As we continue to patiently await a response to our resumption plans submitted to the state’s COVID-19 Response team, commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green tweeted the following on Friday:

We appreciate the many state, health and educational officials doing their due diligence for the safe return of the 26 remaining HS activities and athletics for the 2020-2021 competitive season! We patiently and respectfully await your decisions.

— Rhonda BlanfordGreen (@RhondaCHSAA) July 31, 2020

(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Mark Sharpley has no problem pulling double-duty as the boys and girls basketball coach at Jefferson Academy.

He’s a man that enjoys teaching the game to as many kids as he can and after hearing about an outreach program in Connecticut, he’s only adding to his plate. Sharpley first heard of Full Court Peace in June and jumped at the chance to help the organization expand and open a chapter in Colorado.

Full Court Peace is about bringing the game of basketball to those who may not have the resources to play within an organized structure. It emphasizes ball drives, shoe drives and court repair to help enrich a basketball experience for areas in need.

(Photo courtesy of Mark Sharpley)

“They’re doing great things in communities and with kids,” Sharpley said. “I looked them up and sent them an email to tell them I thought it was cool and they contacted me and said they’d love to do different chapters in different states.”

Once the suggestion was out there, Sharpley started gathering information as to what would be needed to bring the organization to Colorado. One of the first acts was to get his players involved. He reached out to them to tell them about the programs he’s hoping to get going and got immediate responses from several players.

Perhaps the biggest selling point in getting involved was the organization’s desire to get a full basketball experience together. It doesn’t focus solely on improving one particular part of the game for those in need, but rather enriching the basketball experience as a whole.

“The basketball drive does a great job of getting basketballs to young people who don’t have them or have access to them,” Sharpley said. “Same with the sneaker drive. So many kids have pairs of shoes that if they get them cleaned up we can send those out. Those are going to be big.”

Sharpley isn’t stopping with just his basketball teams. Even though he’s still early in the process, he’s doing what he can to bring other schools into the fold so that the program can have a state-wide reach.

“This will be kids from different communities working together,” he said. “They’ll be learning more about each other through the sport. That’s kind of the plan.”

There are already plans for a basketball and sneaker drive in place for Jefferson Academy. The basketball drive aims to put basketballs in the hands of kids in the Denver Metro area. The sneaker drive is going to send supplies to the Wind River Native American Reservation and get shoes to boys and girls at the school there.

But overall this is just the beginning. Sharpley’s ultimate goal is for the organization to get a strong foothold in Colorado and provide enough equipment and resources to further enrich the game at the youth level.

(Graphics courtesy of Mark Sharpley)

(Lisa Hayes/StillOfTheMomentPhotography.com)

Softball and boys tennis have been given approval to begin play this fall.

The sports were approved as part of CHSAA’s return-to-play plan submitted to the state’s COVID-19 Response team within the Governor’s office.

CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green shared the news with member schools during the annual All-School Summit on Wednesday.

Softball and boys tennis can begin practice as scheduled on Aug. 10, and competition on Aug. 13.

Both sports will have modifications to their seasons in order to ensure they comply with current national, state and local health guidelines. Note that the resumption of any activity or sport is subject to change based upon any changes to national, state or local guidelines.

As previously communicated, boys golf has also been approved to begin, and the sport will start practice on Aug. 3, and competition on Aug. 6.

The CHSAA office is anticipating a decision from the COVID-19 Response team on the remaining sports by the end of the week. That said, there is an understanding of the careful consideration that is necessary at the state level as everyone navigates the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon approval of the submitted plan, the anticipation is that a full calendar can be shared for the 2020-21 season.

(CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — More than 70 new athletic directors from around the state participated in a meeting on Tuesday morning, which helped introduce them to CHSAA membership.

A major theme during the meeting was the importance of mentorship and relying upon other experience athletic directors as they navigate their first year, which can often feel like drinking from a firehose.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions, or seek advice from others,” Troy Baker, the athletic director at Buena Vista who is entering his second year as the president of CHSAA’s Board of Directors, told the new ADs. “You will soon discover that we are all in this together. There are no rivals among athletic directors.”

Said Rhonda Blanford-Green, CHSAA’s commissioner: “I want to stress how important mentorship is in your new role.”

Added LeRoy Lopez, the athletic director at Evergreen who is the president of the Colorado Athletic Directors Association (CADA): “We are here to support you.”

The group of new athletic directors heard presentations on game management, transfer and waivers, the CHSAA digital platform, coaches registration, as well as an “Athletic Director’s Survival Guide.”

Their education won’t end there, however. CADA has an established mentorship program where the new ADs are partnered with experienced ADs. And CHSAA has follow-up meetings for new athletic directors throughout the year.

CHSAA’s busy week will continue on Wednesday with the All-School Summit, where each member school will attend to receive vital updates and information from the administrative office.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — This week is a busy one for CHSAA member schools and their athletic directors.

This week, the CHSAA office will be holding three major meetings.

First, on Tuesday, is a meeting for nearly 80 athletic directors who are either in their first or second year. The annual meeting, facilitated by assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig and the Colorado Athletic Directors Association, will help orient the new administrators on all things CHSAA. Topics covered include things like bylaws and forms, but also important things like networking within the AD community.

Then, on Wednesday, is CHSAA’s annual All-School Summit, which gathers athletic directors from all 363 member schools around the state for important updates and information from the state office.

Finally, Thursday is the first meeting of the year for CHSAA’s 2020-21 Board of Directors. This meeting typically includes orientation for new Board members, as well as goal setting and big-picture topics.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Boys golf practice will start as scheduled on Aug. 3, as the sport is able to be played under the current national, state, county and CHSAA health guidelines as they pertain to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

Competition is scheduled to begin on Aug. 6.

Boys golf was not included in plans submitted to the state officials for approval because the sport is able to play under the current guidelines.

The Association is anticipating an announcement soon regarding the full calendar for all other sports and activities, once approved by state officials.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Through two rounds of the 2020 Colorado Open, the battle for low-amateur is shaping up to be a contest of the who’s who of Colorado high school boys golf alums.

And on his home course of the Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, Eaglecrest grad and former Class 5A boys state champion Davis Bryant is right in the mix. Bryant shot a 3-under-par 69 on Friday to make the cut and put himself in the mix for low-am honors on the course he grew up playing on. Bryant currently plays at Colorado State University.

The cut at the event came in at 4-under par at two alums in Cal McCoy (Regis Jesuit) and Brennan Dolan (Fairview) came in right at the number. They trail Palmer grad and current Doherty girls golf coach Colin Prater by four strokes.

Prater shot 71 in a weather delayed second round to enter the weekend as the low-amateur on the board at 8-under. Lakewood has a pair of contenders in Griffin Barela (7-under) and Jack Castiglia (5-under). Bryant’s college teammate AJ Ott shot a 68 on Friday to also get under the cutline. The teammates are paired together for Saturday’s round.

The overall lead in the tournament entering Saturday is Jared du Toit, a pro out of Kimberely, British Columbia.

Tee times for recent Colorado high school golf alums

• Griffin Barela 9:15 a.m. (Hole 1)
• Colin Prater 9:35 a.m. (Hole 1)
• AJ Ott: 10 a.m. (Hole 10)
• Davis Bryant: 10 a.m. (Hole 10)
• Jack Castiglia: 10:10 a.m. (Hole 10)
• Cal McCoy: 10:20 a.m. (Hole 10)
• Brennan Dolan: 10:50 a.m. (Hole 10)

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Baseball has a funny way about bringing out the romance in sports. Perhaps no one in Colorado knows that more than Cherry Creek coach Marc Johnson.

Nearly 50 years and 800-plus wins into his coaching career, his love for the game has never wavered. It has helped him develop relationships with countless kids that have come through his program and he’s hoping that’s a trend that will continue for years to come.

With baseball set to return at the professional level, Johnson couldn’t help but stress just how badly the game has been missed and how much it has meant to him and the hundreds of kids that have made their way through the Cherry Creek program.

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Question: How much have we missed baseball over the last few months?

Johnson: Oh, I think tremendously. I think the kids have missed it. I know the players, the major league players, have missed it. The fans have missed it. It’s been a real adjustment for everybody. I was watching a couple of summer camp games and it just looked so odd because there was nobody in the stands. I can tell you the businesses in LoDo miss it. Everybody that I know has missed it. The game has been missed very very much.

Q: When you think on your career at Cherry Creek, are you able to appreciate more now than maybe you did a year or two ago?

Johnson: Yes, absolutely. I will be starting my 49th year and I’ve never had a year like this, I think the one thing it does do is make you appreciate what you can do when you can do it.

Q: You have over 800 wins now, is there a point where you’ve considered slowing down or is this a game that’s just going to keep you in it as long as possible?

Johnson: As long as I’m healthy and as long as I feel the kids are still responding; the game is not about me or it’s not about even the sport itself, it’s about the kids that are playing it. As long as the kids are playing it are enjoying it, they’re getting better, and every kid’s not meant to play collegiately or professionally.

But I get to look back on my own personal time in baseball, and I’ve loved every second of it for the time I was five, six years old. People ask me all the time when I’m going to stop and that’s when kids don’t respond anymore or kids don’t show the passion that I love to see. I have a genuine love of the game itself and I’m not in coaching contrary to what a lot of people believe, they think I’m about winning games or setting records or something like that, but that has nothing to do with why I’m coaching. That’s meaningless to me. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be, if it’s not, it’s not. I’m not concerned about that. My point is that I love to watch guys walk on the field and smile and be humble and gracious that they get the opportunity to play the game that I love. And I hope that I can transfer the passion, the love of the game to the kids.

One thing that I ask my players at the end of every season is to give something back to the game. Whether you play it again or you don’t. Whether you play collegiately or professionally. IF you’re a dad be a coach to a team, provide uniforms, be a sponsor, pay for umpires or help sponsor a team. Do something to keep the game going. This is a different era. Now you got all the clubs and these kids have three, four or five uniforms. They’re traveling at 10 years old. I used to wear a tee shirt with somebody’s auto shop or Joe’s Barbershop on the back. That was our sponsorship and we bought own pants. It hasn’t changed, the game itself for the love of the game, but what I want is I want to teach the kids to enjoy the game. And then if it’s meant to be that they play further on, then more power to them.

It’s a game that’s very valuable for life because there’s a lot of failure you have to deal with. The game itself, baseball, one of the beauties of it in my opinion is it’s life like. It’s very much like life. You can be riding up high and then it can slam you to the ground. And that’s true for big leaguers, minor leaguers, college players, even 10 year olds. But you know what? You have to learn how to handle that. And I think that’s a great life skill. You have to learn how to handle the things that don’t go well. How do I react to adversity? How do I make adjustments? How do I teach myself to be patient, to be persistent and to persevere?

It’s been a blessing and an honor for me to coach it. The game has kept me young because the players are young. I’m coaching guys that are 15, 18, 19, maybe, but you know what? They’re just young enough to keep you, keep you young and fired up and interested in going for it.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Q: Is there a point where you’ve either seen a player that’s come through your program, that’s made it to the majors or just gone on to have a regular job and made his way back to say hello where you truly believe you’re in the right spot to help kids be successful?

Johnson: I do. And I felt it from both sides. I get a lot of response from my former players. Usually it’s one of two things. It’s something that’s going well in their life or getting married or having a baby, or when things are not going very well. I just try to respond and say, perseverance, stay with it, you’ll get through it. I’ve had the player who has gone on who didn’t play collegiately, but he’s gone on to be a great businessman, his kid is playing ball. I had someone the other day, because I’ve had a lot of my former players kids, and I’ve had players ask me if I’m going to give it up when you get the grandkids. I have my own grandkids and I’m watching them play.

Baseball’s a part of my blood. I feel that that’s where God has decided that I would best serve the community and the country. I still love doing it and I’m hoping to get another year of doing all that. These sports do so much for kids at the youth level, not just high school, but I just think it’s so important to them to have that experience, to learn how to compete ethically, to learn how to have fun and to learn how to handle losing with grace and not teach them that they have to love losing. I tell the guys every day for you, whether you’re playing a game or not, it’s a practice. That’s all it is. It’s a practice. It’s a practice for you for later. Baseball-wise, it’s a practice for life. It’s just a practice.

All of these kids, they all think I have to be this and I have be that. I have to be a big leaguer and I have to tell them fact. The fact is 10% of Division I players never play professionally. Four-point-five of those play in the big leagues. One of every 10,000 boys, not baseball players, but boys play in the major leagues. You shouldn’t be playing to be a major leaguer. You should be playing to be the best you can be.

Q: You have a vault of memories in your head from all the time that you’ve been coaching. If someone were to ask you, what’s the first memory that pops into your head when you think about your time at Cherry Creek, what pops in there?

Johnson: Two things. One thing is just having the pleasantness to be able to coach kids, that’s number one. And the second one would be when we won five straight titles in a row. That’s pretty rare from a winning thing. But working with the kids is much more important for me and every kid that ever played there. I’m hoping that they had a positive experience and I fully know that you can’t please all the people all the time, but I I’m hoping that their baseball experience transferred to their life. That’s a hope that I have. I’ve had great players, unbelievable coaches, a great administration. I’m one of the most blessed people on Earth doing what I love to do.I have people say we appreciate what you do and I appreciate the opportunity to do it.

Q: You wouldn’t be in this if you weren’t a baseball fan, what’s going to be your first thought when you can sit down, turn on the TV and watch the Rockies play after everything that’s gone on in the last few months?

Johnson: I’ll be very excited. I worked part time for the Rockies for seven or eight years. I love my home team. I’ll be excited and I’ll be fine just watching them, even if there aren’t fans. I certainly wish there were. I’m hoping that the gets back to what it’s about. It’s an entertaining game. It’s not a lot different than people who love to go to concerts. I love to watch college sports, I love to watch professional sports and obviously I’m a huge Broncos fan, a huge Nuggets fan and a huge Rockies fan, the Outlaws, it doesn’t matter to me. This is where I live. So I’m really looking forward to watching a game that is meaningful, even though I loved watching them last night or two at summer camp. But I’ll love it when it’s for real. Even a 60-game season is better than a zero-game season.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

In a field that features an LPGA future star, a Denver Broncos kicker and the grandson of one of the greatest players of all-time, the Colorado kids held their own.

Doherty girls golf coach and Palmer High School alum Colin Prater leads the field of Colorado high school golf alum playing in the Colorado Open as amateurs. He shot a 7-under-par 65 to head into the clubhouse in a tie for fourth place at the event.

Regis Jesuit’s Calvin McCoy – a current University of Denver player – carded a 67 to get inside the top 15 as of Thursday afternoon. Prater, McCoy, Lakewood alum Griffin Barela and Highlands Ranch’s Kyle Pearson were all comfortably under par after the first round. Barela (a University of Wisconsin player) and Pearson (Colorado Mesa University) both shot 68.

Prater is coming off a win at the CGA’s Colorado Match Play and started his day at the Colorado Open on the 10th hole. He made three birdies through his first nine holes and four birdies on his second nine.

He went 3-under on a four-hole stretch beginning on No. 4 and was bogey-free all day. McCoy was also bogey-free on his day and played the back nine at 4-under, tied for the second best effort for the day.

Perhaps the most notable entrant into the even is Jefferson Academy’s Jennifer Kupcho. She claimed the title at the Colorado Women’s Open which will go down as her first professional win. She was invited back to Green Valley Ranch Golf Club for this week’s event.

She made a birdie on No. 2 and got to 2-under before making bogey on No. 7 and No. 8. She was paired with her brother, Steven. The elder Kupcho also played at Jefferson Academy and placed fourth at the 2010 Class 3A state championship.

Fairview’s Brennan Dolan and Silver Creek’s Jackson Solem finished their days at 2-under. Eaglecrest grad and 2017 5A champion Davis Bryant started his round by going 2-under on the front nine.

Bryant made the cut at last year’s Colorado Open and finished at 20-under which put him in a tie for 20th. His college teammate AJ Ott, a Fort Collins grad, finished last year as the low amateur at 11-under.

The second round of the tournament will take place on Friday with Bryant, Ott and those players who teed off in the afternoon taking to the course early. Prater and McCoy will be among those teeing off later in the day.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Eaglecrest alum Davis Bryant is no stranger to Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. The 2017 Class 5A boys golf champion practically grew up on the course and even volunteered at the course during the annual Colorado Open Golf Tournament.

Now he’s poised to attack the course as a player in that very same tournament. Bryant is among several Colorado high school golf alums ready to take on the biggest annual tournament in Colorado. Like most golfers this summer, competitive tournaments have not been as plentiful as they have in years past.

Bryant is hoping to return to Colorado State with a competitive battle under his belt and the Colorado Open is the best level of competition that he’ll get to see.

“I obviously want to play well,” Bryant said. “I don’t want to go out there shoot 75 a couple of times and miss the cut. If I can use this right way and build off the people that are supporting I can take advantage of this.”

Each player in the field feels that way, especially the amateur players that grew up playing golf in Colorado.

Colin Prater. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Among the other Colorado high school alums playing in the Colorado Open are Griffin Barela (Lakewood), Jack Castiglia (Lakewood), Brennan Dolan (Fairview), Jackson Klutznick (Kent Denver), Joshua McLaughlin (Thompson Valley), AJ Ott (Fort Collins), Kyle Pearson (Highlands Ranch), Colin Prater (Palmer), Beau Schoolcraft (Kent Denver), Jackson Solem (Silver Creek), Marcus Tait (Columbine) and Dylan Wonnacott (Silver Creek).

The field is also packed with notable names around Colorado, especially within the golf world. Jefferson Academy alum Jennifer Kupcho will also be teeing it up and after conquering the boys’ club at Augusta National last spring, she’s embarked on a professional career. Her first professional win came earlier this summer at the Colorado Women’s Open.

Fort Collins resident Sam Saunders, the grandson of the late Arnold Palmer is in the field along with Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus.

The real key to the event are the older players that can inspire someone like a young Davis Bryant. He can remember working the event as a volunteer and being amazed when he saw what some of the players can do.

“I remember I saw a guy from Arizona way back in the day, probably 10 years ago and he hit a golf shot on hole No. 13, the par 3, and I had no idea how he did what he did with a golf ball,” Bryant said. “Now I can hit a similar golf shot, maybe nothing that good, but I just remember picking up on things. Watching them and watching how they handled themselves.”

Everyone is looking to someone close to help them through the event. Each player might turn to a friend or family member to provide caddy support. Bryant is turning to his father, Matt, the general manager at GVR.

“He’s going to talk to me about some yardages,” Bryant said. “Not club choice per se but but he’s also going to help me on the mental side to keep my mind off golf.”

Bryant, Ott and the rest of the Colorado high school alums begin play at Green Valley Ranch on Thursday with the final round being played on Sunday.

Highlands Ranch alum Kyle Pearson. (Morgan Dzak/CHSAANow.com)