YOUR AD HERE »

Rifle High administrator Green resigns

Jeff Caspersen
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

Mike Green just couldn’t pass on the chance to return home.

Rifle High School’s athletic director and assistant principal for the past two years is vacating those posts and heading east to the Front Range, where he’ll occupy the same positions at Skyline High School in Longmont.

And Longmont just happens to be where Green spent his formative years.



“I actually grew up [in Longmont],” he said. “I went to Longmont High. It’s a chance to move back home and be closer to family. My family all lives in Longmont. … It’s one of those things I couldn’t pass up. I thought I might kick myself if I didn’t take the opportunity.”

Among Green’s family living in Longmont are his parents. Bringing his two children closer to their grandparents proved to be quite the motivating factor in making the move.



“That’s a big plus,” Green said. “[My parents] are getting up in age. With two young kids, they need to be around [their grandparents] more. That’s a big plus.”

In shifting to Skyline, Green is more than just heading home. He’s also moving to a much larger school. While Rifle’s student population has hovered around 600 in recent years, Skyline’s has been around 1,400.

That doesn’t seem to faze Green, who’s aiming to make a name for himself in a new place.

He certainly carved out quite the sports identity in his eight years working on the Western Slope. Prior to heading the athletic department at Rifle, he served as AD and boys basketball coach at Basalt for six years.

“I had great experiences in both places,” Green said. “Both had great people and were great opportunities. I loved my time there.”

Before working at Rifle and Basalt, Green coached, taught and served as AD at Cheylin High School in Kansas for more than a decade. He estimates he’s spent roughly 25 years as a coach of one sport or another.

Now, as he assumes his second strictly administrative post, Green is eager to continue his role as “a coach of coaches.”

“I just want to move things in a positive direction, with the coaches, the programs,” he said. “I want to make it where teams that play Skyline know they’re playing someone with respectability, that it’s going to be a challenge no matter what.”

Rifle High teacher and head baseball coach Troy Phillips has been recommended by school officials to take over Green’s AD duties. Nothing can become official, though, until approved by Garfield School District Re-2 board members. The next school board meeting is slated for Aug. 11.

jcaspersen@postindependent.com


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.