About the Dave Sanders Award
By eyewitness accounts, William “Dave” Sanders was a hero on April 20, 1999. The 47-year-old teacher and coach, a Columbine High School faculty member for 25 years, helped numerous students get to safety before he was killed, along with 12 teenagers, by student gunmen. In honor of his commitment to young people, notably girls sports, The Denver Post presents the annual Dave Sanders Colorado Coach Award. In accordance with the Sanders family, including his wife, Linda Lou Sanders, The Post recognizes a high school coach who not only has longevity and success in teaching and coaching but also has outstanding character. Former Columbine coach Rick Bath, Sanders’ best friend, presents a plaque to the award winner. In 2000, Sanders was awarded an ESPY and the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. He was honored posthumously with the first Dave Sanders Award in 1999. Holy Family girls’ basketball coach Ron Rossi is the 2018 honoree. 2000: Dick Katte, retired boys basketball coach at Denver Christian who leads the state in victories with an all-time record of 876-233. He was head coach for 48 years and won eight state championships.
2001: Maurice “Stringy” Ervin, retired from coaching swimming at Littleton after 49 years. His Lions won seven boys state titles and five girls state titles.
2002: Rick Bath, who was a veteran teacher and coach at Columbine, and Sanders’ best friend. He is retired.
2003: Warren Mitchell, who coached Colorado high school sports for 60 years, including 57 heading boys track at Limon. He died in 2014.
2004: Montbello’s Don Gatewood, who surpassed 30 years in teaching and retired after 35 years as boys track coach. He won eight big-school state titles, including one at Manual.
2005: Pam Fagerlund, who has coached Flagler volleyball for 31 years. She over 600 wins with four small-school state championships.
2006: Judy Barnett, a girls sports pioneer and coach who won 398 volleyball games and four state titles at Manitou Springs, and was an assistant commissioner of the Colorado High School Activities Association.
2007: Caryn Jarocki, girls basketball coach at Class 3A Colorado Academy and 5A Highlands Ranch, who just completed her 36th year. She has a 568-162 career record (the best in Colorado) and seven state championships.
2008: Leslie Moore, who retired after 40 years in Denver Public Schools and was instrumental in developing Colorado girls sports as a coach, official and administrator.
2009: Gail Hook, a 27-year coach of girls basketball, most recently at Monarch, where she taught physical education and health. She retired after the 2014-15 season and also has been active in women’s sports on the state and national levels.
2010: Sally Moos, a health and physical education teacher who has 32 years at Cherry Creek, the state’s largest school. She has won five state titles, most recently in 2008; and she recently finished her 39th year coaching girls track. The Bruins won the 5A title in 2013.
2011: Bob Bledsoe, Erie, who oversaw girls basketball for 34 years (387-152 record) until 2011 and coached softball (405-87-1) over 20 seasons into 2015, with a state-leading 11 titles and three secondplace finishes. He is now the softball coach at Fruita Monument on the Western Slope.
2012: Sue Snyder, Simla, longtime volleyball coach who was also at Ellicott and has a career record of 608-155 with two state titles.
2013: Patty Childress, who retired from Grandview after the 2015 season, also has coached at Idalia, in Washington state, Palisade and Mesa State. Her Wolves were a power in 5A, and she captured five titles, five runners-up and 12 semifinal showings.
2014: Carl Mattei, who has coached girls basketball at Regis Jesuit for nearly two decades and turned the Lady Raiders into a powerhouse with three 5A titles, two runner-up finishes and 10 final fours.
2015: Mike Croell, who amassed a 457-69 record in girls basketball at Broomfield over 20 seasons, a time span in which he earned five Class 4A championships, one title in 5A and at least a quarterfinals appearance in every season. Broomfield is the alma mater for Croell.
2016: Dawn Gaffin, the Legacy dean of students and head softball coach, built the Lightning into the most dominant program in the state by way of six 5A state championships since 2007.
2017: Susan Odenbaugh guided Lewis-palmer to four Class 4A volleyball state titles in 15 seasons while leaving a legacy that extended well beyond the court. In a 34-year career, Odenbaugh also left her mark as the school’s English Department chair and now, in retirement, by overseeing the Rangers’ participation in the Positive Coaching Alliance and Shift Why initiative.