COLORADO COACH- SPRING 2018 FROM THE SPORT PRESIDENTS as you begin your Spring and Summer plans. I know that everyone is starting to form their teams and I thought it might be appropriate to share some thoughts on the Characteristics of a Good Teammate. If you have any questions for me or if I can help you in any way please do not hesitate to contact me. joseph.ortiz@dcsdk12.org Enjoy the off season. Nothing better than being in the gym with our players. Take care, Joe We have been blessed with players who place the team over their own personal goals. Our players have bought into the philosophy of everyone having to make sacrifices for us to be able to achieve our fullest potential as a basketball team. First and foremost our players must be unselfish. They must play each offensive possession with the mindset of getting the best possible shot for our team. They must understand that every part of the game is important. Setting a good screen is just as important to our success as a made basket or an assist pass. Moving the ball by making the simple pass is just as important as the pass that leads to a basket. Our players realize the importance of our teammates on the bench who must be ready and prepared to play when called upon. A good teammate must recognize and value the sacrifices made by their teammates. To be a good teammate you must have genuine happiness for your teammate’s success. A good teammate will be aware of a teammate who is struggling and be able to pick them up. They must push each other to play as hard as possible in practices and games. A good teammate must also be able to do tough jobs. He must hold his teammate accountable for their actions on and off the court. He must be able to tell his teammate the truth even when it’s hard to do. At ThunderRidge we have been blessed with athletes who are excellent basketball players. More importantly we have been blessed with good teammates. Two awards to announce include our CHSCA Boys Basketball Coach of the Year: Jeff Kloster of Longmont and our Ed Sutak Award winner: Todd Schayes of Kent Denver. Congratulations! SPIRIT President Virginia Lorbeer Outstanding speakers for the spirit coaches at the Multi-Sport Conference, July 27 and 28. Great line up of cheer and dance speakers – something for everyone and all can learn a lot. Catherine “Cathy” Crosslin, Founder & CEO of Instar Performance, who is a motivational speaker will be speaking to both cheer and dance coaches. Cathy is a “Coach’s Coach,” leading athletic coaches to create positive, engaging, and challenging team environments, where their athletes experience success beyond wins and losses. For our cheer coaches, Austin Robles, UCA, speaking on ‘Choreography for Cheer; Scott Borgmier, Douglas County Cheer Coach, speaking on Spirit Team and External Communication; Kim MacTaggart, Bear Creek Cheer Coach, and Brian Franca, PEAK Athletics, speaking on Game Day 101; Gina Harris, Cheer Coach Academy, speaking on “Turning Your New Coach Passion into New Coach Action,” Austin Robles, UCA, speaking on Social Media and Athletes; Vanessa Napolean, UCA, speaking on Stunt Class 101: Back to the Basics.” Katie Bowers, UCA, speaking on Stunt Transition, Technique and Timing for Veteran Coaches. For our dance coaches, Ingrid Caruso, Power Barre, speaking on Improving Strength & Technique in Dancers; Katie Fear speaking on Creating Winning Choreography; Carrie Nichoff, Broomfield Pom Coach, speaking on “What Judges Are Looking For;” Dr. Chelsea Pierotti, Passionate Coaching, speaking on Mental Skill for a Competitive Edge; Lori Wyss, Arvada West Cheer Coach, speaking on “Working With the School to Improve Overall Spirit.” In addition to our sessions for the cheer and dance coaches, we have added an additional session for all coaches, “Coping, coaching kids thru tough times; how to connect with kids.” Dance rules will be taught by our state rules interp for dance, Tena Preuss; cheer rules will be taught by Josh McDaniel, UCA; Liz Carey, cheer state rules interp; Brian Franca; for 1st and 2nd year coaches, Jen Kawasaki will teach rules. Reminder – 1st and 2nd year coaches must attend the “Coaching 101” session; if you, as a spirit coach, are working on your permanent coaching certification, you MUST sign into all the sessions. On Thursday, July 26, 4:00 pm (TENTATIVE time), coaches interested in judging league competitions, the judging class will be taught; 6:30 pm (TENTATIVE time), coaches interested in teaching rules following the Conference, the rules interpretation class will be taught. CHSAA/CHSCA will be working together on a mentoring program for our coaches. If you would like to be a mentor, please let me (Ginny) know. Need to share your expertise! Thanks We are looking forward to seeing each of you at the Conference and gaining much information from our speakers. Spirit coaches – “Dare to Lead!”