Zac Lemon believes that all a team needs is a chance to compete. Anything is possible at that point.
Just look at last year’s Class 2A playoff game against top-seeded Platte Valley. Logic said Eaton (the No. 8) seed didn’t have a chance.
The second the Reds took the field, Lemon believed there was a chance and, more importantly, he had convinced his players.
“We’ve always said all we have to do is get into the playoffs and we can be dangerous,” Lemon said. “One of the expectations we have for players is we don’t mind if you make mistakes, just don’t makes them over and over again. Fix your mistakes and we hold ourselves as coaches to that same standard.”
Eaton ended up winning the game 9-6. A loss to La Junta the next week ended the playoff run, but it didn’t erase the pride that Lemon felt watching his boys do something many would say is improbable.
In his fifth year as coach at Eaton, Lemon holds a 31-15 overall record. He has maintained a steady hand in the position and he has made his kids winners both on the field and off.
After a 34-0 win over No. 10 D’Evelyn last week (his 100th win of his career), Lemon was an easy choice as this week’s Denver Broncos high school football coach of the week.
Previous stops: Delta High School assistant coach (2003-06); Hotchkiss High School head coach (2007-13); Eaton head coach (2014-present).
[divider]
Question: Why do you coach?
Lemon: I want to make an impact on young men the way my coaches did for me when I was young.
Q: Why do you coach the way that you coach?
Lemon: It’s just instinctive. When you first get into coaching, you read about guys that have example coaches. But the thing they always tell you is don’t try to be someone you’re not. As soon as you figure out who you are as a coach, that’s when you become really successful. When you realize what you do instinctively and what you do naturally is when you’re going to be at your best, not trying to be like someone else.
The way I coach is the way it comes naturally to me.
Q: What do you think it’s like for those young men to coached by you?
Lemon: Players know that I really care about them. I get on them in a way that makes them better and they trust that. I’m always someone that can be there for them off the field.
Q: What are you favorite coaching memories?
Lemon: Honestly it’s when the guys that have graduated call me, text me, come back and talk to me and I know that our relationship was more powerful than than just the years that I had been coaching them. That it’s life long.
Q: After beating Platte Valley last year as the No. 8 seed, and even though you didn’t come away with a state title, did you and your boys come into this year feeling like you had momentum?
Lemon: Oh yeah. Success breeds success. It’s doesn’t matter who we play, but the more playoff games we win, the more experience we have winning, the more we learn how to overcome challenges and still find ways to win, that always helps.
Year after year, winning breeds winning and when we get that culture of winning it doesn’t matter who we play and I hope that continues year after year and keeps getting better.
Wayne McGinn took over for a legend as the football coach at Loveland.
The team was a perennial power under John Poovey for 35 seasons until he retired in 2012, winning four state championships. It was something McGinn got to experience up close as a defensive assistant in the 1982, 1983 and 1984 seasons.
“When I was there as an assistant, I saw that,” McGinn said of the history of excellence.
At that time, McGinn said, he could see himself wanting to eventually take over for someone like Poovey. But he got an offer to become a graduate assistant at Texas Christian University, and spent the next 23 years in college football — including an eight-year stint as the head coach at Adams State University.
In 2012, he returned to the high school arena as an assistant at Pueblo Central. A year later, he was back at Loveland.
In his first season, McGinn’s team reached the Class 4A quarterfinals. Two years later, they reached the state championship game, and finished as runner-up.
Since the 2016 season, Loveland has gone 21-3. Last season, they advanced to the quarterfinals again, falling to emerging rival Broomfield in overtime.
It was something McGinn and his team remembered all offseason.
“We had that sour taste in our mouth the whole summer,” McGinn said.
So last Thursday’s matchup, pitting No. 2 Loveland against No. 3 Broomfield was a big one. And McGinn’s team made a statement with a 47-0 win.
Previous stops: Loveland assistant (1982-84); Texas Christian University grad assistant (1985-86); Western State assistant (1987-99); Adams State head coach (2000-07); CSU-Pueblo offensive coordinator (2008); Pueblo Central assistant (2012); Loveland head coach (2013-present).
[divider]
(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Question: Why did you want to become a coach?
McGinn: Oh man, I just loved sports. I just couldn’t see myself not being a part of sports all my life. I just wanted to be part of sports, and help young players become better players. And I love the competition, being competitive.
Question: What was it like following a guy like Poovey at Loveland?
McGinn: I remember thinking at the time, “I’m crazy to follow him.” But somebody had to do it.
It was scary. I’ll be honest with you, it was scary. Because Coach Poovey was a great coach, and the program was just winning all the time. When I was there as an assistant, I saw that. Before I got the job at TCU, I could see myself: “Someday, I want to take over for John Poovey.” In my own way, you know?
I learned a lot from him. It’s hard to follow in the footsteps of a legend, because he was just so successful. But I was just myself. I was going to do it the way I wanted to do it, and maybe it’s not exactly the same as John, but I learned a lot from him.
Question: This season, you guys started off the year beating Broomfield 47-0. Is that a perfect way to start off the year?
McGinn: Well, it’s definitely a good way to start off the year. We had that sour taste in our mouth the whole summer. Our kids worked really hard this summer.
Our kids really performed well. They just came ready to play. They were focused. It’s still — this morning, I was thinking, “Did we really do that?” Broomfield’s a very good team, and they won their first game pretty handily. I was going into that game as, “Either way, we’re going to get better.” Our kids were focused, and they came out ready to play.
Pueblo South football won the first state championship in the 59-year of the program this season. The man to lead them there? Ryan Goddard, who just finished his eighth season as coach of the Colts.
After going a combined 3-17 from 2011-12, Goddard has directed the steady rise of Pueblo South. Since 2013, his teams have gone 47-14.
Included, of course, is the 13-1 finish this season in which the Colts claimed the Class 4A championship with a win over traditional power Pine Creek.
But it’s not just the success Goddard has had. It’s the type of coach that he is. Goddard models the InSideOut coaching philosophy that promotes sports as a growth experience, something above wins and losses.
“I think they understand that we’re trying to make them better people,” Goddard said of his players in October. “I hope that’s what they get out of practice and games and all our summer workouts. Not only become a better player, but become better people.”
For all these reasons, Goddard has been named the 2017 Denver Broncos high school football coach of the year.
[divider]
Ryan Goddard bio
Years as head coach: 8 (55-37 overall)
Years at Pueblo South: 8 (55-37)
Previous stops: Pueblo South assistant (2003-09); Pueblo South head coach (2010-present).
Question: Something you mentioned at the press conference [before the title game] was that you guys were representing more than your school and your team. Can you dive into that a bit?
(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
Ryan Goddard: When I talked about that at the press conference, I was talking about a number of things. First: representing our community. That’s something we talk to our kids about throughout the season, throughout the school year, is how we’re always representing more than ourselves, and trying to be a part of something greater than ourselves.
Just having the opportunity to represent our community — which is such a great high school sports community — there’s not a place that you can go in town right now without someone just showing their gratitude to us and what we accomplished. I was just so extremely honored and humbled that our kids were able to represent Pueblo.
Pueblo’s an extremely proud place, and when Pueblo is going to take on whoever for a state championship, or in a state playoff game — you know, the week before, we had 6,000 people in the stands for a semifinal game.
The first time I looked up into the stands [during the championship game at Mile High] was right before kickoff, and it was just like, “Wow, Pueblo showed up.” I was impressed, and I kind of expected to Pueblo to show up, but I think for people that hadn’t seen Pueblo support, I think it was just an amazing sight.
Even more so than that, it being our first time in 59 years, there were so many people that laid the groundwork and put in so much time and effort into our program before I ever got here as a player, as an assistant coach — there were just so many people that we were trying to represent and make proud.
Q: What was your final message to your players before kickoff?
Goddard: (Laughs) Actually, we ran out of time. It was pretty brief, it was pretty quick. There wasn’t much that I had to say to get them going. They were all excited, very focused on the things that we needed to accomplish, and kind of the process of how we’re going to get there. I think the last thing that I told them was, “Let’s just go out and compete for as long as we possibly can. Let’s just go out and have fun, and let’s go do it with our brothers.”
That was pretty much it. Like I said, we basically ran out of time. We got back in the locker room, and I looked up and I’m like, “Oh, we better hurry, because we’ve got to get out for the national anthem.” And it was a quick prayer, 30-second speech from coach, and we went jogging back out.
Q: You guys came out firing [taking a 13-0 lead in the first quarter]. I think everyone in the stadium was like, “Whoa.” What’s that like, and did that give you guys some confidence?
Goddard: What we’ve done all year is take a lead. The first time we’d actually trailed in regulation was in the semifinals against Broomfield. We went down 7-0. But that was the only time we had trailed in regulation all season.
I think that’s kind of been our mentality: We wanted the ball, we wanted to get down the field, and we wanted to score as quickly as we could. Because we wanted to set the tempo for the game.We got stopped on our first possession, but then our defense went out and got a stop right away, as well. And then we kind of got settled in a little bit offensively.
I think, as we got on the field, one of the things that I think helped our kids was being able to go to the press conference on Tuesday, and having so many of our seniors that were just key players for us — because it wasn’t a shock to them at that point.
But I’ll tell you what: When I stood at the 50 in the center of the stadium and I looked around, it was a little breathtaking. It’s just incredible. But I think our kids kind of settled in after that first series. You know, they did the things that we’ve coached them to do, that we’ve prepared them to do.
And you know what? We’ve got really, really good players that execute on a high level, and that makes our job so much easier as coaches. And when those kids are having fun and just playing hard, it’s a special thing.
Q: So what’s it like, then, when you win the game and get handed the trophy? What is that feeling like?
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Goddard: I was fortunate enough to win a basketball state title as a senior at South. And I remember that moment. [CHSAA assistant commissioner] Bert Borgmann actually handed me the trophy. But I sprinted to get that trophy.
And in this moment, I was just so happy for our kids. People have asked me, “Is it better as a player or as a coach?” And I think that this one is just so amazing, one, because this is a football state championship, and something that our school hasn’t accomplished; but, two, it was about 65 other people and just the opportunity to serve 65 other people — whether it was a player or an assistant coach, or whatever — just the opportunity to serve others and give someone else that opportunity to have that special moment in their life.
Q: For a lot of your players, the seniors, this will be the last football game they’ll ever play in competitively. What is, or what has been, your message to those kids?
Goddard: We talk about a lot of that during the season. The first thing we talk about is that whenever you prepare for anything in life, you don’t want to have any regrets. As you play 14 games, it was the oddest week of practice, just because there was no “next week.” You understood that there was no next week win or lose, so it was just kind of odd.
One of the first things I mentioned to our guys postgame was that this wasn’t going to the best moment in their life, how this was going to be an opportunity that they could look back on and understand the things that got them to this point.
We had a couple of mottos this year. We started off the year with our summer workouts with the motto “Uncommon.” That was just basically, we’re going to do common things in an uncommon way with uncommon effort. So we talked about how that got us to where we were to start the season. Just paying attention to detail, just focusing on the things that we can control, and doing it to the best of our ability at all times.
And the second part was a little bit more about the process and kind of the journey, and that was just our motto of “Chase excellence,” and simply just how that relates to life and how you just want to be the best version of yourself. You want to be the best version of yourself today, you want to be a little bit better than you were yesterday. You don’t have to worry about anything outside of the things you can control, just be the best version of you.
That was something our kids really bought into. I know every quote that [senior wide receiver] Marcell [Barbee] threw out there this week was about “chasing excellence,” but I think it’s something they believe, and it’s something they can relate to and take with forever, as well.
Jared Yannacito always wanted to be involved with sports, it just didn’t hit him how until he was a senior in college.
He decided he wanted to trade in his broadcasting headset for one that would let him be involved in the outcome as opposed to reporting it.
Yannacito wanted to coach.
He again leaned on school to get his teaching license. He got his coaching education from one of the greats. He spent seven years on staff at Pomona, including his last three as the offensive coordinator.
Jay Madden was Yannacito’s mentor and is someone he still talks with on a regular basis. But Yannacito is now on his own. He took the job at Golden and became tasked with reviving a program that hadn’t seen a winning season since 2009.
Previous stops: Boulder High School assistant coach (2009), Pomona assistant coach (2010-2016), Golden head coach (2017-present)
[divider]
Question: Why did you get into coaching?
Yannacito: Originally, I was going to school to be a sports broadcaster. My senior year of college, I felt like something was missing. It was coaching.
As a sports broadcaster I was watching these games and getting pretty critical and realized instead of being the person who talked about these games, I wanted to be involved in it and have an impact. So I went back and got my teaching license and started working with kids and I loved it.
The main reason I coach is to be a positive mentor and influence on young student-athletes. When I first got into coaching I thought I wanted to get into the college level. But I think at the high school age, you can have a tremendous impact that will last forever on these kids.
Q: Why do you coach the way that you coach?
Yannacito: That’s a tough question. I coach with a lot of energy and passion. Even with my team at Golden, we had to get them to believe in themselves. I coach to make the kids confident and make them believe in themselves.
Question: What do you think it’s like to be coached by you?
Yannacito: I would say it’s exciting. I try to bring positive energy every day to practice. I challenge the kids. I make them compete. I make them work harder and they know that I have their back at all times.
I think that’s why my coaches and I were able to get the most out of the kids. They know we’re pushing them because we care about them.
Question: What are your favorite coaching memories?
Yannacito: This year is extremely memorable. We took over a team that was 1-9 and got outscored 327-74 the previous year.
To come in and make the kids believe in themselves and believe in the process and have that family bonding atmosphere has been an extremely fun year.
I was also the offense coordinator and an assistant coach at Pomona for seven years. There are some memories I’ll never forget. Going to back-to-back state title games.
Coach Madden, who I have a ton of respect for. He’s been my mentor. Working with him are some of my best memories as well.
Yannacito: Incredible. It’s also been extremely challenging at times, but I cannot ask for more from the kids and the community. This is not a one-man show turnaround.
I told the kids, it takes an army. It takes commitment from the administration, the school, the kids, my coaches for this thing to happen.
From day one they bought in. The biggest thing we preach is family. But fix our family. We very rarely talk about any other team that we’re playing.
How can we fix us? How can we get better? That’s been our approach all year.
Our motto has been “Close the gap.” That gap was 327-74 and 1-9. We just focused on that. If we create a team, we create a family and we can do that.
Question: A lot of coaches talk about building cultures and I know that’s something you wanted to do coming in. Given everything that’s been accomplished this season, is it possible to build the majority of a culture in a single season?
Yannacito: Absolutely. I think we set the foundation for the expectations for the future.
We did set that precedent that if you commit to this and you work hard and you’re coachable. Things like this can happen.
Chris Jones doesn’t like to look any further than the task at hand. Whether it’s a film session, practice time or game itself, he tries to tell his team that it will only be as good as it can be in the time frame.
Step-by-step, Jones has Windsor on the hunt for a second state championship in three years. The Wizards are 8-1 on the year and with an overtime win over Skyline on Friday night, clinched the Class 4A Northern League championship.
The Wizards currently sit at No. 2 in the 4A RPI, and a win over Fort Collins on Friday will go a long way in making sure they have a shot at returning to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Their last time there, they beat Loveland 35-14 to win a state title.
But that’s not all Jones is about. He wants to make sure that he has positive impact on his players. He wants them to grow as much off the field as they on it.
Previous stops: Ocean City High School (New Jersey) assistant coach (1988-89), Thompson Valley head coach (1997-2001), Mountain View assistant coach (2002-2005), Windsor head coach (2007-present)
[divider]
Question: Why did you get into coaching?
Jones: You know, that’s a tough one sometimes. I feel like it’s an opportunity to take a sport and stretch its boundaries to life. Especially for young people who possibly struggle with confidence or a challenging, and (sports) help empower those kids to become risk-takers and to improve self-confidence and self-esteem.
Q: Why do you coach the way that you coach?
Jones: I had some interesting coaches in high school and college. I thought it was a different way to get your point across to kids than the way I was taught. But that was in the late 70’s, early 80’s.
I coach that way because I feel it’s a great way to give stuff to kids that they can give to others.
Q: What do you think it’s like for your kids to be coached by you?
Jones: I’d like to think that when they leave our program, they mattered to me and to my staff.
Q: What are some of your favorite coaching memories?
Jones: There’s been a couple of state championship, which have been great. We’ve also had 10 years in a row with a team GPA above 3.00.
Some great memories looking at Sky High Hook camp in the summer. It’s a subsidiary of the Ronald McDonald House and it’s a one-day field day we do for adolescent cancer survivors and their siblings.
Q: Let’s go back to Friday and when things went into overtime, I know you want to be on the defensive side of the ball first, so when Skyline got into the end zone, if you were in their position would you have gone for two?
Jones: I thought that right away. We knew they were going for two. We would’ve gone for two.
Q: For your boys to come out with that win with that kind of adversity this late in the season, is that something that can get them in the right frame of mind for the playoffs?
Jones: Yeah. And we talked last week about the 2017 season as a book that each individual writes one page as how they’ve grown as an individual academically, socially, with their family and on the football field.
A lot of guys wrote some really neat memories and moments on Friday night that they’ll be able to look back upon to gain some experience as we move forward and these weeks get tougher.
Q: Do you use references like the 2015 state championship to help motivate them this time of year?
Jones: We talk about tradition here, and some expectations on and off the field weekly.
We kind of do a weekly sermon that we carry over for five straight days heading into the game. We try to always stress to the kids that we’re only as good as today’s film session or we’re as good as today’s practice.
We try not to look past the 24 hours that we’ve been given.
What a difference a couple of years can make. In 2015, Prairie dropped its football program all together.
The program was revived in 2016 under first year coach Justin Kerns. The Mustangs won just a single game and lost their six games by an average of more than 40 points per game.
That included a 62-13 loss to Fleming to end the season.
The team hasn’t loss since then. The Mustangs just completed an undefeated regular season and, as a result, earned the No. 2 overall seed heading into the 6-Man playoffs.
Kerns has coached a variety of sports at several schools, but is the first to admit that he has never had a team that has seen this level of success.
The Mustangs generate 455 all-purpose yards a game and the defense has surrendered only 117 points all year.
Through the first two games of the 2016 season, the Mustangs gave up 119 total points.
This team has come a long way in a short time. And a big part of the success is Kerns’ desire to teach the kids on the field as much as in the classroom.
Previous stops: Deer Trail High School assistant coach (2007-08), Woodlin assistant coach (2009-13), Briggsdale assistant coach (2014) , Prairie head coach (2016-present)
[divider]
Question: Why did you get into coaching?
Kerns: Back in high school I was very involved with athletics. I grew up around a lot of different athletic events, you know, big Broncos fan growing up. Big CSU Rams, CU Buffs fan.
When I decided to become a teacher, I thought that athletics and teaching go hand-in-hand. It’s really a cool 1-A and 1-B as an educator to work with kids in the classroom and on the field.
Q: Why do you coach the way that you coach?
Kerns: I coach the way that I coach having coached with other really good coaches. I worked with guys at Deer Trail, Woodlin, my high school school coaches; we tend to be a little more aggressive.
This year, with the squad that we have, we have the ability to be a little more aggressive as opposed to being conservative. When we go too conservative, we tend to make mistakes so we tend to coach pretty aggressively.
With the kids, we try to keep it really light-hearted and enjoyable. There are times that you need to get on the kids, but there are times that you need to remember that they’re kids. You need to let them enjoy the sport they’re playing.
Q: Speaking of the kids, what do you think it’s like for them to be coached by you?
Kerns: I think they look forward to practice. Again, it’s pretty light-hearted, but when it’s time to be serious, we get serious.
We always try to do some sort of fun activity in practice, whether it’s letting each kid attempt a field goal and the winners get some sort of prize while those who don’t win have to do some sort of conditioning.
We do our best to be in the weight room, to get film and if the kids have an opinion, they are welcome to share it with me. They’re the ones on the field.
Even in the last game we had, there were multiple times where I asked the kids what they saw and what they thought would work. I’m afraid there are a number of coaches who don’t do that with their students.
With my kids, they enjoy practice. They look forward to it and I don’t have kids missing practice because they’re afraid to be out there.
They really want to be out on the field.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories when it comes to coaching?
Kerns: Oh my. This is the first year that I’ve been involved with that has been this successful.
Some of my favorite coaching memories are from when I had teams that aren’t as successful and playing successful teams. Getting our game plans ready when you’re a sub-.500 team going against a top-five team in the state, trying to figure out what we can do to get them off their game is super enjoyable.
I coached basketball for a number of years and one year we just had five players. We took a team into triple-overtime and finished with four.
We ended up losing by three points, 34-31, but it was one of the most enjoyable games I ever coached. Taking five players into triple-overtime is impressive, no matter win or lose.
Q: Sunday you got a glimpse of the path you’ll have to take to get these kids to a state championship. Is there a difference from your mentality when you can see that map?
Kerns: It is, I’ll be honest with you. Coming in as a two-seed and getting the draw for 15.
I like that we get to play Edison. But at the same time, Edison has had some success this year. They’re kind of like us where last year they weren’t very successful. Last year they actually teamed up with Hanover.
This year, they’ve had some success. We’re in the same sort of boat.
But I do like looking forward. If we were to get past Edison this week, there are two teams that we’re completely unfamiliar with and that excites me as a coach.
Cotopaxi and Kit Carson are two teams that we are unfamiliar with and that are unfamiliar with us. It is a chance to to try some new things and to see how football is played in a different part of the state.
Q: You had mentioned that this is the first team that you’ve had that’s been this successful, does that help in that those kids might not know the pressure the regular season success brings come playoff time?
Kerns: To a point. I have, on my team right now, four kids that have been to the postseason.
A couple years ago, Prairie dropped the program and one of my players went to Pawnee who had success. This year, we picked up three players from Pawnee who went to the playoffs last year.
And these kids were successful in junior high, the kids that I have now.
But it is kind of nice being fresh at it so that you don’t have that knowledge of what playing in the playoffs is all about. But at the same time, we do have kids who have been there before and they are our team leaders.
They help to get the younger guys focused and moving forward.
Previous stops: Breckenridge High School (Minnesota) assistant coach (1997-2001), Soroco assistant coach (2002), Soroco head coach (2002-2005), Hayfield (Minnesota) head coach (2006-2008), West Grand assistant coach (2009-2011), Bayfield head coach (2011-present)
[divider]
Question: Why did you get into coaching?
Heide: I got into coaching because I felt it was a way that I could give back. To give back to my community, to help young people. I really enjoy working with young people and trying to direct their life in a positive manner in the right direction.
Throughout my career, I had a lot of coaches that I looked up to and really admired. It always gave me a lot of motivation to be like them. I really appreciate all those men that helped me along the way. I think most of all, like I said before, is to give back and try to help young people out, to give them direction.
And, you know what, it’s not only that, it’s something I really love. I know if I can be passionate about my work that I’m doing and being able to help people, it couldn’t be better than that.
Q: Why do you coach the way that you do?
Heide: I want to be a positive role model for young people.
I want to show them that people can love life, they can love what they do, and people can have dreams and go after them. I want to show them that there are times that get you down a little bit. There are road blocks along the way, but if you love what you’re doing, go out and go for it.
I might be repeating myself here, but I want to be a positive role model for people to know that there are people out there that they can trust. They just have to find them, and they can get guidance from. Help them along through life.
Q: Going into your kids’ perspectives, what would you say it’s like to be coached by you?
Heide: First of all, I’m enthusiastic and passionate.
I give a lot. I’m dedicated to it, and probably most of all, I care for them. I want to see them do well as individuals.
I want them to know that, in the end, I’ll always love them and I’ll always be there for them as somebody that they can always trust in knowing that there’s somebody there that cares for them.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories coaching?
Heide: I have a lot of favorite memories. If I stick just to football, there’s not only the jobs that I’ve gotten — whether they be assistant coaches.
I remember getting my first varsity coaching job up in Breckenridge, Minnesota. What a wonderful staff. That’s a great memory. The time that I had with those people when I was younger, and all the knowledge that I learned from coaches along the way, whether they be assistant coaches or head coaches that I worked with or was under.
Working under Chris Brown up in West Grand for three years and being able to coach against him and getting guidance from him. Realizing how you respect other people and everything throughout the game.
Obviously, here. Great success here at Bayfield. I think the biggest memory that will always be with me is how the community supports its football program, supports its school, supports its players.
Some of the games that we’ve had were great games. I can remember a great game here, a home game, against Faith Christian my first year here. It was such a rewarding experience for me and the coaches and players and community that was here.
Our state championship game. Going up to Platte Valley on a cold, windy day, knowing that we’re going to really find out what kind of team we are today. Just to come away with that victory is a memory that I’ll never forget.
But every season, there are certain individuals that I never forget. Certain games in each season that I never forget. Certain adults and coaches that I never forget. Those will always be my favorite memories.
Q: With last week’s win against Pagosa Springs, what does this season mean so far?
Heide: Going into this season, it’s a special season. All of them are, but I knew we had a lot of seniors. A lot of quality seniors. A lot of seniors that could really play high school football and be great high school football players.
I knew we had a chance to do well. We’ve been doing well so far. We’ve got big dreams. I told them all along that it’s okay to dream big. We do dream big. But, if you give it all you’ve got, there’s never a fail.
Every game is big for us, and being that we wanna continue on, we’ve got to really take it one game at a time. We have to take each game for what it is each week and go out there and do our best.
Play with the word that I call my team when I see them playing — it’s just not me, it’s something instilled in the Bayfield Wolverines. That’s just play with ferocity. In order to do that game in and game out, you’ve got to love the game and play one game at a time and see where you end up.
Q: You alluded to the 2015 team that you had. What kind of similarities are you seeing between this year and the 2015 year when you guys went undefeated and won the state title?
Heide: The biggest similarity that I see is great leadership from seniors. Just superb. Not only helping other kids and encouraging people, but expectations and the drive and belief in themselves. And then to be able to go out there and display those qualities on the field and really perform.
To step back, I think if you’re going to nail one thing down, it’s that confidence and belief day in and day out.
Previous stops: Broomfield linebackers and JV head coach/defensive coordinator (2007-08); Broomfield TE and JV head coach/offensive coordinator (2009-10); Broomfield offensive line coach and run game coordinator (2011-12); Broomfield offensive line coach, offensive coordinator (2013-15); Erie head coach (2016-present)
[divider]
Question: Why did you get into coaching?
Cooper: I got into coaching because I had a lot of influential coaches growing up. I played football and ran track, and I had a lot of personal growth because of the coaching that I had. I believe that sports encourage personal growth for individuals.
Coaches have a major impact on the lives of kids. I wanted to have that impact on kids. I love working with kids, I just love the personalities that kids have.
In my opinion, those life lessons that kids learn in high school years will have a huge impact on the rest of their life.
Q: Why do you coach the way that you do?
Cooper: I think one way to describe that is that I’m a passionate person.
I really have a lot of empathy for what my players are going through, and I’m a younger coach, so I think that works in my favor. I can understand and empathize what kids are going through. Try to be a good figure in their lives. Work with them, give them some life lessons.
Q: Going into your kids’ perspectives, what would you say it’s like to be coached by you?
(Courtesy of John David)
Cooper: I would say energetic and positive. You come to any of our practices, I try to have not just myself, but my entire staff energetic and upbeat.
We love to play music at our practices. I really think kids thrive off of positive energy. That helps them achieve success in athletics and for anything else.
My hope is that all my kids would say that same message: energetic and positive. We try to preach that throughout the entire program with all the coaches.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories coaching?
Cooper: Well, this year has had a lot of them. The Silver Creek game a couple weeks ago was definitely one memory that stands out. Erie high school had never beat Silver Creek up until that point, so being a part of the first team that was able to do that.
But then following up last week also with a win against a top-five team in Berthoud. Two weeks in a row where we had some really good memories. I was an assistant coach at Broomfield for nine years, and there was a lot memories within that, but definitely this year has been a lot of positive memories.
Q: To start off the season undefeated, that’s obviously huge. What does that say about you as a coach and your team?
Cooper: It’s a testament not only to what I’m doing, I think it’s a testament to what the kids are doing.
Being in my second year (coaching), I think having a whole offseason and a whole summer, I really think the kids have done a great job of buying in. It’s led to the success that we’ve had.
You don’t win without players, everyone knows that. So, really the success that we’ve had is a testament to the work that they put in this offseason, and everything that they’re doing right now.
Q: What was your goal coming into this season? What were you telling the kids all summer?
Cooper: Last year was a step in the right direction. We made the playoffs, we competed with Pueblo East in the first round.
This year, we wanted to be relevant in the state. We wanted to be a team that everyone looked upon as one of the best teams within 3A. Being a physical team that runs the ball and plays really aggressive defense that causes turnovers.
Physicality, being a physical team, was something we really preached all offseason. With that, our strength and conditioning program was a huge emphasis during the offseason. Trying to be in shape and wear teams out with our physicality and our conditioning.
Ultimately, that’s why he got into coaching. Beyond his family, he understood that his coaches perhaps had the most impact on him when he was a kid.
He wanted to repay them and the only way he knew how was to get in the same business and try to have a similar impact on future generations.
He’s doing just that and he’s doing in it one of the state’s best high school sports towns. As the head coach at Pueblo South, he knows each week is going to be competitive, but he only welcomes the challenge.
This year, the Colts might be poised to make a deep playoff run. They’re off to their best start since 2014 and just last Friday beat Pueblo East in the annual Cannon Game. It was the first win over the Eagles in three years.
Previous stops: Pueblo South assistant (2003-09); Pueblo South head coach (2010-present).
[divider]
Question: Why did you get into coaching?
Goddard: The biggest thing that got me into coaching is that outside of my family, I think my teachers and my coaches had the greatest influence on my life. From there, it’s part giving back to those people who gave so much to me.
The second part of that is that I want to have some type of impact and maybe impact some kids along the way. Knowing the impact that people had on me, I thought that was the greatest avenue.
Q: Why do you coach the way you coach?
Goddard: I don’t know, specifically. I just know that the coaches I had were the greatest mentors to me. I had an opportunity to play with my football coach and then keep in contact with him along the way.
Along the lines from my very first football coach to my high school football coach to the guys I coach with today, I think they just kind of mentored me. I think at the end of the day, it’s just about us building relationships. That was something that was taught to me a long time ago. It’s something that I strive to do.
If kids know that you care then you can have a great impact on them.
Q: From your kids’ perspectives, what do you think it’s like to be coached by you?
Goddard: Hopefully they understand that I truly care about them and our staff cares about them. I think that with the relationships that we build, I think that’s one of our strong suits for our staff and myself, I think they have fun.
I think they understand that we’re trying to make them better people. I hope that’s what they get out of practice and games and all our summer workouts. Not only become a better player, but become better people.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a coach?
Goddard: There are a lot of memories throughout the years. Obviously 2013, that was a magical year for us going from 1-9 to 11-2 and playing our first semifinal home game in history.
Then there moments like Cole Youngren last year. I don’t know if you know the story about Cole, but he was visually impaired and he came out to be a part of our team and he got to long snap for us on a couple of PATs in a few games. Those things stick out.
More than the memories, it’s the relationships with the kids and those guys. That’s when the memories come up when you start talking about things that happened 10 years ago. Those things are special.
Q: After seeing what Pueblo East has been able to do in recent years, how nice was it to come away with a win in the Cannon Game?
Goddard: I think one of the things that people outside of Pueblo don’t get about these rivalries is everything that goes into them.
The cannon talk around the school, that thing starts very early in the season. I was extremely proud of our kids and the way they handled things during the week and how they stayed focused on the task. They eliminated distractions and just played as hard as they possibly could.
With everything that goes into the week, you get to the end of the game and it’s kind of a relief regardless of the outcome. But it’s always nice to receive what we feel is ours. I was just ecstatic for the kids.
Q: How would you best describe the atmosphere when it comes to high school sports in Pueblo from what you’ve seen from around the rest of the state?
Goddard: Pueblo is just a special community. It’s a big-event type of town. There aren’t many high schools games, even outside the state of Colorado, where you get 12,000-plus people.
We’re able to do that at least twice a year. And like I said, the whole week is just so crazy and the fact that we have so many events and so many things to do and so many people involved, the community support is fantastic.
It’s just something special that make high school sports really special around here. Pueblo is going to shell out and go support the community.
Lane Wasinger grew up the son of a prominent coach, and has absorbed everything he can.
Wasinger, in his first year as the head coach at Roosevelt, is the son of longtime football coach Manny Wasinger, who has won two state titles and more than 200 games in a 34-year coaching career that includes stops at Alamosa, Adams State University, and Monte Vista.
“I kind of always wanted to be like him,” Lane Wasinger said. “I wanted to be a coach.”
This past spring, he got his first chance to be a head coach when Roosevelt picked him to lead its football program.
The Roughriders, who play in Class 3A, are off to a 3-1 start this season, including close wins over ranked opponents Longmont and Silver Creek the past two weeks. In Week 4, Roosevelt actually beat Silver Creek on the final play of the game.
This week, it’s Roosevelt that’s ranked. The Roughriders are No. 7 in 3A.
It’s another way Lane has emulated his dad: Manny Wasinger, a member of the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, was actually named the Broncos’ coach of the year in 2002 when he was at Alamosa, and was also a Broncos coach of the week in 2014 while at his current job at Monte Vista.
Like his dad, Lane Wasinger hopes to be in the coaching business for a long while.
“I’m at Roosevelt now until hopefully forever,” he said.
Previous stops: Western State University Assistant coach (2009-10); Arvada West assistant (2010); Fort Collins assistant (2011-15); Arvada West assistant (2016); Roosevelt head coach (2017-present).
[divider]
(Photo: Ian Zahn)
Question: Why did you decide to become a coach?
Wasinger: It starts from the way I was raised. My dad is and was a high school head football coach, so I was raised around the game. It was in my blood. It’s what I knew. I watch him impact young people from an early age and saw his success from a very close perspective.
I think the competitive bloodlines that I have, I kind of always wanted to be like him. I wanted to be a coach. I loved the game of football, and it was a way for me to stay connected to a game that I am passionate about and kind of molded me to the person I am today.
Q: Is there a reason that you coach the way you do?
Wasinger: I think I’m a product of all the coaches I’ve been around throughout my life, including my dad.
When I was at Arvada West, a guy I really look up to as a coach and as a role model is Casey Coons. He was a longtime head coach there for a while, and he’s still there helping out. He’s a lot of the reason I wanted to go back last year. He’s just someone that I look up to a lot, just from a leadership perspective and the way he interacts with people and kids.
I’ve seen a lot of coaching styles, so I think I’m a product of all of them put together. Everywhere I’ve been, I just kind of have taken things that I like and don’t like and just kind of put them into my own philosophies and my own ways of coaching. That’s just kind of who I am now.
I think a lot of people think I’m a lot like my dad. I mean, I talk like him and I probably act like him on the sidelines.
I see what has the most impact on kids. I see what works with them and what doesn’t work with them. I’ve seen coaches do things really effectively with kids and really reach kids, and I see the light bulb turn on. And I’ve seen coaches try different methods where kids are channeling them out and it’s not working.
Being a bystander for so long has really helped me become the coach that I am and wanted to be.
(Photo: Ian Zahn)
Q: So what would you say it’s like to be coached by you?
Wasinger: I would imagine I’m somebody who is real with kids. I can speak their language, I can connect with them on a level that might be different than someone who isn’t really understanding of their culture or of the times these days. I think being a younger coach helps reach kids, and establish some relationships with them that maybe aren’t all that common around the world today.
I think at the end of the day, kids know that I have high expectations of them, that I’m there for a bigger purpose than rather just coaching the game of football.
I enjoy interacting with them, I enjoy being a leader and kind of modeling that you can do all kinds of things in life and be successful, no matter what it is, and I chose football. I chose coaching, I chose teaching. I decided that that’s what I wanted to do and I was going to be great at it.
That’s what I’m going for, and kids understand that you’re all going to have different likes and interests, and all you need to do is go about something with passion and with a full heart and go after it and you can be successful.
Q: What was last week like for you and for your guys? Obviously, it was a huge win.
Wasinger: Yeah, it was a huge win. We’ve had two weeks in a row now where we’ve had some pretty big wins for our football program. It’s been really good for our confidence and just helping us come in everyday and still working towards our ultimate goal of winning a championship.
It says that we can compete with anybody, we can play with anybody, and it kind of put us on the map a little bit. It helped the kids buy into what’s going on at Roosevelt now that we can find ways to win even when things aren’t working.
We have the resources, the coaches, the talent on our team, and the character on our team to never give up and find a way to win a football game even when things aren’t looking too good, or we make a mistake. We’re resilient and we’re fighters. If you can do that, you’re going to be successful.
(Photo: Ian Zahn)
One of the things we talk about is that successful people never quit, and we haven’t done that this year. Never have we just laid down and quit. For 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids, that speaks volumes to their character and to their maturity.
Last week against Silver Creek, it was a chance for us to out and play a team that had a lot of hype, and is a well-coached team. I think they’ve only lost two games since they’ve been down in 3A for the last couple of years. We knew that we were going to be in for a game, but we had no doubts in our mind that we were going to be able to compete. We knew that we were going to be able to compete with them.
By the end, we’re still waiting for our entire team to play our best football. We haven’t done that yet. We have seen spurts of it, we’ve seen glimpses here and there of what our potential is as a football team.
Towards the end of the game, we just found a way to win, and it was a fun one. It was a big win for the program and a big win for our kids.
Q: Had you been part of something like that, winning a game on the last play of the game?
Wasinger: I don’t know if I have. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve seen my dad win games like that before. Thinking back to my time as a player, I don’t know if we ever won a game on the last play of the game. I remember losing a game as a player on one of the last plays of the game, and that was pretty disheartening.
But winning in that fashion, as a coach and being a part of it, was extremely exciting. Someone told me I’m going to need a pacemaker if this keeps up.
