(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

During the 2019 volleyball season, Sterling had no reason to feel any pressure on its shoulders. It wasn’t the Class 3A defending champion and despite being undefeated during the regular season, wasn’t the team that everyone felt they needed to beat to win a state title.

That’s a big reason why it was the Tigers celebrating and hoisting the championship trophy when all was said and done. They have hopes of of repeating that task, but the reality is they won’t be able to fly under anyone’s radar from here on out.

“Last year, the pressure wasn’t on us,” coach Lisa Schumacher said. “We didn’t have any pressure and we talked about that all the time. We were undefeated and hadn’t dropped a set heading into a match with Eaton and someone would ask what happens if we drop a set? So what? What happens if we lose to Eaton? Doesn’t matter.”

The Tigers dropped a set, but there was no dropping a match that day or any day through the course of the year.

Sterling proved to be a deep overall team through the state tournament. They were led defensively by then-senior Jade Feather who led the team with 587 digs. The team’s only other senior, Paige Pratt, contributed on the defensive effort and added solid service numbers to the Tigers overall statline.

With those two gone, the attention now turns to players such as Allie Schumacher, Aubree Long, Valerie Allen and Harley Gareis who will be entering their senior seasons. They’ll be flanked by a talented junior class which includes hitters Sydney Henry, Kaylee Johnson and Emerie Rios.

Each player has their own strength on the floor. Coach Schumacher cites serve receiving as one of the team’s biggest strengths this year, but defense and hitting will have to play roles if the Tigers want to defend their title.

“It all has to mesh together,” Henry said. “We couldn’t (hit or pass) without our serve receive or defense.”

A shift in mentality is also going to play a key role for the team. As they built momentum last year, it was very clear that the Tigers enjoyed the thrill of the hunt when it came to closing out the season with a championship win.

The tables will be turned when everyone returns to the floor as opponents will be hunting the big cats rather than being hunted by them.

“It’s different because last year we seemed liked the underdogs,” Allie Schumacher said. “We had to fight our way through and now we’re considered to be on top. The biggest thing is we have to not get in over our heads and keep that underdog mentality.”

Hanging on to that mentality can play a key role in Sterling battling to stay at or close to the top of the 3A volleyball world for a few years. The majority of the players return to the team and they’ve now seen what it takes to survive the grind of the regular season, regionals and an intense state atmosphere at the Denver Coliseum.

“We try to spend a lot of time in our own gym preparing,” Coach Schumacher said. “We know what it takes to play in our league and we know what it takes to compete against the other teams in our state.”

The Tigers showed they could compete and win last year. This year, they’ll have to do the same thing, only this time it will be every team in the state hunting for them.

(Theodore Stark/tstark.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — In response to longstanding concerns regarding the wearing of goggles in high school field hockey, the NFHS Board of Directors approved a change in the eyewear rule that will take effect with the upcoming 2020 season.

Rule 1-6-5 in the NFHS Field Hockey Rules Book, which currently states that “All field players shall wear eye protection that met the ASTM standard for field hockey (2713) at the time of manufacture,” will now state that “Goggles may be worn by all field hockey players.”

In addition to the current rule, an additional note was due to take effect in 2020 as follows: “Beginning in the 2020 fall season, all eye protection shall be permanently labeled with the ASTM 2713 standard for field hockey at the time of manufacture.”

Since goggles were mandated by the NFHS Board of Directors in 2011 with the intent to lessen the risk of catastrophic eye injuries, there have been a number of concerns that led to the current rule modification.

While there is a required ASTM standard for field hockey goggles, there is no NOCSAE standard, which is preferred as NOCSAE’s aim is to protect against worst case injury. The ASTM 2713 standard is not protective against a direct ball to the eye in testing. NOCSAE will not certify any facial/eye protection unless it is integrated into a helmet.

One of the ongoing concerns has been that ASTM-certified goggles are not available for all field players, notably those who wear corrective lenses. Since the current rule cannot be met by individuals with glasses, state associations have been issuing waivers for students with corrective lenses to allow participation.

Also, in addition to lack of available product to meet the rule, no significant research data has indicated that goggles have reduced the number of eye injuries, particularly those of a catastrophic nature.

Finally, while the mandatory eyewear rule was put into effect as a guard against eye injury, the wearing of goggles has created a higher risk concern regarding the penalty corner. Under the current eyewear rule, players cannot remove their goggles to wear full facemasks on penalty corners, which is the most dangerous play in the sport. Now, players can elect to wear corner masks.

The NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, which was in support of the action by the Board of Directors, noted that the ASTM standard that has been required does not eliminate the risk of injury for which the rule was established (loss of an eye).

“Given the fact that the previous rule that required goggles did not completely lessen the risk of catastrophic eye injuries, and that the product does not exist for players with corrective lenses, and that there is no NOCSAE standard for field hockey goggles, and that the wearing of goggles prevents players from wearing corner masks on penalty corners, the Board believed it was time to make the rule permissive in nature rather than mandatory,” said Julie Cochran, director of sports and liaison to the Field Hockey Rules Committee.

Although the rule has been changed to state that goggles may be worn, state associations, schools and parents can still elect to require the use of goggles.

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(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

Wes Lewis had a tough decision to make at the conclusion of the 2019-20 girls basketball season. He had been the head coach of the Pirates for the last 13 years and even led them to the program’s first Class 3A state title in 2015.

But all good things must come to an end.

This last season, he said goodbye to his daughter Taylor who completed her senior season. The Pirates went 20-4 and won a tough Intermountain League title. With his son Colt getting ready to enter the high school and Taylor now gone, Lewis decided to call it quits from the girls side.

“I was just going to be a dad and follow (Colt) around,” Lewis said. “Sometimes the boys and girls play in different places so I wanted to make sure I was there for him.”

Then an opportunity presented itself. Boys coach Randy Sorenson stepped aside and all of a sudden an opportunity to be there for his son while staying involved with Pagosa Springs basketball was there.

But Lewis wasn’t content with just jumping right into it. He started poking around to see what the interest level in the job was from outside parties. He reached out to friends of his who he thought would have interested, but found out that the job was potentially there for the taking.

“I had talked to my friends and none of them applied for it,” he said. “So I thought I would apply for it myself.”

An added benefit in getting the boys job was his familiarity with the younger kids in the program. Lewis had coached Colt’s team all through youth basketball and now a lot of those players are set to be freshmen or sophomores at Pagosa Springs.

He also has some returning seniors that he knows he’ll be able to lean on. His nephew Mitch Lewis is the team’s top returning scorer from last year at 11 points per game. Lewis quickly pointed out that Kyler Hammer and Aidan O’Donnell will be crucial to the team’s success in 2020-21.

Having the experience of coaching his daughter, Lewis knows the challenge of having a child in his program. But it’s a challenge he’s very much looking forward to.

“I think it’ll be special and it will be neat,” he said. “I’m also harder on my kid than I am on anyone else and he knows that going in. He witnessed it with my daughter the last four years.”

Lewis is anxious to get his team going and has started putting together open gym workouts. The COVID-19 pandemic has put some restrictions on what he’s able to do with his players, but he’s taking the entire situation in stride.

If anything, he’s remembering just how much passion he has for coaching basketball, a passion that he wasn’t sure he’d get to keep following last year.

“I’ve never lost the passion,” Lewis said. “It was extremely hard for me to resign from the girls team. There was a lot of speculation that I would be because it was my daughter’s senior year. When it came down to it, it was much harder to walk away than I thought it would be.”

But circumstances didn’t keep him out for long. After a brief coaching retirement period, he’s right back in the game.

(Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com)

We caught up with CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green to talk about the upcoming fall sports season, where other states are, in-person learning, and timelines.

[divider]

Question: As we head into July, a big question that we keep seeing is, “Where we are with starting football this fall?”

Blanford-Green: 51 state high school associations, colleges and professional organizations are all being faced with that same question.

Mid-July will be a pivotal time period for assessment and what our state government and public health officials will allow within the guidelines. Those guidelines will ultimately determine the Association’s ability to move forward either fully, with modifications or with incremental sport-specific start dates.

Our staff continues to prepare for a fall sport season.

Q: There is some talk about football players transferring to other states, such as Arizona, Texas, and Louisiana, in order to play. Are those states at a different place than we are? Have they said they will definitely have a season?

Blanford-Green: None of the aforementioned states have definitively said, “We will have football.” They have all experienced a rise in Coronavirus cases and outbreaks in the past two weeks. Their state and health officials have recently taken more restrictive measures on public gatherings and social distancing, including a pause on sports.

In fact, the Governor of Arizona just pushed back on athletic contact, all start dates, which translates to delays with practices and competitive start dates for high schools.

Several states have continued their spring moratorium on coach/athlete contact either by state or health orders.

Colorado has incrementally allowed coach/athlete contact for all sports within the local controlled safety guidelines. Colorado coaches and athletes have been given more latitude to begin summer conditioning and competitive readiness more so than some of our counterparts across the nation.

I can respect the decisions of parents and players to seek definitive answers, but I can assure you that no state association has offered a guarantee that they will play. We are all working to make it happen, knowing that the final decisions aren’t within our control.

Q: Will students have to be fully back in the classroom for sports to resume?

Blanford-Green: Our bylaws currently have provisions for non-traditional educational models such as home school and online learning.

We are fully prepared for sport and activity implementation to meet the needs of our membership. Our goal is to support our schools and student-participants wherever they land when final decisions are made for education this fall.

There are many challenges ahead but educational leaders across this state are working diligently to return to levels of normalcy with the safety of our students, and those who support them, in the forefront.

Q: Is there anything else you want to add?

Blanford-Green: I understand where students, coaches, and parents are frustrated. Our staff is equally frustrated. We are ready to go, but we are not in a position or place where we can decide to “just let the kids play.”

We don’t get to play infectious disease doctors or disregard our state and public health guidelines. There can’t be definitive answers when our country and state continues to fluctuate within their safe-to-reopen phases.

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

Katharine Merrifield didn’t fancy herself much of an offensive lacrosse player until she started playing field hockey. It was that sport that taught her the benefits of being aggressive on the attack.

That mentality has worked wonders for Colorado Academy.

The Mustangs are the defending champions in both sports and Merrifield has been a big part of those wins. A big part of the reason is Merrifield and her ability to attack and score almost at will, something she didn’t adapt to until she started playing field hockey in middle school.

“In field hockey, I’m really attack-based,” she said. “That’s a different mindset for me that I had to pick and learn while playing forward. It’s really helped me with lacrosse.”

She scored 48 goals for the girls lacrosse team as a freshman and added 59 more as a sophomore. Her freshman year she scored one goal as the Mustangs beat Cherry Creek 13-7 to claim their fourth straight state championship. She would claim another her sophomore year then added a field hockey championship last fall. She scored one goal to help her team edge Regis Jesuit 2-1.

“Winning your first state championship regardless of sport; I think lacrosse was more memorable,” Merrifield said. “It was my freshman year and there was a lot of build up to it. Field hockey though was definitely a sport where I felt like I had to work at it more and we didn’t succeed as a team in my first two years. That build up was also very special.”

The success that she’s now found on both fields has paid in the way of a college scholarship. She’ll attend the University of Michigan to play lacrosse.

She’s been playing lacrosse seemingly since she was able to hold a stick and wanted to pursue that sport after high school. But she acknowledges that field hockey has been crucial in the development of her lacrosse skills.

“They’re both games where you don’t have full control and they overlap in that sense,” she said.

She started playing field hockey in middle school and when she started, she was playing the game on grass. When she got to high school the Mustangs were playing on a turf field and she instantly noticed the different.

“It was a lot faster,” she said.

Initially the idea of playing field hockey boiled down to the fact that the time of the season is different than lacrosse. It was a way to refine her skills in a sport played on an open field with a stick.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the sports are interchangable. Learning to play with a ball that is ground-based over air-based was definitely a challenge. But in all, they’ve complimented her and her growth in each avenue, something that has paid off with the opportunity to play collegiately.

“They’re completely different sports,” she said. “They have some similarities when it comes to stick skills and footwork and that’s why I was attracted to (field hockey).”

Playing both sports has certainly made her a better athlete and with championship banners as proof, multiple Colorado Academy teams have seen the benefits.

(Paul Soriano)

(Pueblo West HS)

Pueblo West has hired Valerie Stambersky as the school’s next girls basketball coach, athletic director Zach Odell announced on Tuesday night.

She will take over one of southern Colorado’s top programs, a team that has reached the Final 4 four times since 2012, and made another two appearances in the Great 8, including this past season. Pueblo West has won the past three South-Central League titles.

The Cyclones will be moving from Class 4A to 5A beginning next season.

“It’s not very often we’re able to hire someone with the experience and success of coach Stambersky,” Odell said. “She is an ideal coach to lead our basketball team into the 5A ranks in 2020-2021 and continue the sustained success of the program. I can’t wait for her to get started. She’s a perfect fit for the program. We’re quite fortunate to have her on board.”

Stambersky most recently was the head coach at Warrensburg High School in Missouri since 2017. Her team was 16-10 in Class 4 this past season.

Prior to that, she was the head coach at Kansas City Kansas Community College from 1999-2015. She was the winningest coach in program history there, amassing 221 wins.

“I am honored and excited to work with a high-caliber program such as Pueblo West and continue in its winning traditions,” Stambersky said. “I look forward to helping these young ladies grow both on and off the court and having a lot of fun along the way.”