Whether as a head coach or now an administrator, Aaron Williams believes in the power of data.
Williams has used statistics to help build the Gateway High School boys volleyball program from scratch over the past four years and he’ll put more into play in his new post as co-athletic director at Hinkley High School.
He and Patrick Van Der Kwast will split the duties of running sports and activities as Aurora’s second-oldest high school and look to seize on some tangible momentum gained last year and bring it into the upcoming 2024-25 school year.
“Two years ago, Hinkley was the lowest in the district (Aurora Public Schools) in participation and we had a 30 percent increase last year,” Williams told the Sentinel in a recent interview. “I want to continue that and drive our kids to get involved and do stuff. I hope we can get that to 40 percent this year.
“I remember when I was kid that idle time was when I used to do the dumbest things, so I really enjoy having kids participate in school. I like to create opportunities for them so they don’t get into things they shouldn’t be involved in.”
Williams and Van Der Kwast represent the only change in athletic leadership in APS, as Ryan Widemon (Aurora Central), Paul Jefferson (Gateway), Erick Swanson (Rangeview) and David Benedict (Vista PEAK Prep) return to their posts.
Williams had the advantage of spending the past two years as director of security at Hinkley and also served as activities director last year under Rodney Padilla, who had the job since 2016.
Van Der Kwast — who spent last year at Vista PEAK Prep — is learning more about Hinkley on a daily basis, but also has become aware of statistics that he hopes to improve on.
“East Middle School has the highest participation rate for middle schools in the district, so why are they doing it there and then walk across the street and not doing it here?’” said Van Der Kwast, referring to the school two blocks to the west of Hinkley.
The two already have a lot on their plate in terms of responsibilities, but they are determined to add more.
They know that participation in athletics and activities builds engagement for students in addition to the requirements that student athletes must live up to so they can remain eligible to participate.
So adding more options is exactly what Williams and Van Der Kwast want to do. They are intent on bringing back softball in the fall and baseball in the spring — sports that have been absent for a few years — in addition to boys and girls golf. Also slated to join the list of offerings this season is girls flag football, which is in its first year as a sport sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association.
The two have divvied up the responsibilities for the entire year, starting with the fall, during which Williams will take charge of football, softball, boys tennis, boys golf, Unified Bowling and spirit, while Van De Kwast has girls volleyball, boys soccer, cross country and girls flag football under his supervision. Both also have more than a handful of clubs and activities on their watch.
In addition to increased participation, Williams and Van De Kwast hope that will also help with the overall competitiveness of the athletic program.
The only Hinkley teams that had winning records in the 2023-24 athletic season were in boys volleyball (17-7, plus a berth in the regional postseason) and girls volleyball (15-8).
“We just want to compete; it’s not all about winning, but we want to have more nailbiters and less running clocks,” Williams said. “We want to support coaches so they are able to get our kids to a competitive level, no matter what the sport is. When we look back, did we compete and do what we needed to do to produce the best results?”
Added Van De Kwast: “We want to help these kids move forward and remind them ‘you picked up these skills and you’re not going to forget that. People aren’t going to talk about your record because that’s the most important thing.”
Both believe another key to the competitiveness component lies in the schedule. Hinkley is part of the City League, which has melded some APS schools (Hinkley, Rangeview and Vista PEAK Prep) with those in Denver Public Schools following the demise of the East Metro Athletic Conference. It has been a move that has been largely beneficial, especially in some sports, but Williams and Van De Kwast want to make sure the non-league competition is in line with that.
“My goal and vision is to play schools in our community and the Denver Metro area,” Williams said. “That’s going to bring more people out anyways and why are we playing teams that have no connection to our community?”
Building success can then allow the freedom to expand the non-league program to include opponents that will help teams build RPI, which is a necessity to qualify for the postseason.
One major hurdle that is mostly taken care of is the wholesale change in mascots from the Thunderbirds to the Thunder, which brought the school in compliance with the mandate passed in 2021 by Colorado lawmakers that prohibited the use of Native American mascots by schools unless they have an agreement with a specific tribe.
Padilla and his staff combed through the hallways, facilities and equipment (including jerseys) to change as many as possible prior to last school year.
Aurora Public Schools Stadium on the Hinkley campus is currently in the midst of a wholesale remodel spearheaded by district athletic director Casey Powell that includes a new track, new turf field and massive scoreboard in addition to various cosmetic changes.
With all the district schools using APS Stadium as their home football sites in addition to various schools using it for soccer, track & field and lacrosse, it will remain a vibrant hub of athletics.
“APS Stadium is the heartbeat of the football season and everybody has to come to Hinkley to get to the stadium, so it puts our name on the map in a larger way,” Williams said. “It can be a place that brings community together when we have our games.”
The proximity of the stadium is definitely an advantage for Hinkley, but it still doesn’t exempt the school from one of the biggest challenges facing prep athletics: transportation.
The cost to get buses and drivers to take teams to various locations — especially for larger sports such as football, where multiple buses could be required to transport big teams — takes out a huge chunk of each school’s athletic budget.
Even the cost of the small buses used to transport small teams has grown several fold, which puts up a barrier to overcome in the quest to offer as many sports as possible.
“Our challenge is how do we provide access to sports, while also working within the challenges of the system,” Van De Kwast said. “It’s something that all of us in the district face and schools in other districts as well.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
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