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Our Flat Corys got out and traveled this past week for Spring Break. (ALL PICTURES AT BOTTOM) I took one, the one with a lobo in its jaws, out to Moab, UT, where my wife and I were camping and mountain biking. Flat Cory was inspirational on the trails. Then the Saturday after break, I also took Flat Cory to the home opener of FC Summit, which broke US attendance records for a female professional soccer match! The Leunig family also had a Flat Cory - the one with a hairy chest - and they were skiing up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming! Finally, the Johnson family had one - the one with angelic protection in the personae of Snoop Dogg and Dolly Parton - on their trip to Hawaii. They caught up with other Cougar soccer families on the beach! Don’t forget to ask to take one on one of your travels this spring. College visits? Graduation ceremonies elsewhere? Grandma‘s 70th or 80th birthday party? All fitting occasions to spread Cory around and remind your fellow travelers or hosts to root for EHS girls soccer in May as we approach the playoffs!  
  I hope everyone is enjoying their spring break, and is looking forward to getting back to it on Monday evening. We start out with a bang on Tuesday, against perhaps our toughest opponent of the season - Ralston Valley. I mentioned in an earlier post that I love to schedule very challenging games in our nonconference schedule. I would much prefer to play meaningful, preparatory matches than not. Today's post title obviously does not refer to them!
In the last several years, our conference, Jeffco 4a, has become increasingly bifurcated- a grouping of highly competitive teams at the top end- Evergreen, Green Mountain, D'Evelyn, Golden, Dakota Ridge, Standley Lake - who vie for the league title and typically make the state playoffs annually. But there is also a group of less competitive teams who have, of late, not made for highly competitive opponents.In fact, it is not uncommon for the sixth place league team to beat the eighth place team by a fairly lopsided margin for instance. Here is my approach to those games: 1. Since we have so many of these less competitive games, I feel as if it is very important to still get something out of the game. I ask players to focus on defensive pressure, and not allow the other team to complete passes. I ask us in turn to limit our touches on the ball so that we keep up our pace of play. And I ask us to work on our patterns of play and our finishing. We still attempt to play the game the right way and to finish whenever possible, and yes, as often as possible. It is always good to work on your finishing. 2. It is important to respect the teams we’re playing against. It is my opinion that it's better to play at your absolute best, and seek the best possible results, as opposed to worrying about running up the score. I preach to our players that it is honestly more respectful of the other team if we approach the game with purpose and try to play your best. It is important to have outstanding sportsmanship, and that means neither ridiculing, nor playing down to, your opponents. 3. These lower level opponents this year (when our roster is essentially one large roster) also give us the special opportunity for players who will be playing varsity in the near future, to get some meaningful playing time this year and to prepare for that future moment. During every practice or game, we are either developing good habits or bad ones, and we are either preparing for the next game, or we are not. You are either getting better, or you are not. I think this approach over the years has helped us to build good habits and stay focused for when we have a tough game down the road in the playoffs. Coach Conference play begins this week with two home games prior to our Sppring Break.
Tuesday we play a shortened JV game followed by a Varsity match against one of our longtime rivals, Green Mountain. This promises to be an excellent match. I would like our rosters for these games to be the same as played against Northfield. And, if possible I would like for every JV player to stick around for the Varsity contest. Thursday we play Pomona in a Varsity only match. They do not have enough to field a JV team. I would like every player in the program to be at this match, and I would aniticipate every player in the program playing. The Jeffco league is, in our opinion, the best league in the state. Jeffco teams have combined to win the last three state championships, and last year I believe that five teams made the state playoffs from our league - Dakota Ridge, D'evelyn, Evergreen, Golden, and Green Mountain - and one just missed and would have given a team fits in the first round if they had made it - Standley Lake. Last year we were fortunate to win the League, and we look forward to the opportunity to defend that crown this year. It takes a quality effort every night - with this many quality teams, we must approach every game with impeccable effort and concentration so that we do not get "tripped up." In fact, last year, we tied Green Mountain in our game, but we then won out the rest of our conference games, and won the crown because Green Mountain "tripped up" and subsequently tied another game that they wish they could have over. But for that, they would have won the title based on other factors. Sko Cougs! One solid week, and then a nice break! I was overall very pleased with last week's two games. JV got a win and a draw! Varsity tied both, 1-1, against strong opponents, and we more than held our own. We showed strengths and weaknesses, but the week should give us confidence.
We are still very thin with our rosters, and have significant injuries which will linger into this week. Nonetheless, we performed very well, had less experienced players step up big time to help the Varsity team. This bodes well as the season progresses, and injured players return and that bolsters our depth. I told the players at halftime of the Northfield game that this would be very difficult to close out. That obviously proved true, as they scored either just before, or just after, regulation time had expired. It is my hope that we do not dwell on the disappointment, but rather, that the experience reminds us in other big games how mentally tough and ruthless we need to be to finish tight games where we are ahead, or to be resolved to grind out an equalizer if we are on the other side of the situation. It is a very thankless and difficult job to referee high level games. I consider the referee of the Northfield game to be one of the two best in the state. In fact, when he showed up to the game (on short notice, replacing the originally scheduled center, since the game had been rescheduled 24 hours earlier) I could not believe our good fortune. Indeed, he got the temperment and safety of the game right - keeping players safe, making balanced and good decisions, and staying centered and calm. After the final whistle and all of the disappointment with the goal being allowed, he gave us time for discussion, explained his decision, and allowed us to register the dissatisfaction with how the last bit was handled, so that he could use that info in the future. He expressed his sincere disappointment as well that such a good game ended in controversy, but I honestly also understood why he made the decision he made. Everything was very respectful. Yesterday we texted back and forth very amicably, and I told him I hoped we would see him covering one of our big games soon. I sincerely mean that, and hope all of us take that to heart. He wished us very well in our season, and passed along his praise of our girls - for their play, and their respect of the game and his referees. This week we kick off our spring season with two of the best programs in the state. On Tuesday we take on Windsor, a standard bearer of 4A girls soccer in CO, and our opponent in last year’s championship game. On Thursday we play against 5A Northfield, one of the premier programs in the state at any level.
Later this year we will also play non-conference games against perennial 5A power Ralston Valley, 3A power TCA, and conclude the season with what is typically the top program in CO Springs, Air Academy. Ever since taking over as coach of the program I have always sought out for our non-conference games the most challenging, highest profile opponents for numerous reasons. One, these games will be very competitive, fast paced and prepare us for our first big conference game the following Tuesday against Green Mountain. Similarly, they ultimately prepare us for state playoff games where the stakes are win or go home. We simply learn more about our strengths AND weaknesses in games like this. (Win or lose, I always feel we win if we can apply what these games teach us.) Two, these games are simply more fun to watch, and participate in, due to their pace and quality. Three, win or lose, these games give us strength of schedule points that contribute to our seeding at the end of the season. Four, these games feature the most sporting coaches in the state. The relationship between opposing coaches must be one of absolute respect and trust. We will compete hard for sure, but we must feel comfortable that the other program has a mutual respect for us. To make it completely personal, I would not pick a program for one of these non-conference games if I did not personally like and respect the coach a great deal. I hope that explains and prepares the program for these fantastic games, and also for what my objective is when setting up our schedule in advance. Should be a fun week! Coach  I wanted my second post to give you a little background on our awesome assistant coaches - Phil Caldwell, Matt Barnes, Alex Mason, pictured above. (The photo above has an extra - Lindsay Jeans - and since two of my readers might be within the family, I thought it best to give her credit and not airbrush her out of the photo.)
Alex has a true love for this program born out of attending and graduating from both this school and this program. A 2018 EHS grad, Alex had a successful playing career here, including a trip to the 2017 state finals. She went on to a five year playing career at CO Western in Gunnison, twice being captain of the program! She currently has club coaching responsibilities with Mountain Rush and is the clinic aide at EHS as well. She has taken on so many responsibilities of organizing, administering and planning so many aspects important to successfully running a program. She’s optimistic, can-do, and upbeat, and is a constructive communicator who interacts well with our players. She is also becoming a fantastic on-field coach and analyst of the game. And finally, she has the advantage of being young, and able to play. Matt is a lifelong resident of the foothills and currently calls Indian Hills his home. A graduate of our rival school, Conifer, Matt takes all the good natured ribbing about this fact with a great smile as you would expect. He has been assistant coaching at EHS since 2017, and brings an obvious love for the game and this program to every practice and match he attends. His rapport with the players is legendary - and a big reason we have seen so much development of goalkeepers and field players alike over the years. The program could not ask for a coach to have more insight and judgment about the game than Matt has. Winner of the jeffco girls 2025 assistant coach of the year award across all sports, Matt is, as you would expect from someone so positive, undefeated during his lifetime when filling in for me as head Coach, and that includes two playoff games! Phil has coached with various clubs in the Denver metro area for 24 + years (!), currently coaches with Denver Kickers, and has been with the EHS programs since 2015, primarily as the head JV coach, but assisting across the entire program as well. He is the hardest working coach in the state. He spends more time on soccer fields than anyone I know (and I know a bunch that are in the run for that thankless “award”) and is constantly working on improving his coaching and understanding of the game. A positive person who has built connections with our players over the years, Phil is also a most deserving recipient of the Jeffco girls assistant coach of the year award for all sports for 2022! Whatever our talents may be, what makes it work is that we have a love of the game, enjoy each other’s company, and friends, and consider ourselves teammates as coaches. We are here to succeed as a team of coaches, with the ultimate aim of helping the players to achieve the best outcomes that they can. I am very thankful for this fun and talented group I get to work with. Please thank them on every occasion you can for the amount of time they spend with your student athletes!  As we begin this season I would like to draw attention to our program mascot, Cori the Cougar. I introduced Cori five years ago. Despite the many successes the program had, I wanted a symbolic and tangible daily reminder to the players and coaches of the importance of teamwork and commitment to one another. I wanted the players to play for Cori, not just themselves, and on a daily basis, we award Cori to our "Teammate" or "Player" of the Day. There are so many ways to measure the success of a season. Last year we won both our conference and state championships. However I was even more proud of the perseverance, purpose, togetherness and love for one another that the girls demonstrated. The night before the final, the girls gathered at Cameron’s house for a team dinner, and I witnessed all 25 of the players on the playoff roster in a very tight space, literally lounging on top of each other, playing games, laughing and enjoying each other‘s company. I had a confidence that we would win the next day, but I also had a satisfaction, knowing that, win or loss, those girls had gotten the season right and were making awesome memories. This year, more than ever, with our low player numbers and “one large roster” structure, my main goal is for this program to interact and bond, be a cohesive, supportive and committed TEAM, a group that embodies our mascot. I have no doubt that we will meet this challenge and have another successful and enjoyable season. The girls will be asked to shoulder many responsibilities this year- extra games, playing up, playing down, doing the hard work at practices so as to improve, going to lunches, dinners, and team building events. Thank you in advance for being a part of this team! You will get so much out of leaning into everything it means to be a "Cougar of the Day" teammate. Earlier this year, the girls made “Flat Cory’s” (as in Flat Stanleys). I have three excellent versions in my classroom. I invite the players and families to take them along with them on various travels - to games, on vacations and college visits, and to even send them to grandparents or siblings for pictures wherever they are supporting us this season. I want to do this to remind our players of something: We may have small numbers, but I believe we have a massive, strong, vibrant community that is ready to roar in support of our program as we pursue our on field objectives: getting better every day, and doing our utmost to defend our conference and state championships. Please take me up on that offer and take a Flat Cori on your next trip!  |
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April 2026
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