Jeff Sweet has been called “nuts” and “crazy,” and accused of being a glutton for punishment.
But after seven years in a scholastic labor of love, Sweet, the only man in the era to pull off the unique double of serving as head coach of football and boys basketball among big schools, has opted for a change.
Sweet said Wednesday he resigned as head football coach for the Gateway Olympians in Aurora. He will continue to teach and coach boys basketball.
“Being married now and your priorities change, and it has been a long haul,” Sweet said. “I enjoyed it.”
The 47-year-old, asked by then-principal Joe Burton to resurrect the Olys’ program, went 2-8 in his first season, then reeled off five consecutive playoff teams, including their first league title, in 2004 in Class 5A. The Olys were 1-9 last season.
“Year in, year out, by the time I hit January, I was a little burned out,” Sweet said. “So it’s time.”
Also an assistant at Smoky Hill, Overland and Gateway, Sweet has missed coaching football in only one season, 2000, since 1982.
He has been the Olys’ head basketball coach since 1990.
Gatorade player of year
As expected, Levi Knutson of Arapahoe has been named Colorado’s Gatorade boys basketball player of the year.
The 6-foot-4 guard, who signed with the University of Colorado, has a 4.06 grade-point average. He led 5A in scoring – averaging 28.6 points – and the Warriors to a 19-5 record.
“He’s the most humble kid in the world and I know I’ll never have another kid like him in my coaching career,” said Warriors coach Dan Snyder.
