Matthew Koscove will try to take small scale successes to a bigger model as the new athletic director at Vista PEAK Prep.
Koscove made significant inroads over the past three years in the same role at Alameda International in Jefferson County Schools, but has graduated to the “big” leagues of a school with more than three times the high school population.
He prepared himself for the challenge for when that might come, which it now has.
“I’ve always made sure because I was at a little school that it wasn’t going to hold me back,” Koscove told the Sentinel. “I was going to go to all these events and stick my nose in the places where the big boys were talking. I think that will really help.”
Koscove is proud of the accomplishments at Alameda, which were significant in recent years — he highlighted massive improvement from a girls softball program that nearly disappeared completely, but has morphed into a postseason qualifier, among others — but found increasing difficulties with the 55-mile round trip drive each day from his home in Green Valley Ranch.
When he saw the late opening at Vista PEAK Prep (which became available when Jordan Ivey moved into a full-time position as assistant principal after one year in the post) he pounced on the chance for more favorable geography as well as the opportunity to work at a place with an enrollment of roughly 2,200 students as opposed to the 960 he had at Alameda (which included seventh through 12th graders).
“I get to be at a bigger school and I get to be much, much closer to home, so this checked two boxes,” said Koscove, who has a son who attends DSST: Conservatory Green and competes in athletics at Northfield High School.
Koscove becomes the third athletic director at Vista PEAK Prep in the last three years, as David Benedict (who left for Smoky Hill) was followed last year by Ivey. Mike Hughes held the post when the school opened in 2010 and was followed by John Sullivan, who is now an assistant commissioner at the Colorado High School Activities Association.
Like his predecessors, Koscove sees the underlying potential of the school, which continues to be bolstered as the area around it grows.
Koscove’s association with athletics is deep, as he is a former coach — even counting time working under Bob Knight, the late former Indiana University men’s basketball coaching legend — and also worked in Denver Public Schools athletics.
His main goal is to recognize and celebrate the achievements of Vista PEAK Prep’s athletes and teams. He has begun to do that with a dedication to posting on social media, which he did abundantly at Alameda.
Koscove also is trying to come up to speed with the challenges created by the APS district’s new bell times for high schools (8:20 a.m. start time with dismissal at 3:50 p.m.) and a new centralized data base created by the CHSAA that allows athletic directors to track the certifications of all of their coaches.
It’s a lot to take in at first, but Koscove expects things to smooth out soon.
“As soon as I can get the firehose out of my mouth, I can pay attention to more details,” Koscove said. “I want to make sure things don’t slip through the cracks. I think the bumpiness will be the fall and we’ll get through it.”
Koscove is one of three new high school athletic directors in the APS district, as he joins Jen Rahn at Rangeview and Emily Bradshaw at Aurora West College Prep Academy. Ryan Widemon (Aurora Central), Paul Jefferson (Gateway) and Bekki Beisner (Hinkley) return to their posts.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
