their plays, we got some takeaways and some key moments in their drives that kind of put us in great positions and we took advantage of that.

    If you’re gonna make the playoffs, if you’re going to have that caliber of team, you’ve got to learn how to take advantage when you get those opportunities. And I think we did.

    Casey: You’ve got to be pretty proud as a coach, up three in the fourth quarter, that you guys were able to hold off a late rally.

    McGee: Yeah, I can guarantee you that was a nail-biter there at the end. Them marching down the field and us trying everything we can to stop them.

    When Caleb Sedegan, made that interception down on the goal line to stop their drive, that was definitely one of the best moments I’ve had as a head coach, without a doubt. Because we’d practiced and we’d practiced and we’d put a lot on our defense all year long and they performed when we needed them to. And that was great to see.

  • Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week: Alamosa’s Drew Sandlin

    (Courtesy of Alamosa HS)

    At just 28 years old, Drew Sandlin is one of the youngest high school football coaches in the state. But that doesn’t mean that he’s unable to do the job or even afraid to take on the biggest of challenges.

    That was the case last weekend when he took his Alamosa Mean Moose to the land of the defending Class 2A state champions. The Moose rolled into La Junta as perceived underdogs, but left as the team that shocked the state.

    And that was his goal, to shock the state. He told his players to do it and they listened to what their first-year coach had to say. They rolled out of town with a 22-6 win becoming the first team to beat the Tigers in the regular season in nearly two years.

    For that feat, he has been chosen as the Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.

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    Drew Sandlin bio

    Years as head coach: 1 (2-0)

    Years at Alamosa: 1 (2-0, 2-0 this season)

    Previous stops: Rock Canyon High School wide receivers coach/JV offensive coordinator 2017-18; Alamosa head coach (2019-present).

    [divider]

    (Photo courtesy of Drew Sandlin)

    Mohrmann: How did you originally get into coaching?

    Sandlin: After I finished college, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, I just got a history degree and went back to Denver and got in contact with my old high school, decided to go coach football and absolutely fell in love with it, coaching football and baseball as well.

    Mohrmann: What was the journey like for you to get to Alamosa?

    Sandlin: Yeah, it’s been an interesting journey. My fiance is actually from here, so we both finished school at the same time. She was looking for jobs, she’s a dentist, and they were hiring down here and it just kind of worked out perfectly. We got really lucky.

    Mohrmann: From the perspective of the kids who play for you, what do you think it’s like to be coached by you?

    Sandlin: I think I’m definitely hard on them. I have really high expectations of them, but I think I’m also really a really fair coach. We try to have equity in our relationship and they have a lot of say in the way this program trains.

    Mohrmann: What would be one example of that?

    Sandlin: We have a team council and I let the team council decide what uniforms we wear, what music we listen to, what our conditioning looks like. They just have a lot of say in the way our team goes.

    Mohrmann: What does a win like Friday night do for a program?

    Sandlin: That’s huge. It can be a program builder. That’s a great way to get a program turned around, especially as a new head coach. You get the kids learning into what we’re doing and buying into what we’re doing as well.

    Mohrmann: At what point did you feel like you were in complete control of the game and your guys were in complete control of the game?

    Sandlin: It was like right before the (end of the) first half and we punted the ball and they had a pretty good punt return, and there was a penalty. So they had the ball inside the 20 and our defense just came up with a huge fourth down stop and that’s when things kind of clicked and I thought we’ve got this game.

    Mohrmann: What did you tell the boys afterwards?

    Sandlin: I’m proud of them. Those kids worked really hard this summer. I had them up and 5:45 in the morning every day of the week practicing which is kind of new to them. So I was just proud of all the work that they put in and proud that they’re starting to buy everything.

    Mohrmann: What’s the next step? You want to avoid that let down game, so how do you make sure that they’re focused on the next task at hand?

    Sandlin: Yeah, we always try to take it one game at a time, we always play one game at a time at try to go 1-0. Never look forward to the next week. We just got to keep building on the last one.

    Mohrmann: On that, what are the lessons you can take from Friday night to, to make sure that when they’re able to, they continue looking at the task at hand while still knowing they have the capability of doing great things?

    Sandlin: The biggest thing I preach to them is you, you never know who you’re lining up against. My thing, last week was shock the state. I kept telling the kids shock the state because very few people believed that we had a chance and now we’ve got the target on our backs. So people are going to be playing against us thinking that they can beat us.

    Mohrmann: I know Alamosa is a very intimate community, so what was the reception that you guys got from that one?

    Sandlin: It’s been awesome. The community has been nothing but supportive of me and my family in this program. Just the way they appreciated the kids and just seeing people in the hallway today talking to the kids was really awesome.

    Mohrmann: What was practice like today? The first practice after the win, what did you guys do on the field?

    Sandlin: It was an interesting day. It’s our homecoming week so it’s a head coach’s least favorite week of the year. We had a bunch of homecoming stuff we had to help out with. Our JV team actually had a game today, so we went out and supported them. (We did) a lot of conditioning. I’m hard on them. I conditioned them quite a bit and we conditioned a little bit and then we just went and supported the JV team.

    Mohrmann: Is there any bigger pressure of following up a win against the No. 1 team in the state with making sure you get a win on homecoming?

    Sandlin: Yeah, I’m sure there’s pressure. I try not to feel it. I try to just think about the things that I have control over getting the boys prepared. There always comes from pressure with it, but I try not to let it affect us.

  • Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week: Riverdale Ridge’s Wayne Voorhees

    (Photo courtesy of Wayne Voorhees)

    Historical wins might just be the best wins. It’s hard to say where exactly Riverdale Ridge’s 23-6 win over Jefferson ranks for coach Wayne Voorhees, but in historical terms it might be his most significant.

    The win for the Ravens was the first in the program’s history. They went 0-8 in 2018 but snapped that streak this weekend.

    Braylon Fenderson played a big role, rushing the ball seven times for 113 yards and a touchdown. But as far as Voorhees is concerned, the credit for the for win goes to the team as a whole; everyone from the managers to the last player on the field.

    Voorhees hopes that the Ravens can build on Friday’s win and continue to raise a program still in its infancy to new heights. With his accomplishment last weekend, he is this week’s Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.

    The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

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    Wayne Voorhees bio

    Years as head coach: 17

    Years at Riverdale Ridge: 2 (1-9, 1-1 this season)

    Previous stops: Horizon assistant (1993-99); Legacy defensive coordinator (2002-02); Legacy head coach (2003-17); Riverdale Ridge head coach (2018-present).

    [divider]

    (Photo courtesy of Wayne Voorhees)

    Mohrmann: Why did you initially get into coaching?

    Voorhees: It really is all about the kids and the fact that you get an opportunity to see them grow and develop over four years is a pretty cool deal. And I keep in touch with a lot of my former kids over the years and have created a lot of friendships later on in life down the road that, you know, they’re still your players they’re still your kids.

    Mohrmann: What do you think it’s like from their perspective to be coached by you?

    Voorhees: Well, I would hope that they know that I’m putting them first and that’s both in my professional and my personal life, making sure that they have a good experience, which is probably the number one goal. I want them to have a great high school experience and learn something along the way about out the way to do things.

    Mohrmann: How would you best describe your coaching style?

    Voorhees: I think over the years I’ve known a little bit, but I think the number one thing is we set high expectations for our kids. They know what we’re expecting and they reach to meet that.

    Mohrmann: No one else gets to win the first football game for that program other than you. What was the feeling like when the scoreboard went down to zero and you guys had locked that up?

    Voorhees: Honestly, the first thing was kind of that relief. It kind of felt like we finally got the monkey off our back. And just watching the kids how excited they were was an experience in itself. The fact that all the hard work that they’ve put in got us that win was was amazing.

    Mohrmann: I know you’ve had your fair share of emotional coaching moments. What was more emotional for you – and I know they’re very different – but last Friday or your first game back after your bus crash at Legacy a couple of years ago?

    Voorhees: It was probably this one because the previous one, I mean it was a good feeling and all, but we were winning and they won two games without me. So it wasn’t about me, and this wasn’t about me either, but the fact that we were able to take care of business this time. All the hard work that our kids and coaches and everybody had put in over the last year and a half was what made it that much more special.

    Mohrmann: Again, drawing back to that moment, what did that do for you to put coaching in perspective and made you appreciate what you do for high school kids even more?

    Voorhees: It definitely put things in perspective and how important actual life is versus just wins and losses. I mean that’s obviously in our society that is important as well, but it’s more important to make sure that we’re creating good leaders and good young men and productive members of our community.

    Mohrmann: Have you been able to translate that to the kids now at Riverdale Ridge and was there any of that influence behind what you’ve done for them over the last year and what you did for them on Friday night?

    Voorhees: We talked about last year on the anniversary of 9/11. Not only was it my personal situation, but 9/11, which they hadn’t been born yet. We just talked a little bit about what that meant and how our lives have changed even though they haven’t really realized it. Just kind of put some things in perspective that our society was a lot different before that took place and now here we are where we are and how we continue to try and move forward and build community and those kinds of things.

    Mohrmann: How did you relate that directly to football? It’s a good and very interesting way of framing that perspective. But with them not being born when that happened, how do you relate that to them on the football field?

    Voorhees: There was a lot of question of whether or not we should play a game or not. And that was at the NFL level all the way down to the high school level. (We also talked about) what that national anthem meant to us. When we think about kickoff and everything, you know, that that’s what really starts off our season is the national anthem right before kickoff and Friday night lights and all that kind of stuff and just brought it all together.

    Mohrmann: With this win now under your belt, what do you do, what does your staff do, what are your players doing to make sure that you guys latch onto that momentum and keep building on it?

    Voorhees: Number one, we now know what it feels to win and that’s our expectation. So one of our big models, I guess, would be trust the process, which we talked about from the very beginning is that this is a process. It’s not going to happen overnight.

    I’ve read the book by Bill Walsh, The Score Takes Care of Itself and that’s absolutely the way we approach things. So all the little things that we do, whether we’re talking about our weekly eligibility, the way we’re doing things in the classroom, in the school, etc. All that plays a part into us being successful and winning on Friday night. That’s been that whole culmination of all that work put together and now we have to continue to expect that. Those expectations are going to put us in the win column hopefully a few more times.

    Mohrmann: In terms of your football coaching memories, where do you think Friday night is going stack up?

    Voorhees: You know, it’s definitely up in the top two or three. I started Legacy as an assistant coach, so it wasn’t quite the exact same thing. And I opened Horizon as a player kind of in the same situation. I really have three first wins of a program, which is pretty remarkable and each one of them has their place in my heart.

  • Broncos high school football coach of the week: Thornton’s Nick Trombetta

    (Photo: Adam Hothersall)

    Nick Trombetta wants to build something at Thornton. He calls it a “Trojan Spirit,” and talks about how he wants to return his Class 4A football program to relevancy.

    Well, that plan got a major spark in the form of a 27-20 win over rival Northglenn on Friday night. It was the first time Thornton had beaten their rival in 14 years.

    It means the I-25 Bowl trophy will be housed at Thornton High School for the first time since it was created.

    And alumni have taken notice.

    “It’s a big deal for our community,” Trombetta said this week.

    Now, Trombetta has been named the Denver Broncos High School Football Coach of the Week.

    The Broncos coach of the week is selected in partnership with the Broncos and CHSCA. Find a complete list of winners on this page.

    [divider]

    Nick Trombetta bio

    Years as head coach: 3 ( overall)

    Years at Thornton: 3 (41-18, 1-0 this season)

    Previous stops: Thornton assistant (2012-15); Denver North assistant (2016); Denver North head coach (2017); Thornton head coach (2018-present).

    [divider]

    (Photo: Adam Hothersall)

    Casey: Can you tell why you decided to become a coach and what you enjoy about it?

    Trombetta: I really wanted to become a coach because I kinda had some negative experiences playing high school ball. So really wanted to make a difference in that aspect because I understand, for a lot of kids, this is it for them.

    You don’t want to have the last time you coached or the last time you played to have been soured by a negative interaction with a coach or anything like that. Then initially, way back when I was in middle school, I had a coach that I had decided I was done with football and he actually had stopped me walking home from school my eighth grade year and convinced me to play youth football and like suited me up out of old equipment in his garage.

    He put me out there. They put the ball on my hands for the first time as a running back and I kinda refound my love of the game. So it was like both positive and negative experiences that really drove me to wanting to coach and make a difference that way.

    Casey: What do you think your players feel like it’s like to be coached by you?

    Trombetta: Well I can say probably depends on who you ask. I think my passion is probably the most prevailing factor. I’m a little more toned down this year than I was last year, but I think that they can just really see my passion for them and their lives post high school.

    I am really just trying to make sure that they’re going to be good citizens, dads, husbands — whatever they’re going to be after high school — to try to make sure that they’re ready to do that type of stuff. I always try to make myself the worst coach on my staff from a football standpoint.

    Casey: That’s smart.

    Trombetta: Yes. I mean, they’re not gonna confuse me for — you know, name of famous coach. They’re not going to mistake me for any of that stuff. But they just know that I’m the father figure for a lot of guys and I’m going to hold them accountable for things that other people in life aren’t ready to hold them accountable for.

    Casey: So do you have an overarching goal or maybe mission or vision that you’re trying to accomplish at Thornton?

    Trombetta: Well, being a grad there, we always have fond memories of our high schools and I really wanna try to return this back to relevance. It’s been been a really, really long time since Thornton with the relevant football program. And part of it is just trying to make it important at the school to play again.

    Our participation numbers have risen slightly from last year to this year. So in order for the participation numbers to keep rising, we have to make it for kids to want be football players there. And it’s kind of where we’re at right now is just trying to make it an atmosphere that kids want to be a part of.

    At the end of the day, I want to return back to 5A as a program. I think that’s important. We’re the only Adams 12 program that’s not 5A. So I would definitely like to be able to return back to 5A, be able to field three levels, and part of that is winning games so that kids are excited to come out and play.

    Casey: Can you take me into your pregame locker room on Friday? What did you guys talk about?

    Trombetta: I kind of flipped flop back and forth between not trying to make it bigger than it needed to be because it’s Week 1, but also honoring the tradition of the rivalry. We talked a lot about how Thornton had won nine times in the past 52 years, 53 years.

    Casey: That’s crazy.

    Trombetta: And we hadn’t won obviously in 14 years. So a lot of it was, “We can either concentrate on what history dictates or, we can embrace who we are in the moment.”

    Casey: That’s interesting because some coaches try to avoid stuff like, “Oh, we know we haven’t beat them in 14 years,” but you guys met that head on and they were fully aware of that?

    Trombetta: Oh, 100%. Yeah. I wasn’t gonna run from it because I think that it’s important.

    We have some initials on the back of our helmets from some former Thornton players throughout the years that have passed away just this past year. And there was a big talk about how we don’t take what happened last year or the year before or the previous 14 years into a game. You take the spirit of all those people that played before into it.

    I kind of framed it as like you have one school just trying to avoid losing and I view us as somebody that’s trying to like establish a spirit, a Trojan Spirit that we’re trying to bring to the forefront.

    Casey: What’s interesting about that game though is you kick kicked the ball off and then had an hour weather delay and then didn’t you come out and fumble on your first possession?

    Trombetta: First two possessions!

    Casey: So how did you recover from that? That’s a really disjointed start, I imagine.

    Trombetta: Our boys just don’t — we just worry about what we can control. I mean, past years, a Thornton football teams would have definitely folded up camp at that point. But this is a special group of young men and they just don’t — sometimes things for good and for bad just don’t register with them. And I don’t think that they ever felt in any true danger.

    I think we worry about us. We don’t do a lot of, “Oh, we’re playing so-and-so this week.” Although we talked about the streak against Northglenn, and this week, we’ll talk about how Delta’s got a really good squad. They got a really good quarterback. But we don’t — we’ll game plan for what they do, but we kinda worry about us.

    And we knew against Northglenn, watching film and with some of the weapons we have on offense, we knew that we were going to have shots. Our defense was playing well. And I think once the defense got that stop on that second fumble, we were able to settle in, and then Ethan was able to find JR on that first touchdown. We kind of knew we were rolling at that point.

    Casey: Well, and then you had that spurt at the end of the first quarter where all of a sudden you’re up two touchdowns. What was it like then, and what was the halftime locker room like?

    Trombetta: We went up 20-7 and we were kind of in uncharted territory. We’re all kind of looking around and we hadn’t played well, but we were still up a couple of touchdowns. We went into halftime and we gave the whole, “It’s 0-0,” like all coaches say.

    I mean, you could see it in their eyes, and our boys, as much as we condition them, I was shocked: We were gassed. Boys were starting to cramp up. I think a combination of a lot of things. I think that the juices were flowing and they were going hard.

    We talked about, “You guys got 24 minutes to rewrite your legacies,” and (laughs) they made it interesting.

    Casey: Yes, they did at the very end there. So, what’s the reaction been like since the win?

    Trombetta: The reaction has been crazy. I’ve heard from a lot my coaching mentors, like coach Marquez, coach Brothers at Holy Family. Some guys that I lean on. I heard from some of the guys that I coached with the Denver North. I heard from guys at Prospect Ridge.

    The outpourings of, “Way to go,” it’s been really, really awesome. The school is on cloud nine right now. I mean, that trophy only exists because it has all that red on it because Northglenn made it. We didn’t make the trophy.

    Casey: Is that right?

    Trombetta: The trophy has never actually been at Thorton High School before. It has never been there. I just dropped that off this morning. It was like the Stanley Cup and it’s spent the weekend at my house.

    I mean it’s a cool feeling. I think the boys are — I gave him Monday off to kind of refuel and relax. It’s all kind of a whirlwind. I mean just the alumni the kids rushing the field.

    I think my favorite moment of the whole thing is I was probably the first one onto the field and then I turned around, I was just like a wave of humanity.

    And people started hugging me and I didn’t even know who anybody was. And then my daughter who is a senior at Thornton came running and hugged me and she was sobbing and it was just like this whole — I don’t want to downplay, I know it’s one game and it’s Week 1 — but when you’re talking about 10 wins in 53 years and two wins in the past 30. I mean it’s a big deal for our community.

    The alumni has been very excited. I mean, the people that I don’t even know are reaching out to me. Yeah, the whole thing, it’s just been a surreal, and then this Coach of the Week honor it’s like, I’m just a guy, you know, standing on the sidelines at a 4A school in Thornton.

    It’s all a little bit surreal and it’s all because the boys refused to be No. 15.

  • Q&A: Alamosa AD Erik Melgoza on developing athletes in different roles

    (Photo courtesy of Erik Melgoza)

    Five minutes into a conversation with Alamosa athletic director Erik Melgoza and it’s clear developing student-athletes is why he wakes up every morning.

    He has served many roles through his career in education. He reached the top of the mountain as the girls basketball coach at Lamar as he guided the team to a Class 3A state title in 2017. At the conclusion of the 2017-18 year, he took on a different challenge by moving into his current role at Alamosa.

    Though he no longer works directly with student-athletes, he is never shy about promoting the accomplishments of the kids competing under the banner. And it doesn’t stop with the kids at Alamosa. If a student-athlete has done something incredible, he doesn’t hesitate to applaud and congratulate them, regardless of the name on their jersey.

    As the 2019-20 school year is set to begin in the coming weeks, Melgoza took the time to chat about the differences between coaching and administration and how he continues to play a role the athletic development of high school kids.

    [divider]

    Question: What’s the biggest difference between working with a kid directly as a coach and from a bigger role as an athletic director?

    Melgoza: You know, the biggest difference is that I’m able to talk to more kids. I get to see kids across different spectrum as far as different sports. I get to interact with the gymnastics kids or the soccer kids or the football kids, cross country kids instead of just cross country kids (as a coach). I think the interaction with all groups is really cool.

    Q: What did you learn from your first year in that role that you hope to apply moving forward?

    Melgoza: The biggest thing in my first year that I learned personally is I need to convey things to my AD a lot more (as a coach). I want to be that AD; I have my coaches call me coach because I don’t want to forget where I came from. I really want to be a servant leader in that capacity.

    I think I could have facilitated that a little more with my former AD’s as far as working with them more, asking more questions, kind of just being around them and understanding their point of view. I think you’d go into a job and you always say, “You know, if I was the AD I would do it this way.” But when you get in the job, you realize there’s reasons why you can’t do it that way. I think just the communication with my AD’s would have been a lot better.

    (Photo courtesy of Erik Melgoza)

    Q: What’s the advantage of being an athletic director in a small community town like Alamosa?

    Melgoza: I don’t know if there’s an advantage. We’re big enough, right at 600 kids, but we’re not really small. We offer 17 sports plus the activities plus the AP so there are a lot of responsibilities with it. I think a little smaller school district like a Lamar with 400 kids, it doesn’t seem like a lot of difference in the number of kids, but 200 kids makes a huge difference and adding all those other sports. Even though we are relatively small, I don’t know that there’s really an advantage cause I still don’t know everybody.

    Q: Does it feel like you’re more tied into a community though, even with 200 extra kids being where you are in the state?

    Melgoza: Absolutely. I think if you start going up to say 800 or 1,000 kids, you don’t have the community feel. I’ve been in a larger school district as far as watching their sports programs and stuff and it’s just not that family atmosphere is not the brother you know. You know your linebacker’s little brothers in seventh grade. You know your freshman coming in has siblings in third and fourth grade. You understand those community ties. You know grandma and grandpa and that’s not always the case in a larger school.

    So this is probably about as biggest school as you can go to and still get that hometown family feeling.

    Q: As a coach and a teacher, you just primarily have to worry about kids and their grades and their performance on the court and their development. I think with the administration, there’s a lot more that goes into it. But how much of those core beliefs you try and hold on to in your role as an athletic director?

    Melgoza: Every one of them. My first and foremost core belief as a coach was to be a servant leader. That’s one thing I want to teach my kids. As an athletic director, I want to model that for my coaches and I want to teach them to be servant leaders. I think sometimes they get put out there on an island and they don’t feel supported. Parents are coming back from their job every day and there troubles at home and that we expect them to win on Friday and Saturday. So I think they need a lot of support. They’re kind of feeling like they’re on an island out there. First and foremost, servant leadership is as my core value that I want to teach my coaches.

    Q: How much do you feel still feeling ingrained in the direct athletic atmosphere as opposed to maybe that perceived step back with administration?

    Melgoza: I don’t want to tell my coaches how a coach necessarily, but man, I miss coaching. I miss that day to day planning. I miss the strategy. I miss the interaction with the kids and the one on one of that cross country runner and we’re going to talk about a race plan. I don’t get to do that anymore.

    Instead it’s bus scheduling, facilities, meal money. It’s making sure your coaches are on arbiter and all of those other things. And I still try to find time just to ask a kid, “Hey, how’d your race go?”

    Just talking to a kid at lunch and seeing their eyes light up when, when somebody asks how they did on Friday and Saturday. That still gives me that same buzz as a coach that I always had.

    Q: Do you feel like they get that level of excitement with you because you’ve been in the shoes of a coach now you’re still trying to make sure you’re tied in with them that way?

    Melgoza: I think so. Kids ask me about winning a state championship and I always try and go back and tell them that that part is fun, but it’s always the process that was more fun.

    Maybe (the most fun) wasn’t the team that won it all, maybe it was the team that was third. In cross country we were close several times and it was just the process of the summer workouts, going on camping trips, training in the mountains. I really want the kids to put more of a vested interest in the process as opposed to saying they want a championship. Only one team gets to feel that but everybody gets to feel the process.

    Q: Knowing how much you love athletics at the high school level how great is it to see a kid anywhere in the state, regardless of the uniform they’re wearing, do something special?

    Melgoza: That’s a great feeling. As a coach you kind of focus on your sport, your team. Now as an AD you get to network out there and you know other athletic directors so you kind of follow what they do, you try to emulate the good things and you start following their kids.

    Cali Clark and Cherry Creek basketball won their first state championship ever and they’ve won all those state championships and every other sport. Alamosa wrestling won their 12th state title this year. I got to see the individuals that went into that and now my first real summer of seeing what goes into that. You look at these baseball teams; you’re looking at a Fowler High School who was second. Maybe they didn’t win it, but I know coach (Mark) Lowther down there and he is always trying to win and master his craft. You see him at every coaching clinic there is.

    You get to network and you see what these guys are really about, not just on the coaching realm but how they implement it with their kids.

    Q: What should we look forward to with Alamosa athletics this year?

    Melgoza: We have great kids here. We put some great coaches in place and they will get the support from the athletic director. The administration here is outstanding all the way up to our superintendent and our board of education. This town is a winner. The college has numerous, All-Americans, numerous championships and they want to win here. And not only in athletics, they want to win in academics too.

    When you have that total piece, it is a recipe for a winning atmosphere.

  • Q&A: Fountain-Fort Carson football coach Jake Novotny dishes on RPI and alignment evolution

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

    Jake Novotny has been battling since the second he took over as the football coach at Fountain-Fort Carson.

    At first it was because he wasn’t Mitch Johnson, the longtime Trojans coach that retired following the 2015 season. Then, his teams benefitted from tough schedules in the early years of the RPI system that determined the playoff fields.

    But through it all, Novotny has been doing everything he can to win over the FFC community and get his players to buy in to his program. After all, he wants nothing but success for the young men that take the field for him each week.

    Novotny took the time to chat with CHSAANow.com on his time since taking over for Mitch, the early RPI years and the evolution of high school football in Colorado, including the Trojans move to Class 4A in 2020.

    [divider]

    (Photo courtesy of Jared Felice/Fountain-Fort Carson athletics)

    Question: You came into the job at Fountain-Fort Carson under some tough circumstances, do you feel now after three years that it’s becoming more your program and those issues are starting to fade away?

    Novotny: Absolutely. I felt that way the last couple of years. I’ll say the first class that has been with me all four years. That’s exciting, but in all honesty, you as soon as you walk in the door, they’re your kids. They’ve been our kids the last three years no matter what. But, but for sure this is the first year where we feel like what we’re stressing the program is when all those guys have known.

    Q: Your running back, Alexisius “Q” Jones, was having a standout year before suffering a leg injury that ended his year. What’s his status right now and what do you expect out of him this fall?

    Novotny: Yeah, he’s on track, man. He’s a, he’s pretty close to 100 percent. I wouldn’t say he’s fully there yet, but he’s between 95 and 100. He’s done every 7-on-7 with us. He was lifting with us as soon as he was able to through the doctor standpoint. And that was about mid-February that he was lifting with us.

    We’ve kind of been slowly progressing him in the running stuff. We kind of slowed that down a little bit in the springtime and we’ve picked it back up throughout the summer. We held them out of our 10-day camp this summer, but that was precautionary, not because he couldn’t do it. He did everything but live contact. This is really a big summer for him in terms of recruiting purposes, so we want to make sure we can still do a few camps.

    We scaled back a little bit in terms of how many we planned on doing initially and just kind of hit some of the ones he had been invited to and a couple others he was interested in; a couple of college camps and everything else that we’ve done the summer. He’s working through managing the pain just like anybody would come back from an injury. Every day he’s feeling more confident so he’s on track for August 3, it’s really exciting.

    The biggest thing in all honesty to answer the last part of your question is I expect him to be humble and hungry. And I think when you get the game taken away from you like that and kind of stare in the face of potentially never playing again, it kind of changes a little bit and how you approach the game and prepare for it. I think that he’s kind of had that realization in the offseason and he’s hungry to get back on the field.

    Q: You mentioned 7-on-7 stuff. What is the biggest benefit of 7-on-7 camps that the casual observer doesn’t see?

    Novotny: There are three benefits I see. The first thing in 7-on-7, you’re not playing real football. So, like you said, you’ve got to figure out what’s the benefit. For us, number one, it’s an opportunity to put yourself in competitive situations that you can’t do outside of your 10-day camps in the summertime. We’re not basketball or baseball where we get to play 50, 60 offseason, summer league games. The closest we get to that as a two week, 10-day camp and we only get one scrimmage if we choose to do that in that time frame. It’s about giving your guys an opportunity to go out and compete in the most realistic situation you can within the rules. So that’s the first thing.

    Second thing, I think it’s an opportunity to work on your base passing game on the offensive side of the ball and then your base coverages on the defense side of the ball. That’s something that we really try to make sure we focus on. We’re not going to go and play something on offense or defense that we’re not going to play in the season and if that hinders us winning a 7-on-7 game, that’s okay. We want to be good at our base one or two or three coverages and our base plays offensively there that we know are going to be stables for us in the regular season.

    The third thing is that I think it’s really a great opportunity for your kids to really bond with each other and with the coaches. And I think, kind of going back to your first question, this is the first year I’ve really seen that kind of blossom throughout the summer. Just kids having fun with each other. We ‘ve had to travel to Denver for most of these things so we’re stopping to get lunch or dinner on the way back and there are opportunities for kids and coaches to get to know each other in a deeper level outside of just football. I think that’s important. So those are really the three things that I look at for that.

    Q: Do you think 7-on-7 work is the closest atmosphere to a college spring season that kids at the high school level can see?

    Novotny: No I don’t actually. I would actually say that the closest things you get for spring ball for a high school is the 10-day camp that we have. And depending on when you run it, to me, that’s the closest thing you get to that. I think if you run that at the start of the summer, which we do, so we treat that as like a spring practice where we’re looking at certain positions and who’s going to take over those positions.

    We’re looking at getting good at our base schemes on both sides. We’re looking to install some fundamentals and then also try out some things that we haven’t before really with no pressure of trying to play a game. The 7-on-7 and the prospect camps and all the different things that happen in the summer for high schools are kind of just something special that happens in high school or something that that is kind of just different from realm.

    The 7-on-7 stuff is just it’s to play in the summertime. You have limitations on who can work with who and who can’t and when you can work with them. To me that the closest thing that you get to a summer or to a spring college ball is that that summer 10-day camp, especially if you run it at the start of the year.

    Q: You guys were beneficiaries of the early RPI system, do you think the system is evolving moving in the direction that it needs to go?

    Novotny: We have definitely benefited from the RPI system and initially those first couple of years weren’t necessarily something that was planned. The schedule was made and we just so happen to have a really tough schedule and you couple that with taking over a program and the situation that we took it over in and that was a challenge for sure. Just like I told anybody before that we’ve definitely benefited from it and I think that’s helped our program.

    I also do think that they are looking at it the right way in terms of playoff seeding and why they’re doing it. I’ve seen it shift a little bit.

    I would tell you that one thing that that is always something that will be hard for coaches across the state to argue with is when we start making sure that we pay attention to who our opponents are and once that’s valued the right way, all of that stuff takes care of itself.

    Quite honestly, CHSAA is moving towards that and has done things and changed the formula. That’s the way it is and that’s the way we have to play right now. That’s the way it’s going to be in 4A when we move into it. And so for us, we’ve already had the opportunity to plan that so we have a good understanding of how it works. But for strictly playoff (qualification), I think the RPI is strictly the way to go, especially with the two-year cycle. Things are being looked at and evaluated from a conference standpoint so sometimes difficult to predict those types of things if you were just going off some of the old ways that we had had previously.

    Q: As you mentioned, you guys are dropping down to 4A next cycle. Is it bittersweet considering the rivalry you’ve had with Doherty (the only other 5A team in Colorado Springs) and the opportunities it might give your kids down the line?

    Novotny: Yes and no. Number one, to answer the thing about Doherty, we’ve made a commitment with previously Coach (Jeff) Krumlauf now, Coach (Dwight) Hale that we’re going to continue to play each other. We’re already on the schedule for each other. The next cycle was kind of talked about with that already. So I don’t think that that’s going to go away. So on one end, yes, but I don’t think that’s gonna change much.

    And in all honesty, the drop down to 4A was something that me and (athletic director Jared) Felice sat down and looked at a lot of things.

    Number one being the population of our school in terms of the number of students that go there has dipped a little bit and that’s directly related to the deployment numbers in Fort Carson area. It’s just kind of the trends of kind of different from what it was a few years back and which we have zero control. So looking at that and then looking at, this where our program is currently and where we want it to be in the long term and really giving our kids the best opportunity to be successful against similar schools to us.

    Really if you look at this region outside of us and Doherty, so you get to Castle Rock, every Colorado Springs school plays 4A or lower. When we start seeing the trends in our school population that way and we start seeing those different things, it just made sense to give our kids the opportunity to compete against like schools, number one.

    Number two, to have an opportunity to compete against some schools that would build some community excitement on both ends. Mesa Ridge being in our conference, playing Rampart, playing a lot of those different schools that I’ve never coached against, a lot of our kids never played against with this group that we have now and coming up.

    So to me, I think that stuff makes a lot of sense. Those was kind of the main facts behind a lot of it. That the school population piece and then finding the best situation for our school, where we’re currently at and where we can see the best opportunity for our kids to succeed.

    Q: As far as you can look ahead, what excites you the most about the evolution of high school football in Colorado?

    Novotny: You know, that’s a loaded question. It could be a lot of different things. I think for me and from the people in the circles that I’m around, I think the things that would be honestly a good step in the right direction is consistency across the board with alignment. Consistently across the board with, with league alignments and classification alignments. We’re starting to see that consistency trickle into the playoff part as well.

    But that’s the biggest frustration a lot of coaches will have, whether they’ll say it or not, it’s just a state where every two years we’re evaluating and changing and looking at some of those different things. And for good reason. I’m not here to say those are for bad reasons. I just think maybe we can be more consistent on that. I think that would do a lot to help a lot of people out.

    And then the other part too that becomes a challenge as directly linked to this too is out of conference scheduling. Because of that lack of consistency, it can become difficult. Just from our perspective, because of us with this last cycle and it being announced earlier than usual and guys are trying to fill out a conference schedule, and we went from 4A to 5A and back to 4A, we’re, we’re still having trouble finding some games here and there which we’ll find. But I just think that’s something that can be helped down the road as well.

  • Q&A: Loveland softball’s Laurin Krings is all business with the ball in her hand

    State softball Laurin Krings Loveland
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    In 2018, Loveland softball pitcher Laurin Krings let her actions speak louder than her words. And she did it consistently.

    Throughout the season, Krings had three games where she threw five or more innings and never surrendered a hit. She threw a two-inning no-hitter in a 23-0 win over Thornton on Aug. 18. She’ll be the first to say that she does it with the help of the defense behind her.

    But the strikeout numbers cannot be ignored.

    Krings led all classifications by striking out 392 hitters. She did that over the course of 192 innings. The Indians made a run in the Class 5A state tournament where they advanced to the semifinals before falling to Cherokee Trail.

    Krings came away with Gatorade player of the year honors and has committed to play softball at Missouri.

    But she still has a senior season to go. She shared some thoughts on what she accomplished last year and how she and her teammates plan on attacking the 2019 season.

    [divider]

    State softball Laurin Krings Loveland
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    Question: You started throwing no-hitters early in the year. Is hard to get into a groove like that so early?

    Krings: At the beginning of the school year I had just come out of summer ball and then that definitely helped me. I play, I was on Nebraska team at the highest level I can play at. So that definitely carries over to the high school season.

    Q: What’s going on in your head when you’re in that circle that you are such a dominant pitcher?

    Krings: When I’m in the circle, I’m just thinking, let’s just go after them with that first pitch. If I don’t get that pitch, then I know the next pitch, I got it. You just feel relaxed when you’re in there.

    Q: What’s your best memory from last season?

    Krings: Probably just state and all the energy we had going into it. We played really well at regionals and then just the energy that my team brought to state. We got to the Final 4 and that was really cool.

    Q: How do you build on that finish and make sure that you go further in the state tournament next year?

    Krings: We have a lot of the same girls; we only graduated two. I think we’re just really excited to get back out there and we just have that same energy we did last year in the Final 4. We have some talented kids coming up to so that should be really fun for us.

    Q: You threw a ton of innings last year, how do you shoulder the responsibility of being such a key part of this team each game?

    Krings: We have a really good defense, so if they get a hit, I know my defense has my back. When I get in the zone, I’m just focusing on the game and honestly I’m just trying to do my job for my team.

    Q: It’s hard not to notice when you’re striking out a lot of hitters or no one’s gotten a base hit so how do you keep yourself gathered in those situations?

    Krings: I honestly don’t keep track of strikeouts and no-hitters. Someone usually comes up and says “good job, that was a no-hitter” or something like that. So I’m always just focusing on a single batter at time and it’s cool if I get a no-hitter.

    Q: What are you looking forward to the most for next year?

    Krings: I’m just excited to represent my high school and just compete for my high school and represent us.

    Q: What’s the one thing you learned from state last year that you have to apply to the 2019 season?

    Krings: We just need to focus and just work hard. That’s all we can ask for.

  • Q&A: Fairview quarterback Aidan Atkinson talks about expectations for his senior year

    Fairview Boulder football
    (Steve Oathout)

    What a year Fairview quarterback Aidan Atkinson had. The senior to be be had no problem slinging the ball all over the yard, and doing it successfully to boot.

    The numbers that he put up in 2018 were more akin to numbers one would see in a video game statline than a high school football boxscore on MaxPreps.

    After setting 11-man records in passing yards (687) and touchdowns (nine) in a single game, he went on to establish the single-season touchdown pass record as the year came to a close.

    A clear Division I prospect, Atkinson will head to Northwestern in a year, but is looking forward to his senior season with the Knights.

    After putting up staggering numbers last season and winning the Gatorade player of the year award, Atkinson took time to chat about what this upcoming season holds for him and his teammates at Fairview.

    [divider]

    ThunderRidge Fairview football
    (Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com)

    Question: After the year you had last year, do you feel like there are more expectations on you for your senior season?

    Atkinson: Given the abilities of the receivers that I had, I think a lot was expected just because those guys had been playing for a couple of years and with having to have either reload and having to keep some new guys and new things.

    I don’t think the expectations are to throw for more touchdowns or throw for more yards. I think it’s just in terms of the expectations perspective it’s just produce more in terms of winning more games and getting further in the playoffs. Especially now that I’m a senior and I have a bigger leadership role in the team. I don’t think that the expectations are to throw fo 55 touchdowns again this year.

    I think it’s more so taking a team deeper into the playoffs and being one of those teams that you can look back with Coach (Tom McCartney) and be like, okay, that was one of his better teams.

    Q: So, how do you reconcile that? If you’re not going to throw for 55 touchdowns, how is that going to result in the team winning more games?

    Atkinson: It’s even spread offensively. And then also probably, you know, playing deeper into the class means you’re going to play better teams and spreading the ball around a little bit more in terms of the running backs, and trying to be more, more 60/40 in terms of passing run instead of 90/10.

    I don’t think it’s expected that I’ll throw for that many touchdowns, but I do think it’s still possible to win games. We were putting up like 60 and sometimes there were 50 and 60 points (per game) and a lot of the games we won by a lot.

    But we could have won those games by putting up 30 points and then being done. I don’t think it’s going to be as crazy as it was last year, but that still doesn’t mean that we’re not going to be winning as many football games. Does that make sense?

    Q: Was there ever a point where even you were amazed with what was going on with the production from the offense?

    Atkinson: No, no, not at all. I mean, we do so much stuff in the offseason. It was kind of expected knowing we had three receivers that have already played those traditions for the year prior.

    And then we had a whole offseason together doing 7-on-7 in the winter and then 7-on-7 in the spring and then the whole summer. Honestly it was something that we kind of all expected because of the work that we put in.

    Q: How does the offseason work from last year compare to this season so far?

    Atkinson: It’s probably a different role, teaching all the new guys everything that the old guys had, what I liked about what they did.

    And then the new receivers and the new guys, they obviously bring a new dynamic and a new level of play that might be a little different and a little better than when the guys from last year.

    Overall in this offseason and just having to teach and having to establish myself as a leader. Last year I didn’t really have to do that. We had a great senior class who knew what they wanted to do and we were already all there in front of the talent and skills.

    This year we’re definitely gonna have to make strides in the offseason and that’s going to be indicative of the leadership role that the seniors and the captains have to step into, and that’s something that’s definitely changed from last year.

    Q: What made Northwestern such an appealing school for you?

    Atkinson: I think it just checked all the boxes in terms of you had consistent top-25 football team; last year they finished in the top 25 this year they’re preseason top-25. And then being so close to Chicago and having those opportunities that to further your education. There’s also the chance to play as opposed to some of the other gigantic schools that always recruit big.

    That was appealing as well as the coaching staff. I don’t think you can find a better coaching staff anywhere. You know, I mean, Coach (Pat) Fitz(gerald) and (quarterbacks) coach (Mick) McCall have been there for 10, 15 years and they’ve done a great job.

    Then obviously being the program they are, they’re pro-style. They require pro-style QB’s. All those things kind of mixed together. I don’t think there’s any other program in the country that can really realistically compete with everything that they have, except for maybe like a Stanford, but even then I still chose Northwestern.

    Q: We had a guy in Ty Evans who committed early in his junior year, then some coaching changes happened and he ended up committing to three schools from the time his junior season started to the time he graduated.

    Why is it so important to commit early and make sure everyone knows about it?

    Atkinson: It’s a benefit because a quarterback is the leader on the team and Northwestern, they always have their quarterbacks commit first so that everybody knows this guy’s for real. And when you stick it out with the team for as long as I’ve stuck it out with Northwestern, when you step on campus, everybody knows what you’ve already committed to the team. Everybody knows how much you care about the team. And when you say something, it means something and your word won’t be taken for granted.

    Being able to commit early and you know, being the first guy on the team and establish yourself in that leadership role, even from a kid in high school, will inevitably translate to when you’re there your first day on campus.

    And so committing early and knowing what you want and then actually going through with that, a lot of kids are hesitant to pull the trigger on that. But as a quarterback it’s something that absolutely a necessity in terms of the position that we’re put on.

    Q: What’s the one thing you know today that maybe you didn’t know last year or two years ago?

    Atkinson: Just how good the Fairview offense can be and just the level that we can get to if we put in the work that’s required.

    The numbers were a little insane and I did expect us to be that good. But when all the guys put in the time and the work in the offseason, seeing what they were able to do was really cool and not just for me giving them the ball but from them being able to do their own thing with the ball and not just catching and get tackled, but do something really special with it.

    Knowing that when you put deposits in the bank in terms of your footwork drills in the morning, lift and spring ball practices that you’re going to be able to take withdraws out later in the season and that’s a real thing.

    To put in all that time, that work does get you results. That would be the one thing that I didn’t truly know last year compared to this year.

    Q: What needs to happen this year for you to consider your senior season successful?

    Atkinson: First of all, establishing the brotherhood within the guys that can last a lifetime. I think if you can establish that and be super close with your brothers and the rest of the team, then that will translate into success.

    Having that, but then also winning a state championship. We don’t put in all these hours and hours of work for no reason. And in anything that you do, you should try to be the best. And in our case, the bar is set by winning the state championship. And if you don’t win a state championship, you’re not the best and it’s kind of plain and simple with that. There’s no middle line with that.

    So being able to win a championship and then establishing relationships and a brotherhood with the guys that will last the lifetime is something that a football can make happen if you allow it to.

    So being able to do that is definitely something that will define success for me and success for the rest of the team for my senior year.

    Fairview Boulder football
    (Steve Oathout)

  • Q&A: New Mountain Vista boys basketball coach Brian Wood reflects on his journey

    Smoky Hill Mountain Vista boys basketball
    (Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)

    Brian Wood used to drive his opponents crazy when he was playing basketball at Buena Vista High School.

    There was no doubt that Wood was the best player on the floor in each game that he played. By the time he was done, he was the career scoring leader in Colorado history. That record has since been broken by Akron’s Brady Baer, but Wood’s 2,551 will always be challenging for even the best players in the state to match.

    After his collegiate career at Akron and Colorado State University-Pueblo had concluded, Wood found himself still tied to basketball. In 2008, Wood joined his father, Bob, who had become the coach at Mountain Vista High School.

    After playing for Bob at Buena Vista, Brian now worked with him and the two continued a long-storied connection through basketball.

    Last week Bob stepped down as the coach of the Golden Eagles. The job went to Brian. Bob plans on sticking around and remaining on staff, but from here on out one of the most prolific players in state history will be calling the shots for the first.

    He chatted with CHSAANow.com about everything ranging from playing under his father to now being the guy who calls all the shots.

    [divider]

    Question: What has it been like to grow into this role and to be able to do it next to your dad?

    Wood: It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve had some chances where other schools wanted me to interview and I thought that I’m probably not going to look back at the end of my life and think that I should’ve been a head coach earlier. More like I’m going to look back and be thankful for the time we got to spend together.

    This has always been my dream to be the head coach at Mountain Vista and have my dad working with me. I’m pretty excited.

    Q: So much of your basketball life – from Buena Vista when you were playing to coaching with him at Mountain Vista. I know he’ll be right there with you but is there a part of you that’s either excited for scared that you’re taking the reins and making this your journey?

    Rangeview Mountain Vista boys basketball
    (Marcus Gipson/Jmariahimages.com)

    Wood: I’m definitely excited, I don’t think I’m scared at all. Since I’ve started working with him it’s been kind of an associate head coach situation. I think it’ll be similar with him sitting in the other seat.

    I think the biggest difference is that when there’s a minute left in the game and we call timeout or there’s 20 seconds left, there was a chance I was going to be in the middle of the huddle, now I’m definitely going to be there. I’m excited to put my fingerprint on it. I don’t think a lot will change from a basketball perspective, we believe a lot of the same things and we’ve adjust to some of the stuff I really like here at Mountain Vista.

    We’ve changed and adapted with the times and all that. We’re pretty in line basketball-wise, I might change some things we do in the offseason and stuff like that.

    Q: How is Brian Wood the basketball coach at Mountain Vista different from the Brian Wood the player who set records at Buena Vista?

    Wood: I think the game has changed a lot. I think of some of the things I’ve done very well as a basketball player have been validated and used with advanced metrics. I pretty much shot 3-pointers, layups and free throws and everyone was talking about how the mid-range game had died. Then I came to be validated by all the statistics that what I was doing was actually pretty effective and that panned out for the course of my career.

    As a coach it’s different. I’m way more nervous coaching than playing because I have less of a hand in how it goes. Coaching is just releasing the kids into the game and hope they can do what you’ve prepared them to do. I think by the time you’re 37 you gain a lot of perspective. I think basketball was way more important to 18-year-old Brian Wood than it is to 37-year-old Brian Wood.

    I’m excited to work with kids and keep doing what I’m doing and just be the guy.

    Q: You’re only one of a handful of guys to eclipse 2,000 career points. How much of that can be coached, taught and developed and how much of it is relying on pure skill?

    Wood: I think as a coach, the fact that I could play and can still play from time to time lends me a bit of validity. I think the kids are more apt to listen if you could play.

    I don’t think that’s fair because I know some great coaches that weren’t great players. One of my college coaches was a great coach but he wasn’t a great player.

    I think it lends some validity though, especially if you can transfer those skills. My No. 1 skill was knowledge of the game so I think that some of that can transfer if you can be around kids for four years.

    I think the one thing I found that isn’t transferable is the skill had to be able to draw fouls. That had a lot to do with physicality and my body type and how I was built. That is not something I’ve figured out how to coach kids on. But I think knowledge of the game, I think I tend to see things a step ahead of what some people do, I think you can help kids to get that point.

    Obviously having talent and being good basketball players helps. The fact that people think we haven’t been very talented and we’ve done pretty well means people aren’t very good at recognizing what it means to be good at basketball. We’ve never been physically dominant, but we’ve had really good players and those players have been able to take things we teach and the way we see the game and take it and make it their own.

    Q: What’s the biggest challenge of coaching high school basketball in 2019?

    Wood: It’s multi-faceted, but I think the combination of shortened attention spans and parent involvement. In a place like Highlands Ranch you have parents that are really hyper-involved in academics and athletics. For the most part, I think that’s a great thing. I would rather be dealing with that problem than one where parents weren’t at anything or didn’t care how they did in school and sports.

    I think a lot of times a kid knows exactly where he is and parents don’t. Sometimes that’s challenging. I also think the club culture is challenging. If you’re paying someone $5,000 to $10,000 they’re mostly going to tell you good things whereas we try to tell them the truth.

    The lack of attention, the parent involvement and sometimes we live in a society where you get things right away.

    I still think we get great kids. Last year was as fun as we’ve had in any year of basketball. We had great kids and great parents. Challenges exist but I like the good stuff better than the hard stuff otherwise I wouldn’t have done what I just did.

    Q: How are you like your dad the most and how do you guys differ?

    Wood: I’m the most like him that we’re both passionate and driven and emotional. I’m different from him in the sense that he’s a little more old school in how he deals with his players.

    I’m a little more relational. You’re never going to see me yell at a kid individual or if you do, it’ll be really rare. From him it’s more of a regular thing. I think if I get upset, I’ll direct it more toward a group. That’s probably the biggest difference but there are definitely more similarities than differences to be honest.

    Mountain Vista Rangeview boys basketball
    (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

  • Sedgwick County’s Chris Michel named Denver Broncos high school football coach of the year

    Sedgwick County West Grand football
    (Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

    Heading into the 2018 season, only two 8-man football programs in Colorado had ever won four consecutive state champions.

    That list grew this season when Sedgwick County won its fourth-straight title, defeating Hoehne in November to claim title No. 4. It meant the Cougars joined Hugo (1968-71) and Stratton (1992-95) as the only two 8-man teams to do so.

    The run is more remarkable considering that from 2004-14, Sedgwick County — which is a co-op between Revere and Julesburg high schools — had just two winning seasons. in 2012, they were 1-7. In 2013, they were 3-5.

    Then Chris Michel, who had been an assistant at both Sedgwick County and Merino, took over. His first team, in 2014, was 5-5. They’ve won at least 11 games in each season since — including the four championships.

    A graduate of Merino, Michel is no stranger to 8-man football. He played in three championship games from 2003-05 with Merino, winning two for coach John Barber.

    Michel was voted the 8-man coach of the year by his peers as part of the All-State teams. Now, he has been selected as the 2018 Denver Broncos high school football coach of the year.

    [divider]

    Chris Michel bio

    Years as head coach: 5 (54-7 overall record)

    Years at Sedgwick County: 5 (54-7, 11-1 this season)

    Previous stops: Merino High School assistant coach (2010-11); Sedgwick County assistant coach (2012-13); Sedgwick County head coach (2014-present).

    [divider]

    Chris Michel Sedgwick County football
    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    Question: Well, how easy is it to win four state titles in a row?

    Michel: (Laughs) Well, it’s not easy to win one. It’s definitely a difficult thing. You can’t look at it as, “Let’s go win four in a row.” It’s gotta be, “Let’s make our goal this year to win a state title.” You really have to try to clear the last one out of your mind, and you definitely can’t look forward to the next one. I even try to not reference things from years before, other than things we need to improve upon.

    Sometimes you’ve got to be lucky to win a state title: getting to the end of the year healthy, and have some things fall your way. It’s pretty crazy. I don’t think I fully have a scope of what we did yet, and I probably won’t appreciate it until I’m done coaching and look back and see how incredible that was.

    It’s a difficult thing, and every year, you try to reset, but the target definitely gets bigger and bigger every year, and you can see the teams preparing more and more, and everybody wants to beat us. Luckily, our kids love that. Our kids love having that target, and they really embrace that type of thing, but it definitely gets more and more difficult.

    Sedgwick County Hoehne football
    (Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

    Q: Did you do anything when you took over the program as far as culture? What was your first move as coach?

    Michel: My first year out here at Sedgwick County [as an assistant in 2012], the coaching staff had essentially left that year. The head coach retired, and one of the assistants had left and taken a job in Nebraska, and there really was only one guy left on staff — and he was a wrestling coach, he was really a football coach to help out. So my first year, he was the head coach and I was the assistant. He did a really good job of letting me come in and change things.

    I figured out very quickly you can’t go 0-60 in one year. We had to change things slowly. So our first couple of years, we kind of just changed how we did practice, went back to the basics, and did a lot of fundamental stuff with those kids. You know, we struggled for a while, but I think it’s kind of the change in culture, and we kind of got kids to buy in.

    My first year as the head coach [in 2014], we made the playoffs by the skin of our teeth, and we lost in the first round to Granada. It really kind of left a sour taste in those kids’ mouths, and the next year we came back and went 13-0. That’s kind of what really started it.

    We ended up with a great group of seniors, we had eight seniors that year — which is a lot for us, we’ve had about four to five seniors every year after that — but they really did all the work, they paved the way and set the tone and made this culture of hard work in practice. Getting kids to buy in was kind of just the thing.

    And you’ve got to have success. Success breeds success. After we got kids to buy in, it’s not easy, but the kids understand the expectation, so from that aspect, it gets a little easier, I guess.

    I don’t know if there was any one thing I did — maybe going back to the basics. And then after I became a head coach, I just kind of went out and found some coaches that I thought could fit our program, some guys from the area that were on some successful teams. Now, I’ve got a kid on my staff who was actually a player on that first championship team. So it’s cool to see him come full circle from a player to a coach.

    Really, I just try to surround myself with guys that know more than me.

    Sedgwick County Hoehne football
    (Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

    Q: Is there a challenge of playing as a co-op? You know, combining two schools and bringing those kids together?

    Michel: I think one of the biggest challenges is there’s a lot more red tape. You have two administrations, you have two schools. So it’s figuring schedules, logistics and things like that — two leave times, two everything. That poses some sort of challenge.

    And the other thing is a lot of these kids don’t see each other all day. You don’t have the luxury of kids are in class and they’re here. But I think athletics, and success of all of our sports — football, basketball, baseball, track — have really kind of lessened the divide between the two schools.

    I think before I got here, there was some growing pains between the two schools and the two groups of kids. Because you go from being cross-county rivals to sticking them on the same team, obviously people have the same goal, but when you reach adversity, fingers start to get pointed, things like that. With our success, it’s really helped not only our co-op, but I think our community in general.

    Luckily, and I think that’s an advantage for me: I’m not from here, I’ve never been here when it was separate, so I don’t know anything different. If you ask our kids now, they would be like, “What are you talking about? There’s no difference.” They don’t say, “Oh the Revere kids do this” or “The Julesburg kids do that.”

    So, according to our kids anymore, there really is no difference. And these kids are kind of that first generation that don’t know any better. 2006, I think was the first of the co-op. They can’t even remember when there were two separate schools. So that makes it nice.

    We kind of make it work out here. And you have to, you’ve got to adapt or die out here in these small communities.

    Sedgwick County Hoehne football
    (Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

    Q: What did you learn from your playing days at Merino, and have you brought anything to your time as a coach now?

    Michel: Obviously, I played for coach Barber, and he’s a legend. He’s the guy. I don’t know how long he coached, maybe 13 years, and he played in 10 title games? Obviously I learned a lot from that. Some of the aspects we do in practice, and things like that.

    8-man football is a very different game now than it was then. Back then, you could count on one hand the amount of teams that threw the ball more than five times a game. It was I-formation, line up and smash against each other, and whoever did that the best was going to win. So the game has changed.

    The one thing I took is the amount of work that my coaches put in. Like Rocky DeSanti, he’s still at Merino, and that guy has probably forgot more about 8-man football than I’ll ever know.

    I did my student teaching there for two years, and I actually coached with those guys, with the exception of Barber — he had retired before that — so I was on that staff. I got to see the other side of it. I went to the coaches meetings and I saw how much film they watched, so I guess just the hard work, the amount of work and film and prep and things like that that those guys put in. That’s the biggest thing I took.

    And just what it takes to win. The hard work and the things I try to instill in my kids are things that we did — maybe not Xs and Os, but the mental preparation.

    Sedgwick County West Grand football
    (Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

    Q: Is it any different when you guys play Merino? What’s that like?

    Michel: As far as the kids go, you’ve got to treat it like any other game. Everybody in our league is essentially a rival. Our league is so tough that every week is a rivalry game.

    Their coaching staff consists of a guy that coached me, and a guy that I played with, so I definitely have some personal connections. But the weeks that we don’t play them, I talk to Rocky, and we talk about different teams and stuff like that.

    Obviously, you never want to lose, ever, but you definitely don’t want to lose to the school you went to. But that school and that community has still been great. A lot of times, win or lose, a lot of people tell me after the games, you know, “nice job” and “congratulations” and things like that.

    It’s just like any other small town: Good people, good kids.

    Sedgwick County Hoehne football
    (Dustin Price/DustinPricePhotography.com)

    Q: In talking to people about you in terms of the type of coach and person you are, they said one thing that struck them was that after a championship game, you went and talked to your kids, and you didn’t talk to them necessarily about winning the title. You were talking to them more about life.

    Can you tell me a little bit about that approach and that philosophy, and why in those moments you use that opportunity to talk about stuff other than football?

    Michel: As an educator and as a coach, I think you have an ability to hopefully influence somebody’s life. You get to play football for four years, and then you’ve got to go to school and get a job, and be a husband and be a father.

    You hope that they take some of those lessons, the hard work, the appreciation of things, and you hope that they take that on. Football is a sport that exemplifies all of that.

    At least I hope, as a coach, that some day they’re either going to look back and say, “Wow, this isn’t near as hard as our two-a-day practices or our hard practices were, I can do this,” or, “This is what coach was talking about what it means to be a good man.” That’s one of the things that I got out of high school football, was how those things translated into being a good man, a good husband and father.

    So I think when you win, and more so even when you lose, that those are great opportunities to talk to those kids about how that’s going to relate to the rest of their lives. That’s why people teach, and why people coach, is to help young men and young people.

    I think those are just opportunities to look at how that’s going to affect the rest of their lives, and that’s the way I can hopefully do a little bit of good in this world.