Referees ignored her. Her players were skeptical, and her dad was against the idea . . . the idea of Beth Hinz coaching the boys varsity soccer team at Denver East High School.
In the beginning, it was only about coaching soccer. Along the way, Hinz overcame subtle and overt sexism to lead the Angels to the Class 5A state championship in November.
Sunday, the former Colorado State All-American will receive the coaching award at the 35th annual Sportswomen of Colorado banquet.
“I always had a passion for soccer,” Hinz said. “I always wanted to go out and coach and share that love of the game. How great is that? And I get to teach here at East High School.”
A social studies teacher, Hinz coached girls soccer at Thomas Jefferson before moving to East, where former athletic director Larry Cameron offered her the boys job in 2000.
“That’s what’s special about East,” Hinz said. “We’re so diverse and so different in our thinking some times. I remember talking to my dad about the offer and he said, ‘I’m old school; I don’t know if that’ll work.’ ”
After a period of indecision, Hinz, who grew up playing football and baseball with her dad, ultimately decided to prove him wrong.
The next step was winning over her players.
“I think that first group of boys thought they were going to get a woman, but they got a coach,” Hinz said.
After guiding them to the first round of the playoffs and advancing to the state semifinals in 2001, her credibility was established.
“I came in my freshman year pretty open-minded,” senior goalkeeper Grant Simon said. “But she’s blown negative stereotypes out of the water. If anything, she’s better than guy coaches in certain aspects, definitely in terms of respecting us and listening to our opinions.”
One of the keys to winning the state crown was the sophisticated 4-3-3 alignment Hinz installed.
“We tried to play it last season and couldn’t, and tried again this season,” Simon said. “It didn’t work well at first, but she definitely stuck with it.”
The referees were a little slower to catch on.
“My judgment would be questioned,” said Hinz, who resorted to having male assistant coaches do the talking. “They wouldn’t recognize me or hear me, but the boys seem to pick my voice out of the crowd, which is good.”
The last skeptic was her dad.
“Just this year, he said, ‘I was wrong, It’s good you are coaching the boys, and you do a good job,’ ” Hinz said.
Sportswomen of Colorado
Who: Outstanding female athletes, coaches and contributors
What: 35th annual awards banquet
When: Sunday; 5 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. awards
Where: Marriott Tech Center
