CHSAANow

Month: July 2017

  • CoHSSCA all-state soccer game to field the best talent from 2016-17

    TCA Battle Mountain state boys soccer
    (Michael Hankins/TGWstudios.com)

    Tuesday night will be the ultimate showcase for Colorado high school soccer players from this last year.

    The Colorado High School Soccer Coaches Association will host the all-state game at Lakewood Memorial Stadium. The boys game will start at 5 p.m. with the girls game scheduled for 7 p.m.

    The South team for the boys comes in with a lot of offensive firepower. The Classical Academy’s Titus Grant and Jaden Borja both finished in the top four in state for points. They were often the target of passes from Jeremy Baldes, who is also on the roster.

    They take their shots against Boulder keeper Djibril Doumbia who helped the Panthers to a Class 5A state title.

    Click here to see the complete rosters for the boys all-state soccer game.

    [divider]

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The girls rosters are just as loaded as the boys and the game itself will make for quite the main event.

    Seniors Hanna Burgh of TCA and Jamie Burke of Cheyenne Mountain will try to lead the South squad against a North team that is has a defense anchored by Evergreen’s Kate Athenour. She’ll share the same side of the field as D’Evelyn’s Tianna Wright, Bella Scaturro and Sarah Anschutz.

    The Jaguars beat the Cougars 1-0 in the 4A girls title game back in May.

    Click here to see the complete rosters for the girls all-state soccer game.

    Tickets for the all-state game can be purchased at Lakewood Memorial Stadium prior to the start of the games.

  • CHSAA student leadership camp teaches how to overcome challenges

    CHSAA student leadership camp
    (Courtesy of Kendle Davis)

    FORT COLLINS — The Annual Student Leadership Camp gives students an opportunity to grow not only themselves, but their schools as a whole.

    Students like Rangeview’s Josh Wall.

    “We’ve been focusing on the things which we struggle with and how to overcome them better as a counsel,” Wall said. “Trying to figure out attendance issues in our school, fight racial tendencies, etc. Figure out how we can make our schools better.”

    Rashaan Davis, the curriculum director asked student to do three things every day: Learn, grow and play.

    “Kids understand what the expectation is — especially leaders. It has to be a balance,” Davis said. “We want them to be able to learn. Those are the things we want you to take back to your school. Second, we want them to grow individually as a leader. But, then we also want to play and remind kids how to have a good time.”

    He asked students to simply be in the moment.

    “In this moment, if you can shut down all the other things that are going on and you can hear the message, that’s probably more important than anything else,” Davis said. “Just be here now. If kids can get to that point, that’s where real learning starts to happen.”

    The camp’s theme is ‘GRIT.’

    Davis spoke on what grit means to him.

    “To me, it’s absolutely about follow-through. It’s about understanding how to persevere,” Davis said. “Sometimes, it’s the littlest things that we have to persevere. It’s hearing no sometimes, and I appreciate that because when kids hear no, they either fall apart or they grow. Fail forward, if you will.

    “Grit says, I’m going to take a step back and assess what’s going on around me, and then we’re going to move forward in a positive way.”

    The students were grouped into counsels, then grouped by classification to work on brainstorming ideas for service projects, fundraising and events.

    Kim Karr, the guest speaker for the day, touched on the #ICANHELP initiative.

    According to the #ICANHELP website, they believe that “One person has the power to make a difference and delete negativity online in his or her own life. More people can effect even more change.”

    Karr talked about creating a positive school culture by transforming these student leaders into digital leaders that create positive change online.

    “I think she’s talking on their level because it’s all about technology,” Davis said. “That little device can mean a whole lot in a positive way and it can mean a whole lot in a very negative way. As kids leave here, they should understand that the little things they do affect them personally. But, the big picture of how they can make someone else feel, I think is important.

    “That’s a message that they can take back and share with other students and with their feeder schools — middle school kids need that probably more than high school kids.”

    CHSAA student leadership camp
    (Courtesy of Kendle Davis)

    CHSAA’s Student Leadership program gives students opportunities to work directly with CHSAA members to address important issues.

    The CHSAA state reps had a meeting with the CHSAA staff after Karr spoke.

    “I think it’s great being able to work with all the CHSAA members and the adults to see their mindset,” Wall said. “There are all these rules that you aren’t used to, but now you get to see the backside of that and understand why they have that. Nevertheless, it’s great to have these adults and college people around because you get to see what you can do in leadership and how much further you can go.”

    Wall and the rest of the students get just that — an idea of how far you can go with a program like this. Real change can happen when students and CHSAA members work together.

    “Whenever you meet great people, you get a lot of ideas,” Wall said. “All the ideas which I’m getting from the people in my counsel really help me be able to have these new ideas so I’m kind of refreshed in things that I’ve been doing for the last three years. I come back with a new sense of grit where I’ve got to fight and do everything I need to in order to have a better last year.”

    And, when students from schools around the state get together to collaborate and discuss which ideas work best.

    “I’ve heard of a lot of great ideas from other schools. Other ways of fundraising, I definitely feel could work where I’m going,” Wall said. “A lot of the 1A, 2A or 3A schools, they don’t have many people. When you have a lot of people, it’s easier to get people to go to events. So, you get to hear how they get people to go to events and you can follow their methods.”

    Just two days into the camp, the theme is being bought into full force.

    “Everybody needs grit to get better,” Wall said. “I feel like the theme is really helpful because one of the biggest issues with leadership is giving up after a while or getting tired at the end of the year. It’s always great to have a theme like that because it proves that everything you are doing is worth it. You always have to keep on fighting.”

  • Updated CHSAA calendars released for 2017-18 and 2018-19

    The most recent versions of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 sport calendars were released by the CHSAA office on Monday.

    Each are available via the calendars page, as well as on their individual pages:

    These calendars are subject to change, but those pages will always house the most recent versions of each year.

  • Ponderosa football’s Issac Power to play in U.S. Army Bowl on Jan. 6

    Ponderosa Douglas County football
    (Matt Daniels/mattdanphoto.com)

    Ponderosa’s Issac Power has kicked his way onto national television coverage.

    The senior-to-be was named to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which will be played on Jan. 6. The game will be televised on NBC.

    Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen announced Power’s selection to the game via Twitter.

    In 2016, Power launched 46 of his 70 total kickoffs into the endzone for a touchback. According to MaxPreps, he amassed 4,279 yards on kickoffs, averaging 61.1 yards per kick.

    With the Mustangs’ offense scoring a blistering 45 points per game, Power’s punting duty was light. He punted the ball three times for an average of 44.3 yards. He pinned of the three inside of the opponents’ 20-yard line.

    Ponderosa went 10-2 last year, advancing to the Class 4A quarterfinals before falling to eventual state runner-up, Broomfield.

  • Vista PEAK’s Smashum twins a dynamic duo built on trust

    Lutheran Vista PEAK football
    (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)

    Smashum to Smashum has been a familiar call for the last three years at Vista PEAK.

    In fact, it’s been a call since identical twins Derrick and Daniel were six years old.

    “For us, we have that trust,” Derrick Smashum said. “I’ve been throwing it to him so long, so I instantly know where he’s going to be just by instinct.”

    Derrick threw for 40 touchdowns and ran for another seven as he amassed over 3500 yards in 2016.

    “It’s almost like playing a video game with him sometimes,” Vista PEAK coach John Sullivan said. “He’s able to just make plays. If we would have let him run the ball more, he would have had even more rushing touchdowns. He’s just that dynamic of an athlete.”

    Of those 40 touchdowns, eight were to Daniel.

    “They’ve both been starting since their sophomore year, but as they’ve become more accustomed to our offense and working together, it’s pretty amazing how — just like you would think with receivers that work together all the time — there’s a sense of trust with the quarterback,” Sullivan said. “It just goes to another level with Derrick and Daniel. I always ask them, ‘Hey, what’s the other one thinking?’ It almost seems like they know.”

    That trust has been built by being by eachother’s side for life. But, spending so much time together does take a toll.

    “Sometimes on the field, we butt heads,” Derrick said. “If I miss him on a pass or something, he’ll let me know about it. And if he ran the route too deep, I’ll let him know.”

    It has it’s rewards, too.

    “After all the games, we talk about what we saw on the field and how we can fix it,” Daniel said. “No doubt that I have higher expectations for him since I’ve been on his team playing with him my whole life. I haven’t been playing with anybody else that long, so of course I’m harder on him.”

    The high expectations and constant competition have worked out as both twins have had success on the field. Derrick and Daniel compete on just about anything from who can bench or squat the most to who’s faster.

    That comparison is what pushes the two to be better.

    Daniel Smashum vista peak
    (Courtesy of the Smashum family)

    “They’re really quiet kids. As most twins that I’ve dealt with, they’re used to being called the other one,” Sullivan said. “They kind of respond to anything. They have cool senses of humors with them and they’re super competitive — especially with eachother more than anything else.”

    As for their positions, it was the right fit.

    “I chose quarterback because I like to take the pressure of making big plays and slinging it around to everybody and making sure everybody is involved,” Derrick said. “If we lose, I don’t want it to be on anybody else. I want it to be on me.”

    Daniel chose receiver in high school after playing running back throughout youth football because it fit the offensive scheme at Vista PEAK.

    “I knew I could count on him to get tough yards,” Derrick said on Daniel’s ability at running back. “Now, since he’s playing receiver, I know I can count on him to beat a linebacker in man coverage and find the gaps in zones.”

    Vista PEAK’s air attack saw Derrick sling the rock around at will as six different receivers recorded a touchdown.

    “Where (Derrick) has really improved the last two years is his decision making,” Sullivan said. “Cutting down on turnovers. That, in turn, is going to help us be a successful offense.”

    The high octane offense will be chugging along in the upcoming season as the Bison return all but Dylan Holt (11 TD, 647 yards).

    “We’ve been really lucky the last few years because we’ve had a really dynamic set of receivers around Derrick. Teams can’t just focus on Daniel,” Sullivan said. “We’ll continue to stay as balanced as we possibly can. We don’t ask our quarterback to throw it to one kid, we look at matchups and primary receivers on particular plays.”

    Junior JJ Augustus will be returning alongside Daniel after being the primary target last year with 13 touchdowns and 837 yards.

    “Daniel has great hips,” Sullivan said. “Of all our receivers, he’s probably the one that can catch a screen pass and at any time be able to break it long.”

    Daniel flashed his own talent at quarterback as well with two completions for two touchdowns last season.

    It all goes back to being able to trust one another — building a bond that is stronger than simply teammates, stronger than simply brothers.

    They’re both, and they’re dynamic because of that. 

    “They’re a very interesting couple there,” Sullivan said. “You can really sense through their quietness how much they care for eachother and love eachother. That twin bond is pretty amazing.”

    Vista PEAK Eagle Valley football
    (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)

  • Fountain-Fort Carson names Nicole Johnson as new volleyball coach

    State volleyball generic
    (Pam Wagner/CHSAANow.com)

    Fountain-Fort Carson is turning to a familiar face to take over the volleyball program. Athletics director Jared Felice tweeted out Friday that Nicole Johnson has been tasked with leading the Trojans as head coach.

    Felice had nothing but praise for Johnson and her vast volleyball background.

    “We are excited to have Nicole serve as our new volleyball coach,” he said. “She brings a strong playing and coaching background from the high school and collegiate level that we believe will translate to the growth of our volleyball program.”

    Nicole has been an assistant at FFC for the last two seasons. Before that, she served as an assistant at Rockford University. Originally from Illinois, she played her collegiate volleyball at Eastern Kentucky.

    She takes over for Sergio Rangel who served in the head coach role for two seasons. The Trojans were 8015 in 2016.

  • Standley Lake hires Bob Bote as new baseball coach

    (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.

  • Q&A: CHSAA hall of famer Justin Armour dishes on today’s landscape of high school athletics

    MANITOU SPRINGS — This past spring, Justin Armour decided to get back into the world of high school coaching. He spent two years as the head football coach at his alma mater of Manitou Springs before stepping down to open a restaurant in his hometown.

    This winter, he’ll roam the sidelines as the Mustangs’ girls basketball coach.

    It’s been quite a ride for the 2011 CHSAA hall of fame inductee. After a star-studded career with the Mustangs he found college football success at Stanford. Then he made his way to the NFL.

    As one of the rare standouts who has reached the highest level of athletic success, he was able to look back at how high school sports worked in his day and how today they’re better in some ways and not as good in others.

    [divider]

    Question: What’s the biggest thing you expect in your second go around as a varsity head coach?

    Armour: Probably less surprises. Just from an administrative point of view and the handling of communication with the parents and all that will be a lot easier.

    Football is different venture. It’s more complex on a day-to-day basis. There’s a lot more film review required, there’s a lot more strategic planning for a particular opponent each week. That’s why you have the collaboration of all these coaches and it’s a much larger process than playing basketball.

    I don’t expect it to be quite as much (of a time commitment) as being the head coach of football requires. Obviously I have a vested interest in that I get to be around my daughter and her friends that all play basketball that I’ve been coaching for a while.

    Probably the most important thing that I expect is that I didn’t just move here. I was trying to open a restaurant with my family. I wasn’t just starting to work full-time (at the school district). Now I’m just running a business, spending a lot more time with my family. It’s a much better time-management time of my life to be doing this.

    Q: You’re now pulling double duty as a parent and a coach. Between those two, what do you see now from kids, parents or coaches in general that you’ve from or used as an example of what not to do?

    Armour: I would say my coaching style has matured for sure. It’s from observing parents, observing other coaches – particularly good coaches.

    I’ve definitely become less feisty, or tried to, and stopped blaming officials or other factors in the game other than how you’re team is playing. I’ve kind of matured to and become much more friendly with officials and the environment instead of going in there with a hot head of steam wanting to compete.

    It’s funny how it’s taken a while. I’m 44 now, so I’m mellowing out for sure.

    Q: Back when you were 17 or 18, could have imagined that the high school sports world would blow up to the size it is now with 24-hour recruiting services and kids who are always looking for the next best offer?

    Armour: Not so much. It’s funny, because I always tell the kids that I got through college basically without the internet. It pretty much arrived right when I got out.

    Back then you had fewer teams, very select tournaments. Not as many kids traveling.

    You certainly played against teams with superstars, kids who were really good and really great shooters. Nowadays every player on every team is good. Really good. I think the competition is way better. It’s much more available. It’s available all year long, through every season.

    So that and the fact that everyone communicates immediately, it’s a frenzy. Once you get on the field level or the court level, I don’t know, I don’t think it’s that different.

    You have kids that love it and some that don’t. The kids that love it are fun to coach.

    Q: What was your decision-making process like compared to what it is today? Now, kids announce what they do on Twitter. What was happening in 1990 or 1991 when you decided to sign and play football at Stanford? How did people hear about it?

    Armour: That’s a good question. I would say, honestly the majority of the people who knew me or followed me found out through the newspaper.

    That’s a good question…

    My family knew immediately. Probably some of my best friends. I’m sure it spread through my own close-knit circle.

    My only concern with these kids is that they have to remember that they have to remain personable with these people. Communicating via text, especially emotional things or important things, really diminishes the value of what you’re saying.

    Of course, you’re always giving these kids your corny speeches over dinner and whatever chance you get. I think they’re listening.

    Q: Going to Stanford, going to the NFL, sometimes people don’t grasp how rare and unique of a situation that is. What do you tell your kids and the kids you coach when they tell you that they want to reach such a high level?

    Armour: I think that my main thing would be that a lot of things have to come together for a student-athlete to get that opportunity.

    In my case, one of my recruiters told me that my academics, my grade-point-average, my test scores and really all the participation in all the things that my school offered – school plays, student council – basically said that it was a slam dunk application.

    So that piece has to be in place. And then you have to have some gifts in place that hopefully you’ve worked on and developed enough that they want those too.

    That has to happen.

    If a kid really wants to create that opportunity for himself, he really has to learn to want it early. In high school, you really have to keep all your ducks in a row at school.

    And then maybe if you’re good enough, you practice hard enough and you want it badly enough you can get a chance to go play and someone will pay for your college tuition and education.

    I wish I had been more organized about it or more aware of what was happening.

    I didn’t really have have much of a college plan per se. I thought I’d just go to business school or law school basically. So my undergraduate degree was in public policy, which I was drawn to and what I was interested in.

    But beyond that, I didn’t have much of a plan.

    There’s a lot of race to nowhere going on with these parents and these kids. I feel like we’re overdoing it, putting them in these camps and tournaments everywhere and spending a lot of money with no guarantee of a return.

    You have to look at your kids and see if they’re having fun. Are they looking forward to this? Are they excited to go to Wisconsin and compete or whatever you’re doing.

    If the kid is excited and passionate about it, then support him and go for it. But I’d encourage parents to not corner their kid into things that they don’t have passion for.

    You have to like practice, you have to like the process of it.

    Q: So as a parent, how do you deal with that when it comes to your own kids?

    Armour: It’s tough. It’s very tough. They know who I am as an adult. They know my personality isn’t that much different. I’m kind of a charger-like person. My wife is laid back, my son is a blend of our personality and so is my daughter.

    I feel like if anything, and my kids will attest to this, I probably don’t push them enough. I talk to them and I support them, but I want them to enjoy it. They don’t have to go this route. Scholar athletes.

    My biggest sell is that it’s a great way to get through school and create opportunities for yourself. If you create that for yourself then you’ve already learned how to work really hard. Because you’re going to have to starting right now.

    My son turned 14 this year so he works (at my restaurant) during the week and has practice all week. He’s a busy kid and he’s a fit kid and he’s healthy. Because he plays.

    He’ll have to set his own goals.

    I wish I would’ve had the goal to play NFL football when I was in high school, but I certainly did not. It wasn’t a conscious goal. I think my goal was to get a scholarship. Once I was there, my goal was to win at the first conditioning exercise.

    I think when I got to the NFL, on some level I was shocked. I don’t know how to explain it. So many people would naysay and tell me I’m not fast enough or just that it wouldn’t happen.

    By the time I was a senior, it looked like I would get the opportunity and then I had a pretty good first year.

    And then, I don’t know. If my goal had been to become a professional football player, I would’ve been more professional about it when I got there instead of moving all over the place.

    I probably should’ve moved to Buffalo and lived there for 10 years and gone in (to the facility) every day. But on the other side, I would leave and meet the people who eventually gave me my jobs after football.

    You look back and think if I had just gone one different direction, I could’ve maybe made a different move here or there and gotten to play five more years.

    Q: Everybody in this area knows Justin Armour the football guy. What would Justin Armour the basketball guy have been like? Not everybody knows that basketball was your primary sport.

    Armour: Yeah, they don’t associate me with basketball. Few people realize that’s what I love. I love basketball and spent all my time doing it.

    (Former Manitou football coach George) Rykovich had to talk me into pretty going on the field as a sophomore. I did not want to.

    I was a super-physical basketball player, but getting the ball every play and getting hammered, I wasn’t there yet. It evolved later.

    Most of the schools that ended up offering me football opportunities only knew me because of seeing me at the Nike Camp and playing in tournaments against the Fab Five and those type of high-level tournaments and games.

    That’s how most colleges saw my athleticism and ability to compete at that level. It certainly wasn’t here at Manitou. Then they would come back and realize ‘oh, he plays football too.’ Then they would tell people that this kid they were looking at for basketball was also on the football field.

    That’s how it worked back then.

    And when you go to school on a scholarship, you have to take the scholarship that offers more. Football programs offer more.

    But my intention was honestly to focus on basketball there.

    I think they would be surprised at how much I like it. Even today, it’s probably what I watch more than anything else. My son gets to play a lot and I love watching his games.

    It’s a fast game, they’re quick games. The weather is always perfect.

    It’s probably one of the most athletic games there is just with the way you have to transition in the game and use a lot of technical skills, make difficult shots. Then there’s the team component. It’s exciting to watch. I love watching, especially when my kids play.

    I’m looking forward to it. We’ve had open gyms all June, I’ve had a lot of the girls that are playing next year. I’m excited about what I see. We pretty much scrimmage together and push each other around.

    I just give them the freedom to play ball and go attack the basket right now, don’t worry about whether or not it goes in.

    There’s a lot of enthusiasm at the middle school. I think 20 to 25 girls are interested in basketball. That’s a good fleet coming up.

    I’m excited to be around the gym.

    I’m excited to have (Amelia) Schofield, and for a lot of people who follow local basketball, they know she was a phenom at Manitou a couple of years ago.

    And then there’s another girl, Jessie Black who works in the district. She’s a local, Woodland Park, girl and she’s been coming to all the open gyms and scrimmaging with the girls.

    We’re going to have fun. We have some good teams in that league the next couple of years so we’ll probably learn how to play really good defense and take a pounding a few times.

    St. Mary’s looks good, CSCS obviously and Lamar. All those teams are going to be beasts for the next couple of years.

    Q: You said earlier you were mellowing out. Now that you have, where do you put your emphasis on learning, having fun and winning?

    Armour: Having fun and learning… if you’re paying attention in practice you’re into it and having fun, you win. I think it goes that way naturally.

    It’ll be different this time. I don’t have any expectations. I want to just go coach basketball.

    I considered it last year when the job opened up and they had a pretty good senior team. I talked to my family and I wasn’t quite ready. At the end of the year, I knew it was available and I had talked to Ed (Longfield) and Danny (Gieck) and it gave me more thought.

    Needless to say it hasn’t been a super-popular position in the last little while. I didn’t exactly weed through a bunch of applicants.

    I think it’ll be a good fit. The other reality is that my son is going to be a freshman. The way that the boys and girls teams travel together, I’ll be traveling to all those games anyway.

    I was already planning on the time commitment because I love watching him play.

    I’ve learned that basketball is coached in practice. When you get to the game, you let them play and see what they got. Maybe talk to them a little along the way.

    When I say I’ve mellowed, I mean I’m done trying to verbally force the game with energy. That was my style to bring a lot of energy. While I try to bring it, I don’t bring it toward the officials anymore. I just act like they’re not there.

    I really do. And I’ve learned that from other good coaches.

    I just take a deep breath because I’ve never seen an official change a call. Even if it was a bad call. Even if they know it was a bad call. In the NBA they do now, I guess. But at our level, they don’t and they’re not going to.

    It’s a tough job. It’s a lot like being a restaurant server, I’m sure, except you don’t get tipped, but you do get yelled at.

  • The summer time is the right time for Colorado high school golfers

    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    Golf is easily a summer sport. The only problem is that in Colorado, there is no summer athletics season.

    So the best time for the boys who compete in the fall and the girls who compete in the spring to get their work in is during the dog days.

    “My players and up and coming players, I see them out there almost every day,” Discovery Canyon boys golf coach Mark Liggett said.

    It paid off for the Thunder 2016. The boys came away with the Class 4A boys team title. Junior Luke Trujillo made it a clean sweep as he brought home an individual championship.

    It was the first overall team championship in school history and with Trujillo and Caleb Blackburn returning in 2017, Liggett sees a team already making plans at defending that championship.

    “They’re out there practicing hard and hitting them every day,” Liggett said. “The other guys coming up beneath them, they’re out there hitting all the time. They’re playing in a camp we have going here at Flying Horse pretty soon. They’re all looking forward to coming in and keep up with what’s going on.”

    4A boys state golf
    Luke Trujillo. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    It’s a common theme amongst young athletes. Those who are the best are putting in the time when they don’t have to. But it’s important to remember that since they’re kids, there may be more than meets the eye when it comes to their competitive desires.

    “I wouldn’t say I play every day because I want to,” Trujillo said. “I play every day because I have nothing else to do. But at the same time, it makes the summer more memorable, playing with your friends going to other places and being able to play with my dad and my brother.”

    The kids are still just that: kids. And golf is a fun summer activity, especially in Colorado. Courses spend a lot of time and a lot money getting fairways and greens into top shape.

    And these high school kids, they just get to soak in the benefits of spending time outside, both enjoying themselves and trying to hone their craft.

    From a coach’s standpoint, the fun part tends to become the most essential component of summer golf.

    “That’s kind of what we want anyways; we want them to enjoy the summer,” Cheyenne Mountain coach John Carricato said. “They can work at it still, but they should enjoy great golf courses and people.”

    From August to late September, the coaches demand so much from their athletes. They want each kid to put together their best 18 holes each time they go out to represent their schools.

    For the kids, there’s an element of decreased stress when they’re away from the school programs. Their ability to take advantage of those situations tend to help them shift into competitive mode in the fall.

    “I’m playing with friends all the time,” Trujillo said. “I can go out today and play poorly and it’s not going to affect anything. I don’t have to get mad at a bad shot or a bad round. When you go out to individual tournaments, you don’t have a team so you’re a little more relaxed and enjoying the summer.”

    Trujillo says he doesn’t have to get mad at a bad shot or a bad round, but the mindset of a competitive golfer will always dictate otherwise.

    An errant shot will always be met with the wonder of why and how it happened. If the circumstances are identified then an adjustment will be made to correct it.

    It’s something the weekend warrior does at local municipal course.

    Players who are vying for championships and the potential opportunity to compete in the sport after their high school careers are over, are no different.

    “You always want to play well,” Trujillo said. “There’s never a time where you are okay with playing bad. You’re always going to be upset. Of course you want to get better when you’re hitting balls on the range. If you shank something you’re going to fix it. You can get frustrated, get a little help and get back out there. There’s always that drive to get better.”

    For the high school golfer, there is no better time than the summer. There are no classes or exams. There aren’t pressing homework assignments or five-page essays to be completed.

    There are only fairways, greens, bunkers and water hazards. The only thing they need to worry about is what the next shot has in store for them.

  • NFHS Hall of Fame inductee Missy West perfectly summed up the importance of participation in high school activities

    (NFHS Network)

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Missy West, a three-sport standout during her high school career in New York, was inducted into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame on Sunday.

    She gave a speech on behalf of her fellow inductees that reflected on the importance activities made in their lives, and touched how they shape to develop young students.

    It was a speech that really hit on everything that’s important about participation in high school activities.

    “We can’t lose sight of what it means to be part of a team within a community — and I’m not referring to a wrestling team, or a baseball team, I mean the high school experience team that entails all extracurricular activities, including music and art and theatre and debate teams, and so many more,” West said. “Our high school experience has led us to incredible places, being able to interact with extraordinary people, and has opened the doors into our futures and our careers.”

    She also spoke about the importance of community, about being a multisport athlete, and about activities’ ability to develop future leaders.

    We’ve excerpted part of it here:

    [Fellow inductee] Bill [Laude] told me that his state association in Illinois has a slogan that refers to sports and activities as the “other half” of education. I think we all can agree with this statement, just by reflecting back on our own lives, the lessons that we have all learned from our own participation goes far beyond just the game itself. In fact, it helped shape who we were, the friends we chose, the decision to go to college, and for many of us, it even led to career paths offering us the opportunity to give back and reteach all the life lessons that we learned at such a fragile time in our own lives.

    This other half of education taught us about work ethic and dedication and what it means to set a goal and achieve it together as a team. It helps us excel academically and held us accountable in the classroom, and commit ourselves to education so we could go out and impact the world.

    When I look at our inductees tonight, I recognize that we come with our own unique high school experiences: different times, and different places. However we are united in agreement that a positive high school experience can be a game-changer in our children’s lives as it was for us. Today, some of the magic of high school experience is competing with cellphones, and text messages and social media. …

    I would like to see us really hold on to that community feel that the high school experience was, and should be.

    In the spirit of the good old days, I would like to see us encourage our children to participate in a variety of activities in those developing years. Most of our inductee class, including myself, participated in multiple sports in our youth, which allowed for greater exposure to our own skill sets. Different coaches, different teammates, different experiences. Through this exposure, it gave us opportunity to be resilient and tenacious, which built our self-esteem and our confidence.

    Robert Zayas, who is the executive director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, told me the other day that high school participation is a leadership laboratory where we learn how to fail, we learn to overcome adversity, and we learn how to rise above.

    I recently joined up with the Positive Coaching Alliance, and soon will be out in our school systems educating our coaches and our parents that sports simply is not just about the game, or what the scoreboard reads. It’s about developing better people, better citizens, who can go out and positively impact our world in which we live.

    Instead of pressuring our children to win, why don’t we be great role models and encourage them to have fun? To give their best effort, and to be respectful of their teammates, their opponents, their coaches and the officials?

    I learned through the PCA that 70 percent of our youth are dropping out of sports by the age of 13. This certainly is a frightening percentage. We need to be encouraging our people to stay involved, especially in the moments when it gets hard and things don’t go their way.

    We can’t lose sight of what it means to be part of a team within a community — and I’m not referring to a wrestling team, or a baseball team, I mean the high school experience team, that entails all extracurricular activities, including music and art and theatre and debate teams, and so many more.

    Our high school experience has led us to incredible places, being able to interact with extraordinary people, and has opened the doors into our futures and our careers. I was just a young kid from the village of Malone, two miles from the Canadian border, but it was that village, that team at Franklin Academy, that built me.

    Watch Missy West’s whole speech on the NFHS Network, along with the rest of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.