Greeley West athletes will encounter many new, but familiar, faces in their 2024 fall sports seasons. There are several more coaches in the building than there have traditionally been.  The new hires include: football coach Jakob Vargas, softball coach Hannah Rivera, volleyball coach Ryan Knoblock, and soccer coach Jorge Cabral. All hope to all have a hand in Spartan successes on the field/court, but also in the classroom. 

The new hires all have one thing in common: they are in-building coaches. Athletic Director Mr. J.J. Behrens said, “I think with all athletics and with all sports and even in the classroom, it’s built around relationships.  It’s a bit harder being a coach not in the building to sustain day in and day out.”

Knoblock mentioned all the logistics that go into being an in-building coach. “It’s helpful to be in the building to access the admin and access all of the other things that have to happen to make a sports program run and to accomplish stuff during the school day,” Knoblock said. 

The athletics department hopes to grow each program while building a positive culture and experience for each athlete. “I think with any program we are eager to grow the program. To take athletics beyond just the wins and losses and to let it be something that is life long,” said Behrens. 

Vargas, who taught at Northridge and then Aurora for three years but wanted something close to home for family, took the opportunity to take this head coaching job. Vargas wants his athletes to have a positive experience and culture as well. “I’m really big on the culture and this is how we do things as Spartan football players. Having leaders on the team buy into it the motivation builds itself because they want to do it the right way.” Vargas mentioned. 

“My philosophy is that kids get to do this one time, they get to do high school sports one time and I want it to be a positive experience for them,” said Vargas.