On April 20, the Legislative Council will meet in Aurora. Below is information about the meeting, including links to the agenda and proposals that will be considered.
Where: Radisson Denver Southeast (3155 S. Vaughn Way, Aurora)
The Legislative Council is going to be busy this April.
Already a big meeting because of the scheduled introduction of new commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green, the representatives will be voting on a wide variety of important proposals. Perhaps the most visible is the proposed addition of boys volleyball as a sanctioned sport.
There’s also basketball’s proposed mercy rule, a proposal about co-op programs, one dealing with violating game contracts, and plenty more.
Boys volleyball has long sought sanctioning from CHSAA, and this is actually the third official campaign from representatives of the sport. The Tri-Peaks League is sponsoring the proposal.
The administrative proposal seeking to amend the CLOC report will be among the first voted on at the April meeting. It is seeking to add boys volleyball as a spring sport, and have it immediately enter with two classifications that are based upon skill rather than enrollment. (This would kind of build on hockey’s tiered alignment, though that is within a single classification.)
According to the proposal, there are 50 teams currently competing as club high school teams. A recent survey of member schools indicated that 93 schools would consider adding a team, and 107 supported the sport’s sanctioning.
However, a group of boys volleyball representatives made a presentation to the CHSAA equity committee in January, and while the committee was impressed, it ultimately did not endorse sanctioning.
In a letter after that meeting, the equity committee cited data that showed that 81 percent of schools “responded that by adding this sport, their proportionality numbers would either be negatively affected or their school’s proportionality would become out of compliance.” Proportionality deals with the balance of boys and girls sports as mandated by Title IX.
Because of that, boys volleyball may face an uphill battle for sanctioning from the Legislative Council.
If boys volleyball is added — the vote will take a simple majority to pass — Colorado would become the 25th state to sanction it. CHSAA hasn’t added a sport since boys and girls lacrosse and field hockey were added from 1997-99.
Along the way, it underwent its fair share of scrutiny from its fellow schools and fans of opposing teams because it appeared to be reaping the benefits of a co-op program without actually forming a co-op — which would have forced it to combine enrollment numbers, and, as a result, move up to 8-man.
Well, the Board of Directors has forwarded a proposal to the Legislative Council dealing with co-op programs. Coincidence? Probably not.
To be fair, the Hi-Plains situation, which involved Flagler and bussing kids from one school to the other, drew a microscope because the team won a championship. As commissioner Paul Angelico said in December, “It’s more widespread than just these two schools.”
But, here we are.
This proposal clarifies what a school may not do if it doesn’t offer a program. It makes it so schools cannot:
Dictate to which school a student must go if his/her school does not offer a program
Provide transportation to that school for the student(s)
Make an informal agreement between schools in regard to which school will offer a program and which will not
Provide the receiving school with any funds, equipment, facilities, etc., for the student(s) going to play at that school
Provide any physical support except to provide transcripts for eligibility checks
The rationale behind this proposal states that the state law which allows students to participate at other schools if their school doesn’t offer a program “is clear that where a student may play shall be the decision of the student and student’s parents, not the school that is sending the student.”
Furthermore, it adds that “small school athletics face enough challenges without schools using the law to gain a competitive advantage by dictation where students play sports and providing financial and transportation support for that student.”
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Committee reports to be voted on, including basketball’s mercy rule
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
As usual, individual sport committees have been meeting over the past few months and making their recommendations to the Legislative Council.
Included is basketball’s sportsmanship rule, which would institute a running clock when the score margin is 35 points or more after three quarters.
The basketball committee forwarded that proposal to the Legislative Council during its February meeting, along with a change to the regional format in Class 2A.
Earlier, we’d reported that a separate proposal would penalize violation of the sportsmanship rule. That proposal was not actually forwarded to the Legislative Council, and thus will not be voted on.
Along with this committee recommendation is a separate proposal from the Board of Directors that would penalize violation of the sportsmanship rule. If a team exceeds the 35-point margin more than three times in a season, it would be placed on restriction, along with their head coach.
Elsewhere:
Hockey is seeking to add new programs at Chaparral and Woodland Park. It also wants to slightly amend its postseason waiver process.
Spirit is seeking to separate the 4A/5A co-ed division into separate 4A and 5A divisions.
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Violating game contracts to be considered
Another proposal revolves around game contracts and creates penalties for not honoring the agreement.
Currently, bylaw 2860.1 reads that “member schools are expected to honor game contracts.” This would amend that bylaw to read that they “shall honor game contracts,” so long as they are written and signed by the principal or athletic director of each school.
For a first violation of breaking as contract, a school would be placed on probation and required to pay a $500 reimbursement “to the offended school within 45 days.” A second violation would place the school on restriction, meaning none of their athletic programs could compete in the postseason, and require a reimbursement of $1,000 to the other school, as well as a “mandatory meeting with the CHSAA office with a penalty to be determined.”
Additionally, if a school doesn’t pay a fine to the other school within 45 days, it will be “placed on restriction.” The “penalty is non-appealable.”
It’s worth noting that the penalty “will only be applicable for varsity-level teams.”
The proposal was forwarded by the Board of Directors in response to a number of member schools who have identified what they feel is an increasing trend.
It requires a majority approval to pass.
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Notables
A proposal dealing with football equipment dates was sent by the Board of Directors. It deals with using equipment and commercial and college camps, and it’s probably easier to just link the proposal itself.
The Frontier League has forwarded an amendment to change basketball’s RPI percentages. The basketball committee is not in support of the amendment, which hasn’t been analyzed or discussed using official data.
Arvada West junior Kynlee Post (4) scored the lone goal in the Wildcats’ 1-0 win over Golden on Wednesday at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — Some days it just takes one.
Arvada West junior Kynlee Post’s goal midway through the first half was all the Wildcats (2-0 record) needed offensively on a windy Wednesday afternoon at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. A-West edged Golden 1-0 in the non-league game between the Jeffco teams.
“It’s early season with fitness, jitters and just trying to figure stuff out,” A-West coach Troy Gette said.
Off a free kick, Post was able to rocket a sharp-angle shot from inside the Demons’ goalie box in the 20th minute. The shot got past Golden freshman goalie Katie Hageman for the lone goal of the game.
“Set pieces are the key in tight games,” Gette said. “We focused on them this week and it paid off.”
Golden senior Rylee Wyckoff (17) and Arvada West junior Jenna Columbo (9) battle for the ball. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
A-West sophomore Makenna Fowler and Post both had chances to give the Wildcats a bit of a cushion in the second half, but Golden freshman goalie Audrey Pino, who manned the next in the second half, made a diving save on Fowler in the 60th minute. Post had a close in shot, but after getting deflected it slipped just wide.
Golden (0-3) actually dominated scoring chances in the second half with a handful of opportunities to give the Demons their first goal of the season.
“It’s definitely frustrating, but we are working so hard,” Golden senior Sydney Starkey said of the Demons without a goal in their first three game. “We are so close right now. It’s so close we can taste it.”
Golden freshman Juju Behrens hit the crossbar in the 47th minute. Another great scoring chance came in the final minute, but Starkey’s shot was saved by A-West senior goalie Maysie Poland who picked up the shutout in net.
“It was very hectic in the second half. We got very congested everywhere on the field,” Post said. “We were playing not to lose in the second half.”
The Class 4A Jeffco League’s Golden squad took plenty of positives despite losing a third straight game to start the season. The Demons were very successful keeping possession of the ball and getting offensive pressure in the second half going against a strong north wind.
Golden freshman Juju Behrens nearly ended the Demons’ scoring drought. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We are kind of used to,” Golden junior Quinn Cusack said of the wind. “We have it everyday when we practice on turf at Golden. You just have to hit the ball harder and we did that in the second half.”
The Demons have played a tough schedule so far. Golden suffered 2-0 losses to Mullen and Silver Creek. Mullen was No. 5 in the CHSAANow.com 4A girls soccer preseason poll and Silver Creek was just outside the top-10.
“Every team we’ve played so far is preparing us for something better,” Golden coach Luke Vanderglas said. “We aren’t finding the net right now, but it’s going to come. The way these girls work in practice and they way they are hungry out there, it will come.”
The Wildcats are hungry to make a run at the 5A Jeffco League title this season. A-West finished tied for third last season, but are the only 5A Jeffco team without a non-league loss just a week into the season.
“I think we have a chance,” Gette said about contending for a 5A Jeffco title. “We are young, I only have a couple of seniors, but it’s a good group we have this year. Once we figure out our style we’ll be very successful.”
Arvada West and Golden head into conference play in early April. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Chris Braketa, left, has been hired to replace Mitch Conrad, right, as the boys basketball coach at Ralston Valley. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — Mitch Conrad has retired as Ralston Valley’s boys basketball coach after 17 years at the helm of the program.
Conrad coached basketball for 28 years with assistant positions at Standley Lake, Pomona and Arvada West before starting up Ralston Valley’s hoops program when the school opened in 2000. He finished with a 293-133 coaching record at Ralston Valley.
“Twenty-eight years is quite awhile. I wanted to spend more time with my family,” Conrad said. “It’s been a big commitment. Basketball is year-round anymore. That was one of the biggest things.”
Ralston Valley announced this week that Chris Braketa has been hired to replace Conrad. Braketa, a 1999 Pomona graduate, is a math teacher at Ralston Valley and was an assistant coach for a handful of years under Conrad.
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“(Braketa) is just an excellent person,” Ralston Valley principal Gavan Goodrich said. “Whenever we are filling (coaching) positions here we want to find the best people. If you can combine a coach with a great teacher it’s great for kids.”
Braketa had his promising playing career cut short by injuries. He missed half of his junior year at Pomona after tearing his ACL the summer before his junior season.
His college career included stops at South Dakota School of Mines and Colorado School of Mines. However, Braketa suffered a pair of fractures in his back twice that eventually ended his playing career.
Besides an assistant for a period under Conrad, Braketa has been doing some coaching for B&B Basketball Academy with his brother-in-laws Michael and Stephen Bahl. Braketa’s sister-in-law is Amy Bahl, who just coached Evergreen’s girls program to the school’s first girls basketball state championship.
“I think it’s a good opportunity now, especially with all the feeder programs I’ve been doing getting to know the kids and coaches,” Braketa said. “The freshman class this year was really good. We’ve got some good sophomores and we’ll have some good senior leadership next year.”
Conrad leaves the program after finishing third in the Class 5A Jeffco League this past season with a 14-11 overall record. The Mustangs won their opening round playoff game before losing to eventual state runner-up George Washington in the second round.
Ralston Valley won six league championships, had four Final 4 appearances, played in two 4A state championship games and won the 2003 4A state title. Conrad was also honored as the Jeffco Boys Coach of the Year.
Conrad will continue to teach at Ralston Valley.
“Hopefully that we always played hard and teams always had to play their best to beat us,” Conrad said when ask how is program would like to be remembered under his guidance. “We always expected teams to play their best against us to make us our best.”
While Conrad had a number of great players over the years, Nick Fazekas and Pierce Hornung are the most memorable. Fazekas was a three-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year at University of Nevada after leading the Mustangs to the state title in 2003.
Fazekas had stays in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers. He is currently playing professionally in Japan.
Hornung is another Conrad prodigy that had an outstanding career at the college level. Hornung spent four years at Colorado State University and is currently an assistant coach with CSU’s basketball program.
“Mitch clearly built one of the elite programs in the state,” said Ralston Valley athletic director Jim Hynes, who actually hired Conrad.
Hynes believes Braketa will have a long and successful run as Ralston Valley’s basketball coach as Conrad had during his time.
“He (Braketa) has big shoes to fill, but I think he will do a terrific job,” Goodrich added.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — No. 2 Cherry Creek baseball beat No. 5 Ralston Valley 6-2 behind five strong innings from Quentin Parr. Tanner O’Tremba and Isaac Kron each had two RBIs in the win.
CHSAA’s Board of Directors voted to hire Blanford-Green as the association’s next commissioner on Tuesday, board president Eddie Hartnett told CHSAANow.com.
“She’s going to lead the communities of Colorado to the next level, and we’re so excited about that,” Hartnett said. “She’s a progressive thinker. That came out in the interviews, as well as what we know about her historically.”
Blanford-Green will be introduced to the membership as commissioner at the Legislative Council meeting in April.
Blanford-Green worked at CHSAA both as assistant commissioner and associate commissioner from 1996-2012. She was the executive director at the Nebraska School Activities Association from 2012-15, and has been an assistant executive director at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association since 2015.
“I stayed connected to Colorado, even when I wasn’t here physically,” Blanford-Green said. “I stayed connected with staff, and I stayed connected with ADs.”
Blanford-Green often returned to Colorado to speak at student conferences and leadership events.
“It will feel like coming home,” she said of returning as CHSAA’s next commissioner. “It’s almost like this has been a circle: I started here, had the opportunity to have the experience in Nebraska, I had the opportunity to have the experience in Louisiana. It’s just come full circle.”
Blanford-Green was selected from a group of three finalists who interviewed at the CHSAA offices on Monday and Tuesday with the Board, the CHSAA administrative staff, and the CHSAA administrative assistants.
“We had great candidates apply. It was a very tough decision,” Hartnett said. “We had three really great finalists. Any one of them could’ve led us into the next decade.
“When you compared experience,” Hartnett added, “Rhonda has commissioner experience in Nebraska, and also has Colorado history, which we heard from our schools was very important. That put her ahead of the pack.”
Blanford-Green said it was “an honor to considered with such strong candidates.”
“The process was one of the most intense and personal that I have ever been involved with over the years,” she added. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the CHSAA Board of Directors and staff to serve the membership and Colorado student-participants.”
The process to select the next commissioner started two years ago, with input from member schools filtering through to the Board. Hartnett stressed transparency and statewide feedback throughout the process.
“Every member school was heard,” Hartnett said. “We brought that up repeatedly today.”
Hartnett also praised the Board of Directors’ work throughout the process.
“This was a long process that required a lot of work to be sure it was done right,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of the work the Board did.”
Blanford-Green will become the first female to serve as CHSAA’s commissioner, as well as the first African-American.
She has quite an extensive resume, including her time at CHSAA. At various times in Colorado, she oversaw boys soccer, spirit, track and field, cross country, hockey and skiing. She also was in charge of equity, marketing, public relations and legislative relations.
She started a number of initiatives at CHSAA, including the creation of the association’s transgender policy, which has since become something of a national model used by other states.
“If you look at the equity policies she’s put in place, she’s been a leader nationally,” Hartnett said.
In 2012, Blanford-Green was named the executive director of the Nebraska School Activities Association — becoming the first African-American woman in the country to serve in that capacity.
She led the Nebraska association for three years, parting ways in 2015, and has been the assistant executive director at the Louisiana High School Activities Association since August 2015.
A 1981 graduate of Aurora Central High School, where she starred in track and also competed in spirit and volleyball, Blanford-Green went on to become an All-American in track at the University of Nebraska.
After college, she twice qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials. She was a coach for a spell before joining CHSAA.
Blanford-Green is a member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame as a participant (2012 inductee), the Sportswoman of Colorado Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
A mother of two, John and Aspen, she is married to John Green, the former district athletic director of Cherry Creek Schools.
Blanford-Green is the first external hire as commissioner since Ray Plutko was hired from California in 1986.
