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Coaches’ Corner March 2012

Coaches’ Corner
BY BRUCE WARREN
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Niwot Girls Swimming

Niwot finished 12th at the state 4A meet with a young squad that figures to be a force in the future.  “They did wonderfully at state,” coach Sarah Heller said.  Senior Ariel Mosier was one of the top individuals for the Cougars, finishing 11th in Diving with three strong dives at the end.  Mosier, who was 13th a year ago, was seeded 16th before her final three dives, but performed what she described as the best reverse dive of her life to move up in the standings. “Ariel dove the best she’s ever done,” Heller said.

All 11 Cougar swimmers at state were underclassmen.  “We have a lot to look forward to,” Heller said.  “We were a little surprised by how fast state was.”  The top individual swimmer at state was Hannah Driscoll, who placed 10th in the 50 Freestyle.  Kylie Pillard placed 16th in the same event.

The Cougars also had two relays place, with Elise Cranny, Pillard, Zoie Jordan and Driscoll taking fifth in the 200 Freestyle Relay and ninth in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

Out In Leftfield February 2012

Out In Leftfield 
BY BRUCE WARREN

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NIWOT YOUTH SPORTS

Niwot Youth Sports held its annual meeting Jan. 10 and re-elected its current directors and officers.   President Mark Lamach, Vice-President Tom Moore, Secretary Jodi Oelsner and Treasurer Peter Morreale will serve for another year.

Tim Rudden will serve as Executive Director and will also act as Baseball Director.  Glen Wager, who came on to the board last year, is looking forward to his first season as Softball Director.  Mike Veeder returns as the Rec Basketball Director, and Chris Heinritz will continue as Director of Facilities.  At-Large members include Bruce Riggins, Holly Barrett, Tony Dageenakis and Sean Shiers.  The Competitive Basketball Director position remains open. 
Online registration for the baseball and softball programs will begin Feb. 18 and continue through March 18 at www.niwotyouthsports.org. 
In-person registration will be held March 3-4 at locations to be determined.  Opening Day ceremonies are planned for May 6, with the recreational regular seasons for younger players concluding June 28. Older leagues will continue play into July.

Coaches’ Corner February 2012

Coaches’ Corner
BY BRUCE WARREN
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Niwot Boys Basketball

After losing half of its season-opening roster, Niwot has regrouped, entering the last nine games of the regular season with a 7-7 record and a chance to make the playoffs. “The kids have adjusted well,” Coach Travis Maron said.  “When we lost the three guys to injuries, initially it was really tough on everybody. They’re thinking, ‘What are we gonna do?’”

The Cougars lost senior Chris Gurule after the first game due to conflicts with his soccer schedule.  Then the injuries came.  Cody Heiman broke his wrist.  Alex Kinnison suffered a dislocated kneecap.

Max McCaddon suffered a hand injury.  Only McCaddon has an outside chance of returning this season.  “Cody was probably our best player,” Maron said.  “Max was a big energy guy.  And Alex, although he’s only a sophomore, was the heart and soul of the team.

“When we came back from Christmas break, we talked about how this is a great opportunity for everybody. They had a collective responsibility to believe in themselves.  We had to come up with a whole new chemistry and get used to playing together.”

A Good Run February 2012

A Good Run
BY BRUCE WARREN
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Head Coach Doug Duffy announced his retirement from the Cross Country program at Niwot High School after a 14-year run.  Duffy began as an assistant coach with the Cougar program, then took over the top job in 1998.  At the time Niwot had a successful girls program, but the boys squad was not on par. In Duffy’s words, “We barely had enough to make a team.”

That soon changed as the boys took second in conference in Duffy’s first year.  Duffy recalls many memorable moments with the cross country program, including the boys winning their first-ever conference championship in his second season, 1999.  “We actually tied with Sterling in the scoring, but the push is the sixth man, and our sixth man finished higher than Sterlings’.”

Duffy’s squads, both boys and girls, qualified for the state meet every year since 2000. In fact, the girls teams qualified for state every year of his coaching tenure.  There have been many other highlights over the 14 seasons, such as having three girls finish in the top five at state, eight regional championships and a 2006 state runner-up finish.  But Duffy describes as most memorable “the moments I spend with all kinds of special kids.”