I found a voicemail I got this weekend from Grand Valley boys basketball coach Scott Kiburis particularly entertaining.

He said, something to the effect of, this: “I don’t know what it is, but ever since you and Joelle have been here, we keep winning state titles. You guys need to stick around for a while.”

He was, of course, referring to his own team’s state title last March and the Grand Valley wrestling program’s state-title filled weekend at Denver’s Pepsi Center that included a team title and individual titles for brothers Tyler and Cody Miles.

While my colleague Joelle Milholm and I would love nothing more than to take full credit for being Grand Valley’s good-luck charms, we just can’t.

There’s simply a heck of a lot of athletic talent at that school, and it shows no sign of letting up.

It seems that every single boys athletic program is booming right now.

The state titles aside, Jeff Bradley’s baseball program finished in the state’s top eight last year, Mike Johnson’s football team went undefeated in the regular season before a playoff upset brought its season to an abrupt and surprising end.

And, of course, there was track and field standout Sam McKinley, who followed up double state titles in the 100- and 200-meter dash with top-five finishes last year.

So what’s up over there in Parachute? Is there something in the water?

“The biggest thing is the majority of the kids have been together a long time,” said Bradley, who’s the school’s athletic director as well as its baseball coach. “Even though we’re growing so much, the same group’s been together quite a while.”

So they’ve been wrestling together since they were pee-wees, been shooting baskets together since those baskets towered over them, and playing football alongside one another since they were big enough to don a giant helmet and pads.

“They just know each other really well,” Bradley went on to say. “They work together well on the floor, as a unit instead of individuals.”

You always hear that chemistry wins you championships. The Cardinals are taking that notion to an extreme.

And it couldn’t come at a better time with Grand Valley’s class jump from 2A to 3A next school year.

The abundance of athletic talent should make for a seem-less leap.

“It’ll be a big jump, but I think we’ll be competitive,” Bradley said. “I don’t think we’ll fall there. I’m not so sure we’ll win every sport, but we’ll be competitive, we’ll be in the hunt.”

But that’s something to deal with in the future. For now, Bradley and Grand Valley’s other coaches are just happy to enjoy the byproduct of a loaded talent pool.

Boasted the veteran coach and AD: “It’s good to be part of Grand Valley right now.”

Contact Jeff Caspersen: 384-9123
jcaspersen@postindependent.com