Many people at Greeley West know that students and staff alike care a lot about athletics in this school. But there is one person at West who oversees all of that. Mr. Ryan Hilbig is in his second year of being the athletic director at West and shared his philosophy of interscholastic sports.

While a sport is in season, a student-athlete will spend as much time with their coaches and with their other teammates as they do with their own families. Even if it is  short season, participants create a lot of different bonds and they are important especially in high school. It is important for the coach to make clear that they care about their athletes because they have to gain trust with them. This goes for on and off the field. “ I think that it is important for coaches to build a bond with their athletes, but it also needs to be a healthy, appropriate bond, Hilbig stated.

A lot of times, parents and athletes are focused most in success on the playing field in regards to victories.  Hilbig has a realistic approach to that.  “In Colorado every year, there is only one team per classification that gets to walk away with a championship, so statistically speaking it is impossible to win all the time,” Hilbig said.

Yet he stated that all the coaches at West have a goal to win, but that there is a process to get there  To win, coaches must improve the play and skill of the athletes. Playing sports is to benefit them, not the coaches. “We all want to win a championship, but we all coach because we are dedicated to seeing student athletes grow into better and stronger people,” Hilbig said.  

It is important to care about each other and be able to go to someone if needed even if that is one of your coaches. Building this bond helps to lower the wall that people put up, he said. Hilbig conclude, “You don’t always have to like the coach or the athlete, but you have to care enough about them to do what is needed.”