Bronco leaves mark on high school players - #lakewoodnews

Denver Broncos running back Kapri Bibbs had the full attention of Castle View football players before a practice session on Oct. 18.

The former Colorado State University standout talked to the players for 30 minutes as part of the Broncos' Game of the Week promotion.

And, as coach Dustin Pfeiffer related, his players were intent while listing to Bibbs.

"He addressed the team about the importance (of fighting) for everything that you aspire to be," Pfeiffer said. "He gave his story of how he got to the place he is at currently and his future.

"He spoke about the importance of education and doing well in school. He also gave the kids a reference of what it means to be a good teammate and how important it is to care about one another."

Action in one place

Watching the girls state high school softball tournament brought a "remember-when moment."

The softball tournament was held Oct. 21 and 22 at Aurora Sports Park. There were only three classifications and it was an easy walk between the complexes.

So a person could watch a 3A game, stroll to the adjacent complex and catch part of a 5A game or amble to take in a 4A contest. And, all the championship games on Oct. 22 were at the same complex.

It reminded me when there were still only three classes and not five and all the games in the boys state basketball tournament were held at the Auditorium Arena in downtown Denver.

Some of those Class A Merino teams were fun to watch, along with the bigger schools like Denver Christian, Glenwood Springs, Highland and the big boys like Wheat Ridge, Manual and Boulder, to name just a few.

'Stringy' in hall-of-fame class

Maurice "Stringy" Ervin, who coached Littleton's boys and girls swimming teams for 46 seasons, will be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame at the 53rd annual banquet April 27, 2017 at Denver City Marriott Center.

Ervin, a Littleton native who was a three-sport standout for the Lions, coached a combined 12 boys and girls state championship teams and the Lions were runners-up six times under Ervin's tutelage.

He coached 40 individual state champions and 21 state championship relay teams.

Ervin will be inducted in a class that includes ex-defensive back Champ Bailey of the Denver Broncos, former Colorado Rockies slugger Dante Bichette, world class mogul skier and Colorado football athlete Jeremy Bloom, CU All-American lineman and nine-season National Football League player John Wooten and squash player Hashim Khan.

Douglas County influence in win

Cherokee Trail won the Class 5A state softball championship with a 1-0 victory over Broomfield on Oct. 22 at Aurora Sports Park and there was a Douglas County flavor to the Cougars' title.

Cougars' head coach Caley Mitchell is the former Castle View coach and her assistant was her dad, Toby Tabola, who was the longtime softball coach at Ponderosa.

Field hockey clinic

The Colorado High School Activities Association, along with USA Field Hockey, will hold a players clinic on Oct. 27 between 4 and 4:45 p.m. at the Denver Public School's All-City Stadium in conjunction of the state field hockey championship game.

Among those expected to be at the clinic, which is for seventh- to 12th-graders, are three-time U.S. Olympian Rachel Dawson and two-time U.S. Olympic player Melissa Gonzalez.

Cost for the clinic is $20 for USA Field Hockey members and $25 for non-members. A T-shirt and admission to the title game is included.

Register for the clinic at usafieldhockey.com

Jim Benton is a sports writer for Colorado Community Media. He has been covering sports in the Denver area since 1968. He can be reached at jbenton@coloradocommunitymedia.com or at 303-566-4083.

 

 

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