(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

LONE TREE — One thing was clear on Monday afternoon as Rhonda Blanford-Green kicked off the 2017-18 school year at the annual All-School Summit: She isn’t afraid of change.

“We’re not afraid to look at how activities and athletics are evolving, and not just dig our heels in,” Blanford-Green said.

Addressing the entire CHSAA membership for the first time in her new role as commissioner, Blanford-Green’s vision for the future was exemplified in a conversation she had with Alex Halpern, the Association’s legal counsel.

“I was speaking with Alex, our attorney, at the CASE conference,” Blanford-Green recalled, “and he said, ‘Rhonda, you know what, it’s like trying to drive a 1960s car in the 21st century.’ And he was speaking about our bylaws.

“We anticipate really starting to maybe not look at just the minor things, but really look at maybe taking our bylaw book apart and finding what’s still applicable, what’s still relevant,” Blanford-Green added.

In her speech, which opened the two-day All-School Summit, Blanford-Green laid out her overarching vision for CHSAA:

• She’s planning a tour of the state to attend every league meeting. “I really want to sit down in an intimate setting and find out where the membership wants to go,” she said.

• Though she’s not afraid of change, Blanford-Green’s aim is to “limit change in transition” as she begins her tenure.

“The staff that’s part of Colorado high school activities is second to none,” Blanford-Green said. “It’s highly-regarded nationally. Many of us sit on national committees, many of us speak at the national conference. CHSAA and Colorado are known for being in front of issues instead of being reactive.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

• She has started the formation of new committees — specifically, marketing/fundraising and technology — to meet new challenges.

• She wants to further the development of CHSAANow as a tool for promotion of high school activities, while also expanding its focus and partnership opportunities.

“For us, and from here on out, CHSAANow is the primary resource and the primary voice on high school athletics and activities in the state of Colorado,” Blanford-Green said. “No one else across the country has a CHSAANow, and we need to leverage that.”

• She wants to invite middle school and junior highs back into the CHSAA fold, and has already sent a letter seeking to do exactly that to more than 280 principals and athletic directors at that level.

“We are going to look at forming a committee to really start to train our parents and coaches and communities about what the expectations are when they reach the high school level,” Blanford-Green said. “Middle school activities should be about embracing participation, not regulation.”

It’s a vision that seemed to resonate with the gathered athletic directors, which included more than 80 new faces.

Blanford-Green said her aim, as she begins her role as the ninth commissioner of CHSAA, “is to just be consistent in making decisions about our bylaws to ensure education is a priority.”

The goal, she continued, is to “roll out some new initiatives that connect the most impactful student organizations, such as CADA, CHSCA, CASB and CASE, to make sure that our mission and our message is strong.”

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — A sports management group from Azerbaijan visiting Colorado stopped by the Colorado High School Coaches Association clinic on Friday, and were given a tour by CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green.

The group, which included eight delegates and two translators, was visiting as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). They are on a three-week tour of the United States, with stops in Washington D.C., Denver, Colorado Springs, Cleveland, Charlotte and Boston.

Their project’s theme is “Sports Management and Sports as a Tool for Social Change in the U.S.” They are visiting various organizations to examine strategies, observing best practices and meeting leaders.

On Monday, the Azerbaijani delegation had multiple conversations with a number of organizations, including with Jim Lord of USA Cheer, and Tom Southall with Paralympics and Special Olympics.

Blanford-Green spoke to the group about CHSAA’s mission for high school athletics, specifically using them as an extension of the classroom and a way to help develop a well-rounded young adult.

“We were honored to be involved with the Azerbaijani delegation, and look forward watching the further development of their youth sports programs,” Blanford-Green said.

The delegates work for various organizations in Azerbaijan, including paralympics, their national olympic committee, the ministry of youth sports, in sports journalism, the state academy of sport, their basketball federation and the ministry of education.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

(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)

Pueblo East holds the longest active state football championship streak. The Eagles topped Discovery Canyon last December to claim their third-straight Class 3A title.

They also accomplished that feat with three different head coaches.

So this year, Pueblo East faces a a situation that they’re unfamiliar with: coaching consistency.

Andy Watts is looking to keep the championship streak alive and claim his second title.

But he knows it’s going to be anything but a walk through the park.

[divider]

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Question: This team is going into a year where it’s coming off three state titles with three different coaches, what’s the challenge now in actually having some consistency at the position this year?

Watts: You know, we just can’t let the past get to our heads and we just have to stay focused on what our ultimate goal is and that’s the same as it was my first year coaching. It’s to win our last game.

Just go in and compete one game at a time and treat every game like a playoff game and just take care of business.

Q: You’ve been around this team during these years and transitioned from head coach to head coach. What was the first thing you learned when you took the job over?

Watts: The first thing that I learned? All the non-football stuff is the biggest pain.

But the first thing I learned was teaching the kids to be humble and stay committed to our ultimate goal and that’s putting the team over yourself and staying dedicated to one another.

I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned is to keep the kids bought in.

Q: What’s your mindset going into this year with a year of coaching now under your belt and knowing the feeling of winning a state title?

Watts: It’s very similar to last year. I know that we have a solid group of young men that have been putting in the work and I know that if we go into each week with the right attitude and the right effort that we have a chance to do what we’ve done in the past and defend our title.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Q: Luc Andrada, your sophomore quarterback, didn’t disappoint last year. What can we expected from him in his junior year?

Watts: More growth. I expect nothing but more growth from him.

He’s a great leader on and off the field. He obviously did not disappoint in his debut season, and I expect good things from him again.

Q: What do you have to overcome with the loss of guys like Bryson Torres and Luke Padula?

Watts: Those young men that we lost were obviously a tremendous asset to all three state titles and they’ll be sadly missed.

We just need guys to step up. We need guys filling that void and guys that hadn’t had to lead in the past accepting leadership positions.

From what I’ve seen through the summer and through camp, I’m very excited and anxious to see what this year holds.

Q: How big of a target is on your back?

Watts: If there wasn’t a target on our back last year, there’s obviously a big one on our back this year.

With winning it three times, obviously we’re going to get everybody’s best. We have an extremely tough schedule, so we know that not only are we going to get everybody’s best, but we’re playing some of the teams in the state right out of the gate.

We have a tough league. I feel like there’s a big target on our back and that’s something these guys are used to. These guys coming into their senior year, they have a chance to win four state titles so I think all we can do is embrace it and run with it.

Q: Do you feel like there’s a little bit more competitiveness and a little bit more of a rivalry feeling in Pueblo than what you see in a lot of the state?

Watts: To be totally honest with you, I can’t speak for other spots in the state. I know that there are some leagues up north that are ultra-competitive.

As far as league goes, obviously we’re a football and wrestling town. There’s great tradition here football-wise.

I can’t say that we have better rivalries down here and more intense competition because I can’t speak for those teams in the surrounding areas.

I do know that what we have here is something special and our league this year is going to be extremely competitive especially with Durango and Harrison. They were both pretty young teams last year and returned a lot of guys and they played us pretty tough.

I expect a battle as far as league play goes.

Q: What do you talk to your kids in terms of expectations when you’re coming off three state championships. Is that the expectation or just one of several goals?

Watts: Like I said before, our goal is to win our last game.

I told the boys that last year coming in as a rookie head coach that we treat every game like a playoff game. I don’t care if we’re playing a team that’s 0-5 or 5-0, we’re going to treat everybody the same and play four quarters of relentless football.

Our goal is to go in and win every football game.

Q: In the state title game, was there any panic in you last year when Discovery Canyon took the lead?

Watts: You know what, I wouldn’t say there was a sense of panic. We knew going into the game that Discovery Canyon was an extremely tough opponent. They had put it on us pretty good earlier in the year.

When they scored that first touchdown, we knew they were going to get yards and score some points. That’s just the ebbs and flows of football.

You’re going to give up a touchdown here or there.

I don’t think there was a sense of panic. We expected them to come out strong, but fortunately we were able to come out and execute and hold them to that touchdown.

Q: As you head into camp, how do you make sure that the kids are still having fun and that your message isn’t stale considering what’s been done the last three years?

Watts: I think that we just continue to keep a positive environment for the kids. Keep it fun.

We don’t try and put any pressure on the kids in terms of expectations. They’re used to winning. We’re used to winning. Which is a good thing, we’re ultra-competitive.

But at the same time, we’re used to having fun.

We tell them as coaches, our job is to love them up and their job as players is to love each other.

As long as we can do that, we’re going to be alright.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Courtesy of Orlando Gallegos)

Colorado had two second place finishes to secure seventh place at the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Nationals in the Junior Women’s Freestyle division.

Florence’s Kourtney Boehm and Douglas County’s Jerzie Estrada placed second in the 122 and 138 weight class, respectively.

Douglas County added another wrestler at the podium as Tristan Kelly won her third-place match in the 164-pound division.

In the Cadet division, Kelly lost in the fifth place match. Colorado did not place in the top ten.

However, Brighton’s Jaslynn Gallegos took third place in the 106-pound weight class after taking sixth in the junior sector.

Gallegos accepted the award for most pins in the cadet division, with five.

On the boys side, Jett Strickenberger won his 94-pound bout.

Dominick Serrano placed second in the 120-pound division. Serrano went a perfect 50-0 for Windsor as he took the state championship in Class 4A.

The Colorado boys tied for 14th in the junior freestyle division.

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

The start of the Fall 2017 sports season is a little over a week away, and things are ramping up as a result.

As of Wednesday, every bulletin for the fall sports season has been posted. They are all available on the Bulletins page, as well as the individual sport pages.

On Thursday, the annual multi-sport clinic for the Colorado High School Coaches Association begins. It runs through Saturday. More than 700 coaches have registered.

All CHSAA administrative members will be speaking at the CHSCA clinic, and CHSAANow will have a booth on site where we’ll be giving away books, shirts and other items. Coaches will also be able to sign up to vote in the weekly coaches polls at the booth.

In addition, commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green and assistant commissioner Ernie Derrera will address the entire conference on Friday morning.

Then, CHSAA’s annual All-School Summit runs next Monday and Tuesday. The Athletic Secretaries/Finance Directors Summit is also on Tuesday.

A week later, boys golf practice begins on Aug. 7. And then it’s basically non-stop action until the end of May 2018.

(Courtesy of George Washington HS)

Denver Broncos free safety Darian Stewart visited the George Washington football team Tuesday.

Stewart — a South Carolina alum — played against the Patriots’ first-year defensive coordinator, Rico McCoy, in college. McCoy played college football at Tennessee.

McCoy’s connection allowed the team to have a valuable experience ahead of the upcoming season. Cornerback Essam Bryant and quarterback Jaydon Green both figure to be leaders for the Patriots and were able to sit down and talk with Stewart.

(Courtesy of George Washington HS)

“I talked to him pretty much about the task of getting there,” Bryant said as he talked about playing a similar position to Stewart. “He told me to keep working hard and to believe in myself. No matter what college I go to, keep my head on straight.”

Bryant and Green both put making the playoffs as this season’s number one goal.

“It boosted confidence for our team,” Bryant said. “People are buying in so we can have that successful team that we’ve been wanting to have for the last few years that I’ve been at George Washington. (Stewart) told us the road to get there.”

The two players talked about the individual motivation and inspiration gained from the experience.

“It’s good knowing that there are actually people in the NFL that started from where I’m starting from,” Bryant said. “It inspired me for the season and for life.”

“To see where he came from and how hard he’s worked to get where he’s at, that was motivational,” Green said.

In two seasons with the Broncos, Stewart has 131 tackles and four interceptions.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — Class 5A football looks to be moving away from its current waterfall alignment.

On Tuesday, a group of athletic directors and district athletic directors, each representing different 5A leagues, met at the CHSAA office to lay out plans and discuss different ideas on how to align teams for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

The meeting was a continuation of the football committee’s efforts to involve voices from all around the state, and one the committee requested to get feedback on the current 5A format.

And one thing was unanimous: The current waterfall alignment, which evenly distributed all 5A teams into separate leagues based solely upon their performance in the RPI over previous seasons, needs to change. The group will make that recommendation to the football committee to consider at its meeting in December.

The waterfall alignment will remain in place for the 2017 season, however, as that would have needed to be changed at the Legislative Council meeting this past January.

“We are a dynamic organization, and we should always be open to changes,” football chair Mike Krueger told the group as the meeting opened.

The representatives passed along feedback that the waterfall was not well-received, saying that coaches and administrators wanted to return to traditional rivalries, that it highlighted the disparity that currently exists in 5A, and that a move away from that alignment would be a good way to minimize risk in the sport.

What 5A’s alignment will ultimately look like remains to be seen, but it is possible that it will look similar to what was used in 2014 and 2015 — structured around geography and traditional rivalries.

The group discussed various ideas and options surrounding alignment, but too many variables remain to settle on one recommendation, including the number of schools 5A will ultimately end up with in 2018 and 2019 based upon the coming October enrollment counts.

They also repeatedly expressed concern about how their recommendation might affect other classifications.

“We need other voices in this room,” said Larry Bull, the district athletic director at Cherry Creek Schools.

Tuesday’s meeting continued the football committee’s ongoing approach to shared decision making.

More is on the way: During next week’s All-School Summit each classification will have a breakout session to discuss alignment, as well as other topics. There are also meetings scheduled for September for all seven classifications of football.

(Michael Hankins/TGWstudios.com)

Blake Carette, a lineman who will be a senior at Arapahoe this fall, has committed to play college football at Air Force.

He announced his decision on Twitter on Monday:

https://twitter.com/blake_carette/status/889565282460606464/photo/1

Listed at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, Carette is set to begin his fourth year as a member of the varsity team.

According to 247sports.com, Carette also had offers from Northern Colorado, Idaho, Indiana State, Montana State, North Dakota, South Dakota and Weber State.

AURORA — With the start of the 2017-18 season around the corner, a few assignments within the CHSAA office have changed.

Kenzie Hewson has been named the Director of Business Operations, and associate commissioner Tom Robinson will lead the Tournament, Playoff and Finance committee, while also overseeing state tournament site selection.

In addition, new assistant commissioner Ernie Derrera will administer wrestling, boys and girls soccer, and student leadership. Assistant commissioner Bud Ozzello will be overseeing boys and girls lacrosse, football, softball, ice hockey, and speech and debate.

Bud Ozzello, right. (Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green announced the changes on Monday in an email to all 354 member schools.

“My vision in reassigning duties was to look at the strengths of our staff, as well as the needs of our membership, to produce the best result,” Blanford-Green said. “These decisions are made to ensure our levels of expertise best serve our membership and our school communities.”

Hewson took over bookkeeping duties prior to the 2014-15 school year. Her new title brings her in line with similar positions in other state associations across the country.

“The National Federation has created a curriculum because of the accountability and fiscal responsibility that now goes along with this position,” Blanford-Green said.

Ozzello had administered soccer since he started with CHSAA in 2010. He has already held multiple meetings with regard to football’s alignment, and has others scheduled for later this week.

“I’m looking forward to overseeing football and lacrosse,” he said. “With football, we’ve got a lot to focus on in the coming weeks and months as we prepare for the new cycle and our committee meeting in December. We also can’t wait to dive into lacrosse, and prepare for that spring season.”

Derrera started at CHSAA on July 1 after a 17-year career as a teacher, coach and school administrator. He recently finished leading the annual Student Leadership Camp.

“I’m new to this job, so I’m learning anyway,” Derrera said. “I’m excited about what I’ll be overseeing, and I’m looking forward to being more involved with soccer. Being able to watch from a new perspective is going to fun.”