These days, John Meadows is a sports agent, representing dozens of women’s college basketball coaches. But in 1987, he initiated what would turn out to be an impressive legacy in another arena.
Meadows started the Boulder Rockies, a club that eventually would become the Mile Hi Rockies, one of the region’s top organizations and a proud member of the Blue Star family of teams.
Bob Dietz had a daughter who played for Meadows’ club. So when he hooked up as the Rockies’ leader about nine years ago, he knew about the history of the program.
Kim Thompson, a former Colorado assistant coach, had taken the reins after the club ceased operations for a year more than a decade ago. It continued to build through recent years, folding in two other Colorado-based programs and taking the name Mile Hi Rockies a year ago.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“Our kids are from Fort Collins, Greeley and clear down to Colorado Springs,” said Dietz, who continues to administer the club while Thompson takes the coaching reins. “I bet we’ve got 18 or 19 different high schools.”
Those schools feed six Rockies teams, which feature a revolving roster through the spring tournaments – and that’s by design.
“One of the cool things we do is all of our teams run the same offense, the same defense — everything is the same,” Dietz said. “That way we can move kids from one team to another, which we do a lot. They can fit right in and know the plays and not miss a beat.
“We think it’s good for kids to move around, play with different kids and play under different coaches. Up to July, we’re still moving kids around. Once we get into July and those viewing periods, then the teams are pretty well set unless we have injuries. Our teams in July will be a little different than they were in the April viewing period.”
Dietz takes his teams to several USJN events, including a showcase event in October in Chicago, the USJN Octoberfest.
“The USJN/Blue Star affiliation has really helped us as a club,” he said.
A look at some of the top Rockies:
Class of 2013
“The high-profile kids are Jac Malcolm-Peck, a 6-2 wing, and Taylor Williams, a 6-foot wing,” Dietz said. “Jac is a tall kid that can create matchup problems on the wing. She handles the ball and goes to the basket well. Has a good shot. Taylor can shoot the 3. Good driving to the basket.”
Class of 2014
“The 2014 class is loaded, especially in Colorado,” Dietz said. “The top kid is Bailee Cotton, about 6-2, and we play her at the wing, and she can also play guard. Great defender, too. We put her at the top of the press. She has good hops and can score it. One kid that is drawing a lot of attention is Diani Akigbogun, 6-0, plays the wing, and we move her in to the post. Very physical kid. She’ll be better in college than she will be in high school. You walk in the gym and you notice her. Very, very athletic with a lot of power.
“Mae Williams, 5-11, is probably the most athletic kid we’ve got. It’s really fun watching her improve. She’s really putting the time in. One of the good guards is Justine Hall, 5-10, real athletic, real long. Can really defend.”
Class of 2015
“Our 2015s are good, too. We’ve got a kid named Raegan Rohn, a 5-6 guard, and she’s a good one. Her dad is one of the assistant coaches at Colorado on the men’s side. Another kid Jen Urbaniak, 5-9, plays wing for us. Both of her brothers play football at the University of Northern Colorado, so she’s got the genes. She’s going to be fun to watch over the next couple of years.
“We’ve got an eighth grader I’ve moved around to different teams, Brenna Chase. She’s got the ‘it’ factor and isn’t intimidated by anybody. She’s not afraid to take the shot, either. I’ve had her playing with 17s before, and she isn’t intimidated by her teammates. She’s 5-7 and skinny. She just knows the game and has been playing a long time. Good kid, too.”
Dietz paused, then added, “But we’ve got a lot of good kids.
“They’re fun to be around, too. At tryouts we try to make sure we get the right kids that fit with us and not everybody is a fit. More and more, parents have to be the right fit for us as well. Our club is designed for a kid who wants to play at the next level. All of our coaches are volunteers and we’re not making money on this deal, so we don’t need to field teams just for the cash flow”.
