Colorado high school football coach believes in building champions both on and off field
The eight-time state championship Valor Christian High School football program has always had a core belief: be a champion on and off the field.
For Bret McGatlin, third-year head coach of the Eagles, it's a mentality he lives by. He learned from his father, Don McGatlin, a former high school football coach for more than 40 years, that who you are off the field is even more important than who you are on the gridiron.
For his entire life, Bret McGatlin, head coach of the Valor Christian Eagles, learned the game from his father, Don McGatlin.
"I went to every game, I was on the sidelines, I was the water boy," Bret recalls.
He even played for his father and witnessed Don win two state football championships at Green Mountain High School.
"I just loved what he did," said Bret.
Decades later, Bret would go on to win his own and 1st state title in a 41-34 win over the Erie Tigers in the class 4A state title championship game in 2021.
This time the person admiring from the sidelines and since the beginning, his daughter, Kenzey.
"Kenzey is like a mini-me," said Bret, "I was a P.E. teacher for 22 years and she would come in and hang out and play in the class, she would always travel with us on the football bus," Bret shares.
Just like Bret, Kenzey has been watching, following and learning from her dad, Bret from the sideline her entire life.
After winning the 4A State Title, Bret left Chatfield after nearly two decades to coach the Eagles at Valor Christian High School. His hope was his daughters, including Kenzey would follow him.
"It has always been a dream that we'd be at the same school," said Kenzey.
That dream has come true.
Kenzey, a 6-foot-2 volleyball player and LSU commit for beach volleyball is finishing out her senior year at the same school where her father is the head football coach.
It is through her father that she has learned the true meaning of being more than an athlete and sportsmanship.
"He is my biggest fan. When I have tough days I can come to him and he always knows how to encourage me," said Kenzey.
From Don to Bret to Kenzey, the belief is that winning is crucial, but being an exceptional human being is more important.
"I'm in the business of building champions on and off the field," Bret explains.
This is the mentality Kenzey, an outside hitter on the Eagles Varsity Volleyball team was raised on. It is what keeps her grounded even as the Eagles hold an impressive 59-0 record.
"She still hasn't mentioned the record," said Bret.
The back-to-back champs haven't lost a game since August 2022, but for Kenzey being a champion means giving credit where it's due.
"Without God, I wouldn't be here, my faith is the number one thing in my life," said Kenzey.
As the Eagles football team begins their 24-25 season, one thing remains for Bret, be just as good of a person off the field as you are on the field, if not even better.
In the end, it remains a generational thing, the legacy of Don McGatlin lives on through Bret and Kenzy, illustrating how the lessons of one generation continue to shape the next, beyond the playing field.
