What a great conference Jeffco has in girls soccer! The last two teams to win the state championship - Dakota Ridge in 2023, and Evergreen, in 2024, are from Jeffco, and right now Evergreen and Green Mountain sit atop the state's RPI and Maxpreps rankings in the 4a classification. 

Jeffco has an additional 3 teams in the top 16 ranked teams in the state, so as it sits now, 5 Jeffco teams would be hosting first round playoff games in a couple weeks.

To also be atop this conference, as we are, with only the tie against Green Mountain, is quite an accomplishment. We have three games in our conference to go, against D'Evelyn (last year's conferrence champs), Wheat Ridge, and Conifer. And if we win out, we win the bext conference in the state. 

Typically at the end of the year, if we win the conference, we make up conference champs T-shirts with the year printed on it - a great memento and keepsake for the girls AND the coaches! I wear them all the time, and then, when (my wife or) I think its gotten enough wear, I put that up in the classroom wall. I love those shirts. So much hard work and team work goes into winning the shirt, it should be worn or displayed prominently! 

What these three games will require to earn that shirt is so much more than the result - it is the effort, the purpose and the focus that is required to simply play at your best. If we do that, I like our chances to start planning for the design of this year's T.

Game ON! 

Last week, before the Dakota Ridge game, our girls had a chance to honor their favorite teachers. What a fun tradition, and the girls did a great job: identifying and inviting their teachers, greeting them on the field, giving them a small token of their appreciation...and then they also went out and played great for the teachers who were able to stay for the game. 

As a coach, I know the bond have with their teachers, and the appreciation they show is genuine. They talk about their classes, school in general, and most of all, they show appreciation for their teachers by exerting effort in their classes. This year has been no different than every year in recent memory - no girls in this program have missed a single contest due to grades this year. They are exellent students, they take their academics seriously, and they are all focused on taking their studies to the next level at great universities and colleges across the country.

The teachers take time to commend ME on our girls, their attitudes, the way they carry themselves, the way they represent themselves in the school. The respect is genuine, and I deflect that compliment back to the girls always!

A new teacher myself, and being in the building, I know these gestures are important to the girls as well. They love it when their teachers are able to come see them OUTSIDE the classroom in other aspects of their life that are so important to them. It is amazing that I can spend 15 minues helping a student with some aspect of their academic life...and barely get acknowledgment, but if I show up at their tennis match or concert, they cannot thank me enough: )

One final thing before posting a great photo of the girls with their teachers...to the parents in this program...thank you for all the lessons you have taught these girls about being thankful and appreciative - it pays off! And you have paid one other thing forward - all of those TUNNELS you had the kids run through when they were 5 and 6 years old!  I can not upload one of the videos I got from the afternoon, but it is of the girls making a tunnel and their teachers running through it. A definite highlight!   

This past week we played two home games on our turf against conference rivals Dakota Ridge (Friday) and Standley Lake (Wednesday.) Both games were an excellent chance for our program to showcase that a team can play physically, competitive, and fairly. I think we did that.

The games were physical to be sure, and I hope we all admire the courage and the toughness of our student athletes to play in such challenging conditions. I am glad I am not out there! The girls are running fast, hitting into each other, and fighting for every loose ball and tackle they can. In fact, two of our players collided off the field on Wednesday, ran over me, stepping on my foot with their cleat. OUCH. And I am not even ON the field.

When these games get that physical, it is preparing us to play the game as it is meant to be played however - physical and fairly. if you do not play physically, and are not MORE competitive than the other team...good luck winning at the highest level.

But let's remind each other that the game also requires DISCIPLINE. Fair play and not fouling limits another team's set pieces, and often, their best chances to score. It also keeps our emotions in check, keeps us focused on executing and playing in a smart fashion.  Every team I have ever coached that wins big games has discipline - it is a must.  

So I thank the girls for competing fiercely, AND for playing fairly and with discipline these past two games. 

AND...in the past games we also were RUTHLESS. At the exact moment when we could have taken the foot off the gas Friday night, at 2-0 or 3-0 or 4-0, against a very good team that could have gotten back into the game, we put the pedal down and were ruthless and took advantage of their momentary lack of fight and effectively ended the game by halftime. I absolutely loved that last fifteen minutes of the first half. Well done!

​There is a saying that "the most dangerous lead in soccer is 2-0." (Parenthetically, ask me and I would prefer 2-0 to 1-0 at the end of the game : ) This saying is because of how a team can get complacent and then one goal can change momentum for the team DOWN 1-2, and that team can go on to beat the team that was ahead by two by a score of 3-2 quite easily!  Keeping the focus, having that ruthless mentality, and really playing better after each goal - that is a quality we want as a program! 

In the past two weeks we played two of the premier programs in the state, and adding that to the two matches prior to spring break (Windsor and Northfield) we are on our way once again to playing one of the most challenging schedules in the state.

Green Mountain looked fantastic against us two weeks ago, remains undefeated, and has a premier player for sure. They will be in the thick of things when the state championship is decided I am sure, and will be looking to become the third different Jeffco team to win the 4a state title (Dakota Ridge in 23, and EVG in 24.) 

Then this past week we had an excellent opponent in 5A Ralston Valley. They were in the 5A state semifinals last year and seem like a more balanced and excellent team this year. I think they are currently ranked 3 in 5A. They too will be in the thick of things at the 5A level this May when the state playoffs come around. While I was a little disappointed in some of our decisions and executions against RV, at the least the game gives us a perfect opportunity to know what we need to improve on to win our conference and do well in the post-season. If we can learn from that game, apply ourselves to the things we need to improve upon, then I like our chances down the road.

We also had three games against conference foes who are still developing and are a few years from competing at a higher level. And those games gave us the opportunity to work on some things, and also to get everybody experience on the field.

Currently we sit in a two way tie for 2nd in Jeffco 4A with Green Mountain, with Dakota Ridge sitting atop, undefeated. Jeffco appears to be the premier league in the state, with 4 teams in the top ten of the RPI, and a fifth just outside that top ten. It will be a great battle for the conference once again.

All of this is great preparation for the state playoffs, as we contemplate possible matchups against really good teams, and often in hostile or unfriendly environments.  Last year that same preparation led us to do something that is most challenging to accomplish - win a difficult road game against a very good team in the playoffs (against Windsor in the second round.)  Here's hoping we don't NEED to do that again this May, but I rest assured that we will be ready when that situation - a tough opponent - presents itself this May.

Over the next two weeks we get a chance to do something we seldom are able to do - host conference opponents on our home field at Evergreen HS! 

While I love the traditions associated with the conference games at our district stadiums, and I do feel we have two of the best district stadiums in the state, it is certainly less than awesome to "host" an opponent at a stadium 40 or so minutes from our High School, and north of Golden. So I am very much looking forward to hosting both Standley Lake and then Dakota Ridge this coming week, two opponents who are having excellent seasons and are highly ranked. Standley Lake has also always been one of those teams against whom we have struggled, and I expect nothing different this time. And Dakota Ridge is quite the game - the last two state champion teams facing off, with both of us also at the top of the standings in the league.

Dakota Ridge is coached by a long-time colleague and friend, and one of the true legends in Colorado coaching. People are probably unaware what good relationships and camaraderie I enjoy with my fellow Jeffco coaches. In fact, I have heard that the relationships and close friendships us coaches enjoy among even our fiercest rival programs in the conference is rare around the state. So know that even though I will be coaching competitively for our side to perform well and win, that it is as important to me to continue to earn the respect of my fellow coaches for the way that we play and host games. Let's be great hosts this next week and provide a great playing environment for them!

Part of what makes coaching so enjoyable is the competitive challenge that every year presents. Every team has different chemistry, vibe, talent, style, character, strengths and weaknesses.

Despite those differences, however, I attempt to consistently apply some principles across the different teams and years. In this first blog post of the year, I want to share some of those principles that I hope guide my coaching.

1. Have patience with a team. We do not enter the season a completed work. I try to think about where I hope the team can be in our last game of the season, and steadfastly work to get THERE. What do we need to improve today? Tomorrow? in a week? What are the strengths we want to utilize more of? What are the weaknesses we need to address?

2. Believe that every player is capable of improvement every day and specially over the course of a season. Focus on asking every player to improve and learn from mistakes and successes every day. While there are some mistakes I will have less patience with (there are some "Simply don't do that" examples), I want players to feel like they can just play their hardest, and fail or succeed spectacularly.  

3. "Concentrate on the Process and not the Result" - if we collectively and individually play well and up to our ability, that is the important part. I have learned not to say "we really need to win this game" but rather, "execute, play hard, play for each other, this is our game plan, Play well" and I think that is freeing to players, and indeed, leads to better results and to a can-do, never quit attitude. 

4. We all need to be accountable - players need to be demanding of each other, while also being encouraging, and...listen when you are given feedback by your fellow players and by your coaches. Evaluate individual and team performance, analyze where improvement is needed, and be OPEN to the idea that we always seek to improve. 

5. Be a selfless teammate - understand the role being asked of us, perform that role positively and to the best of our abilities. We all have a part to play, and everyone contributes to the team's overall performance. This goes for practices, and games, for coaches and players, for starters and reserves. We all contribute to the success of a team.   

6. Somehow teach intensity, competitiveness, and having FUN at the same time. 

When we apply those principles I think we will find ourselves:

• competing with, and even beating teams that are objectively better than us, or that we have previously lost to, or in hostile and challenging situations that require perseverance, toughness and togetherness.
• playing to a high standard when confronted with a team that is lower than our level of play.

WHAT A START TO THE SEASON THIS WEEK PROVIDES - Tuesday and Thursday we will play two of the best and most respected programs in the state - Windsor at home Tuesday evening, and then Northfield on the road Thursday. They should be great tests . Let's prepare, and then play our best, and LEARN from the games no matter the result.

Coach

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