By Neil H. Devlin
Senior Writer
Denver Metro Area  

It may be easy for him to state, because his teams have been so successful, but Rocky Mountain High School coach Scott Bullock means it.

"It's not about the state championships," the 45-year-old said recently. "It's about the small things. And we feel good about it."

They should. Since 2004, the Fort Collins-based Lobos have been dominant in Class 5A. How much so? They have won five titles since 2007, including four in a row into 2010. They have been in seven of the past 10 championship games. They have qualified for 10 of the past 13 state tournaments and won eight league titles.

Last month, when Rocky Mountain was somehow seeded 17th in the now controversial RPI system, it went down to Colorado Springs and won twice in districts to qualify for another Championship Series, the second victory coming over top-seeded and host Pine Creek. It also gave Bullock his 300th career victory (additionally, he coached in Arizona for six seasons). He is 304-123 in his career, an impressive 247-67 with the Lobos.

The Lobos were runners-up in 2015 to Cherokee trail, losing 9-4 to the Cougars after forcing a final game last month at All-City Field.

A native of Torrington, Wyo., Bullock waves off any individual praise, but allowed a peek into his approach.

"It's a combination," he said. "It all starts with a culture, As a staff, we've known what we wanted our program to look like. And we've stuck to that plan."

Really, he continued, "a lot is developed around making sure the kids know we care, know we love them, regardless of those days where we have to put our foot in their backsides. They have to know it's all about them."

There's also the stability factor -- of the 14 coaches on his staff, seven played as Lobos.

"And they know baseball," Bullock said.

Even when the Lobos had their up-and-down moments in finishing the spring schoolboy season 19-8, Bullock said "I was proud of our guys. They found a way to play their best baseball at the end of the year."

And beware, the rest of 5A in the 2017 season -- Bullock said "I feel we'll be a better baseball team."

Never mind his Lobos will lose eight seniors. He said he regularly runs out underclassmen each season who understand what's going on, await their turns and do something with them when they get them. Being a courtesy runner, defensive replacement or reliever has upside.

"It can be hard to get these guys to stay patient," he said of today's culture, also pointing to unnecessary help from outside sources. "If they're not starting at shortstop as a sophomore ... they have to buy into it."

Really, he added, "you're only as good as your next pitch, your next at-bat and your next season. We've been able to keep kids focused on that."

No doubt, it "has been a good run," Bullock summarized, but "I remember more about those two losses (in the final) than the state championships. It's just the competitiveness in me as a coach."

 

RELATED MATERIAL

PBR Colorado All Colorado Team
PBR Colorado 5A All-State Team
PBR Colorado 4A All-State Team
PBR Colorado 3A All-State Team
PBR Colorado 1A/2A All-State Team