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Luke Graham

Luke Graham's column appears Mondays in the Steamboat Today. Contact him at 970-871-4229 or e-mail lgraham@SteamboatToday.com.

There are a lot of reasons I couldn't be a coach, many of which center on the simple fact that I don't know as much about sports as I think I do.

I couldn't install an offense in football, a defense in basketball or either in lacrosse. My philosophy of going out and kicking the ball into the goal probably wouldn't win me any soccer games.

But the dedication and knowledge it takes to be a coach really hit me this week with the transition from winter prep sports to spring prep sports. Two coaches in particular stand out as examples.

Steamboat Springs boys basketball coach Luke DeWolfe jumped right from a strenuous basketball season into the track and field season. Soroco's David Bruner - the iron man of coaching in Routt County - has trucked through a football season, a girls basketball season and now embarks on a track and field season.

For DeWolfe, basketball in Steamboat is more like a full-time job. I once had former coach Kelly Meek tell me that considering how much time he put into the program, he probably got paid "about 3 cents an hour." It's hard to imagine DeWolfe was any less committed to his Sailors boys this season. In fact, on Tuesday, just three days after a season-ending loss, most members of the Steamboat boys basketball team were in the gym - playing basketball.

DeWolfe was there with them, then went to track practice right after. If I'm not done with winter sports and still a little mentally exhausted, I can't imagine how DeWolfe feels.

There's no such word as "stop" in Bruner's schedule. His breaks between seasons keep getting shorter and shorter.

He is the only coach in Routt County to go three straight seasons. Bruner saw success in his first two seasons but still might have the best results during the track season.

What makes the accomplishments of the two even more resounding is what people don't see - the time both put in.

They're full-time teachers, so their days start early. As coaches, their days often don't end until late in the evening. But what's even more impressive is the time away from school the two put in.

To think of the offseason preparation Bruner puts in for three sports is mind blowing: camps, lifting sessions, workouts and open gyms.

For DeWolfe, the basketball job in Steamboat carries a full-time tag with it. Open gyms three times a week along with 25 games in the summer. Add in individual workouts, the season and then the start to track season, and it's exhausting just thinking about it.

What makes it easier for the two is that at nearly every sporting event, their families are there and are just as much a part of the team as they are.

Although both said it can be exhausting at times - especially now with a quick turnover from basketball to track - when it comes down to it, they're doing something they love.

"You got to love what you do," Bruner said, "and I love this for sure."

- To reach Luke Graham, call 871-4229

or e-mail lgraham@steamboatpilot.com