DENVER | On the same floor where she’s celebrated so many state championships — five to be exact — Patty Childress’ career as Grandview volleyball coach came to an end Saturday evening.
The architect of Colorado’s most consistently elite volleyball program, which has appeared in 10 Class 5A state championship finals and won half of them, coached her final match with the Wolves, who lost a pool play tiebreaker to red hot Denver East at the Denver Coliseum.
Two times with a chance to go to the semifinals and play rival Cherokee Trail, Grandview couldn’t stop the big-hitting Angels, who outlasted them in five sets in pool play and then took a one-set tiebreaker 25-20.
“This is it for me,” Childress said, tears welling in her eyes. “I’m really proud of this team. There were times when I thought this could be it, our very last time together as a team and that was two weeks ago. But what a great group of kids.
“We were a little behind replacing five starters, but they did a nice job.”
Losing five starters from a team that had won 5A state championships in 2013 and 2014 made for an up and down type season for the Wolves, but there they were again, poised on the precipice of another potential shot at a state title.
Instead, Grandview finished the season 18-9, which puts Childress’ all-time record with the program unofficially at 493-169 with state championship victories in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2014.
A sixth championship was not to be, however, though as the Wolves ran into a buzzsaw in Denver East.
“We didn’t know how far this team would get, so we came a long ways,” Childress said. “I think East is on a roll right now and got a good head of steam, so kudos to them. They were very good.”
Childress — who had been thikning about retiring for the past two or three seasons, but finally decided to retire from coaching the same year she would retire from teaching — addressed her team in the back hallways of the Denver Coliseum, then hugged each one of the players as they streamed past her, tears in all of their eyes.
Childress said her hope for Grandview’s next coach is somebody with a lot of “energy,” who could keep the program at an elite level.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
