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
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.” 

Coaches’ Corner
BY BRUCE WARREN
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Niwot Football

The future of Niwot football is looking up with eight returning starters on defense for next season.  “We have several skill position players coming back too,” Coach Ron Tesone said.  The Cougars picked up three victories on the field this fall (though the first game ended in a forfeit due to an ineligible player), up from only one win in 2010.  And, Niwot was able to field three teams this year for the first time in several years (Varsity, JV and C team). 
Several players earned post-season honors, led by All Conference seniors Nick Stager, Dillon Manzanares and Max McCaddon.  Stager was selected as a linebacker, Manzanares as a running back, and McCaddon as receiver. 

Out In Leftfield  January 2012 
BY BRUCE WARREN

 
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BMX RACING
Niwot High freshman Collin Hudson is a 3-time Champion in BMX racing, capturing his third title in November.  Hudson, who was nicknamed “Crazy Legs Hudson” by his grandfather, describes himself as “quick, stylish and fast” on his bike. 
Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) racing got its start in California in the late 1960’s and has now become an Olympic event.  It consists of a race on a 350-meter circuit, starting from a high ramp and continuing over a track alternating bumps, banked corners and flat sections.  Generally eight riders compete in each race. There is also a Freestyle competition where riders are judged on executing figures and jumps.
In 2010, Hudson won a UCI BMX world championship as a 13-year-old in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  He won the Worlds again as a 14-year-old in July 2011, in Copenhagen, where he won two Union Cycliste Internationale titles. 
On Nov. 27, Hudson picked up another title in Tulsa (Okla.), where he won the ABA Grand Nationals.  Hudson was most excited about winning the Grand Nationals, because he had never won it before in six years of competing.  Hudson was honored as The Denver Post Youth Excellence in Sports winner for November.  He rides as part of the Crupi Factory team riders.