(CHSCA)

The Colorado high school community lost a major contributor to the world of athletics on Thursday night.

Rick Bettger, who made a significant impact across the state in coaches education, athletic training, athletics administration and officiating, passed away on Thursday night. Bettger was a major contributor to Colorado High School Activities Association, the Colorado High School Coaches Association, and the Colorado Athletic Directors Association, and was also a wrestling official.

He worked CHSAA state championship events as a trainer for 29 years, was named a CHSAA Distinguished Service Award Winner, and also won the Colorado High School Coaches Association’s Lloyd Gaskill Award in 2018.

“Rick was a difference-maker over the course of his years with the three professional organizations,” said CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green. “The news of his passing touched coaches, athletic directors and administrators across the state of Colorado. He will be missed.”

Bettger, a 1970 graduate of Steamboat Springs, was named the Colorado Athletic Director of the year in 1988.

“Dr. Rick has meant so much to coaches and athletic directors over the years,” said LeRoy Lopez, the president of the Colorado Athletic Directors Association. “His passion for helping others is truly something special. He will be truly missed and not forgotten.”

In more than 40 of education, Bettger served in a myriad of roles at schools, included as a teacher, trainer, athletic director, and assistant principal.

Most recently, he served as the director of education for CHSCA.

“Rick loved high school athletics and was so faithful to the CHSCA,” said Becky Mudd, the executive director of CHSCA. “He was a pro at giving coaches opportunities for continuing education credits. At clinics he loved presenting, talking legal issues, and telling his corny jokes.

“He worked hard to rally for less popular sports, and took over different clinic duties whenever needed. In our Board meetings he would bring a stack of greeting cards every month and he created a section that we still continue today that we start every meeting doing ‘Cards for Coaches’ — we celebrated and grieved everything that anyone brought forward with cards. We will miss him.”

(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

In a major step aimed at improving mental health of students across Colorado high schools, the CHSAA Board of Directors has approved as a requirement that all coaches take a course on student mental health.

It is among the major topics facing high school students today. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 31% of high school students reported symptoms of depression in 2017, and 17% reported they seriously considered attempting suicide.

So, starting this fall, all coaches must take a course “Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention” on the NFHS Learning Center, or a district-led mental health training. The NFHS Learn course is free.

In order to be a registered coach, this requirement must be satisfied. Unregistered coaches are not permitted to coach, per CHSAA bylaws. Other required courses or training are based around concussion, first aid, mandatory reporting, and the CHSAA coaches course.

“CHSAA’s vision is to deconstruct the stereotypes around mental health and help start the conversations that need to happen around our kids,” said CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green. “The mental and physical well-being of our student participants is our priority.”

The decision was made with the full support of the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC), which discussed the topic at length during its meeting last school year.

“The committee was focused on finding great tools that we can give to our schools and coaches to help provide awareness around mental health, which is among the most important issues our students face,” said Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, the CHSAA staff liaison to SMAC. “We believe it is important for coaches to not be afraid to look for the signs and symptoms of a student who is struggling with their mental health, and this training will provide valuable instruction in how to do that.”

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

Kent Denver field hockey coach Kathy James reached a momentous milestone on Friday when she won the 300th game in her career.

The win, 3-1 over Denver East, came in the first round of the state tournament.

Her 300 wins are the most of any Colorado coach, according to the NFHS record book.

James, among the state’s most impactful coaches in any sport, is now in her 22nd year as the coach at Kent. She was actually the Sun Devils’ coach prior to field hockey’s sanctioning in 1997.

Since that sanctioning, Kent Denver has won 10 championships, the most of any program in the state.

James — a five-time state coach of the year, and three-time sectional coach of the year — has not only built a successful program which is annually a contender for the state title, she is also a great advocate for the sport of field hockey as a whole. She has also coached for USA Field Hockey.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Dawn Gaffin won the 600th career game of her illustrious career on Friday at the state softball tournament.

The 600th win came via an 8-7 victory over Castle View in the first round of the Class 5A bracket.

Gaffin, in her 18th season as the coach at Legacy, is now 600-208-4 in her career. She has also coached at Thornton, Northglenn and Horizon, starting her career in 1987.

Under Gaffin, Legacy has gone 431-107-4 and won six state championships. She is the only coach in program history.

Poudre School District held its Coaches of Character professional development day on Saturday, hosting more than 250 high school and middle school coaches and athletic directors.

“The Coaches of Character day gives coaches throughout the district the opportunity to come together and celebrate, collaborate, plus learn more about establishing a culture of educationally-based coaching, and using character and integrity as the foundation for the athletic experience we strive to deliver to the student-athletes in the Poudre School District,” said Russ McKinstry, the district’s athletic director.

It was the second year of the event, and featured a training session from Dr. Jeff Duke, one of the most highly sought-after presenters and trainers in the nation who specializes in helping coaches at all levels learn and utilize education-based coaching principles.

The day also featured panel discussions led by Rich Yonker, Wayne Moddelmog, Tom Lopez, as well as current head coaches in Poudre School District.

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com//Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Scott Yates and Chris Brown enter the 2017 season as the two winningest coaches in Colorado high school football history.

Yates, the coach at Kent Denver, and Brown, the head man at West Grand, have each amassed 315 career victories. They spent the 2016 season trading the top spot in the record book.

But neither one sees it as a chase, and in fact each wants the other to hold the record.

“He’ll blow by me in a Wyoming wind because he’ll coach for a long time, too,” Brown said of Yates when he held the record last fall. “It’s fine. It’s okay when he goes right on by me.”

“I hope he breaks it,” Yates said when he tied the record last September. “That’d be good for him.”

It’s been a 40-year journey for Brown that includes four titles. After this season, Brown will move into a tie for second place in years head coach.

Yates began in 1981 — a 36-year tenure.

Yates came oh-so-close to winning his fourth title last year, but his Kent Denver squad fell short in the Class 2A championship game against La Junta.

Yates will get the first crack at owning the all-time wins record, if only for a week. Kent Denver plays Prospect Ridge Academy at home on Aug. 26 at 1 p.m.

Five days later, Brown and West Grand take on Sanford on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Russ McKinstry)

Poudre School District hosted Coaches of Character, a professional development event focused on education-based coaching skills.

225 coaches from the state attended the event, which was sponsored by Poudre School District and the local organization CHAMP (Character in Athletics Make it a Priority). 

Poudre School District athletic director Russ McKinstry saw the day as a successful one.

“We are fortunate to have amazing coaches and athletic directors in Fort Collins and northern Colorado,” McKinstry said. “They have bought into the Inside Out coaching initiative that CHSAA is promoting, and the large turnout Saturday morning again demonstrates our coaches are committed to giving the student athletes of Poudre School District the best, most positive athletic experience possible.”

The keynote speaker was Paul Ressa of Newman Smith High School in Dallas, Texas. 

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — CHSAA’s Rhonda Blanford-Green and Ernie Derrera addressed a group of more than 800 coaches on Friday morning, and made clear how important their jobs were in the lives of young athletes.

Speaking at the annual Multi-Sport Clinic held by the Colorado High School Coaches Association (CHSCA), Blanford-Green, in her first year as CHSAA commissioner, spoke to the impact coaches have.

“Your voices — your actions, things that you do — make a difference on the grassroots level more than the eight of us that sit in a building (in Aurora),” she said. “We need you. Coaches are the ones that take our message forward. They are the ones that speak to the mission and the vision of the Association. I am just honored to serve as your commissioner. Everyday, you are making a difference.”

Blanford-Green reflected on the importance of her own high school coaches when she was a star athlete at Aurora Central.

“They impacted my life, and they make a difference for me, even now, on a personal and professional level,” Blanford-Green said.

She spoke about the importance of the relationship between CHSCA and CHSAA — “We are making a concerted effort to expand all the things we’ve done,” she said — and about how coaching today transcends wins and losses.

“We are building lives,” Blanford-Green said, “and we are building kids for a lifetime of participation.”

Derrera, the assistant commissioner who oversees coaching in the CHSAA office, echoed Blanford-Green’s message.

“The people in this room, and your colleagues who aren’t here,” he said, “you probably have the biggest impact on athletes in students, even when you don’t know it.”

The CHSCA clinic continues through Saturday with all types of workshops for coaches to attend, and speakers to listen to. This year saw the clinic draw more than 800 coaches, the most in its history.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

(Ricky Sparks)

The man who built a dynasty at Niwot high school is setting out on a new venture.

Bob Bote confirmed with CHSAANow that he will be the new head baseball coach at Standley Lake after two seasons at Littleton. The Lions went 18-20 under Bote.

Standley Lake went 4-15 (0-7, 4A Jeffco league) in 2017. Bote’s Littleton squad finished five spots ahead of Standley Lake in the 4A Jeffco League, but he will look to flip that script come springtime.

Bote won five Class 4A championships at Niwot — his first in 1998 and most recent in 2005.

He had a record of 459-123 at Niwot before moving on to Erie and Faith Christian.

Bote won his sixth career title with Faith Christian in 2011, then accepted the job at Littleton before the 2016 season.

Jim Danley was Bote’s assistant coach at Littleton.

Danley coached Eaton to 11 state titles and is a member of the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame.

After a 1-9 season in 2016, Golden will turn to new coach Jared Yannacito to help revitalize the Demons’ football program. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

GOLDEN — Golden High School announced Thursday it has hired Jared Yannacito as its new head football coach.

“I have had my eye on the Golden job for many reasons. I taught there for one year, four years ago and felt a strong sense of community,” Yannacito said. “I have also always been intrigued to work with the underdog. This is a program that has struggled the past couple of years and I plan to put as much time and energy as it takes to help this team.

“This will be a great opportunity to turn this program around and I want the players, students, teachers, administration and community to be proud of Golden football again.”

Jared Yannacito, left, has been hired as Golden’s new head football coach. (Courtesy photo)

Yannacito is a 2005 graduate of Pomona High School in Arvada. During his junior year in 2003, Yannacito helped the Panthers to an 11-1 record rushing for more than 1,000 yards. A torn ACL in his knee before the season opener his senior year kept him off the field in 2004.

“It was an injury that devastated me, but it has helped make me the coach I am today,” Yannacito said. “I teach my athletes how important it is to do everything to the best of your ability because the next day of practice is not guaranteed.”

He has been an assistant football coach for Pomona for seven seasons and was part of the coaching staff that helped Pomona to back-to-back Class 5A state runner-up in 2015 and 2016.

“I would like to bring the blueprint of success of Pomona 14 miles up the road to Golden,” Yannacito said. “Our philosophies is going to start with fundamentals. From the weight room, to the field, we will be perfect on the things that take no talent. Along with that we are going to have relentless effort in everything we do.”

Yannacito is also the sprint coach for Pomona’s boys track team that won the 5A state team title in 2016.

Yannacito gave a lot of credit to Pomona coach Jay Madden, the Class 5A football coach of the year, in preparing and giving him the experience to take on a head coaching position.

“We are extremely excited to have the ideals and energy that Coach Yannacito will be bringing and feel he will revitalize the program,” Golden’s athletic director JC Summers said.

Golden hasn’t had a winning season since 2009 when then coach John Roberts guided the Demons to a 7-3 record behind quarterback Ryan Stokes.

Follow all of the movement this offseason in CHSAANow’s coaching changes tracker.