Of the many things that could have made the Manitou Springs football coaching job appealing to Matt Heinz, it was actually a TikTok video.
The video showed the packed stands at George Rykovich Stadium as Manitou Springs engaged in a tough game against rival Woodland Park. It was the Panthers who ultimately won the game 14-7. It also turned out to be the last home game for coach Stu Jeck as he accepted a job at Doherty in the winter.
But TikTok got Heinz’s attention on the Mustangs. He knew he wanted to coach small-town football and rally a community not just around his football players, but the school district as a whole.
Taking charge of Manitou Springs football was appealing to him. Losing to Woodland Park, in his mind, is unacceptable.
“This is a step back in time for me,” Heinz said. “It’s an old school vibe where the community still supports the team. How many high schools in the state have a homecoming parade through their downtown? And the rivalry with Woodland Park is super cool.”
But he doesn’t just want to participate in this rivalry. Sports are about setting goals and putting in the necessary work to achieve them. It’s a relatively simplistic idea that has stayed tried and true at all levels of competition.
The Mustangs have lost two extremely close games to the Panthers in the last two years. Emotions ran high after the loss this past fall because that team felt it had done everything it could to prepare and compete. And while those kids competed their butts off, the result was disappointing. Another cruel lesson that sports will teach kids at some point. Sometimes good isn’t good enough.
It’s an old school vibe where the community still supports the team. – Matt Heinz, Manitou Springs football coach
But a true measure of character is a kid’s ability to shake off disappointment and charge ahead to be better for the next game. The next test.
Heinz wants his players to be able to push forward and more importantly, never stop working to achieve the goals they establish for themselves. Whether it’s beating Woodland Park or making the playoffs, his job is to teach them that showing up on game day is the easy part. It’s showing up on practice days to do the bulk of the heavy lifting and preparation that will make the difference in achieving those goals or falling short of them.
“We’re going to focus on being competitive, accountable, selfless and tough,” he said. “And we’re going to work our butts off to try and beat Woodland Park.”
In 1982, Bill McCartney walked into the locker room as the head football coach at the University of Colorado and made a similar declaration. He told the Buffs from that point on, the mission was to beat Nebraska. It took some time, but that adopted mindset changed the culture of CU football and ended up with the Buffs winning a national championship in 1990.
Heinz comes into Manitou with a mission to build a hard-working, tough football team. He cites the rivalry game with Woodland Park as a definable measurement in that task.
But make no mistake, Matt Heinz hasn’t taken this job to beat Woodland Park. He took the job to establish a culture for the Manitou Springs football program.
Manitou athletes head into the summer after a remarkable year
The winds of change are blowing through the hallways of Manitou Springs High School. It comes naturally from year to year with retirements and new opportunities, so it’s not entirely crazy to see that some things will be different in the Manitou athletics world next year.
The biggest change as of right now is Matt Heinz joining the district as the new football coach. He has an enthusiasm that will serve the program well, and his “beat Woodland Park” mandate will serve as the foundation of the team’s culture from here on out.
I expect another big change to be announced by the district in the coming days, one that will have a significant impact on the athletic programs for 2025 and beyond.
But that’s a tomorrow problem.
In order to contemplate change, it’s important to look back at the road that got us to this point. What a 2024-25 year it was for so many Manitou Springs athletes.
The girls cross country team shattered previous program bests on its way to finishing second at the Class 3A state meet. The trio of Keyaira Moore, Chloe Bresnahan and Elisa Karr all finished in the top 10 to make it the best performance by the Mustangs at state. All three runners return next year and will set their sights on taking down TCA.
Hayden Doresy put together a solid two days at Walking Stick to secure a top-10 finish in the 3A boys golf state tournament. This spring, his twin sister Addie showed toughness down the stretch to finish in the girls 2A tournament at the Pueblo Country Club.
There was perhaps no greater night for Manitou Springs football than Oct 11, when the football field was officially named for CHSAA Hall of Fame coach George Rykovich. The Mustangs honored the man in their own way by running his legendary single-wing offense. Logan Moore rushed for 352 yards and the Mustangs won the game 44-24.
The girls wrestling team had its best finish in program history as Kara Donegan finished fourth while Abbie Reeves lost in a narrow decision at the state championship match to take second.
The boys basketball team returned to the state tournament under first-year coach Nick Nunley. Cohen Barrett will return as a senior after leading the team with 13.7 points per game.
Elie Bourgeois had a breakout season on the pitch, scoring a team-high 13 goals to get the Mustangs into the second round of the 3A state tournament. The Mustangs lose key seniors, but return a talented core that should get the team back to the postseason.
Any baseball team is facing a tough draw if it gets matched up with University in the postseason. The Mustangs lost a regional championship game to the Bulldogs, but this season saw a lot of growth from sophomores Cooper Frojen and Maxton Bolster. The loss of seniors Preston Rhodes, Ashur Lavigne, Ben Perkins, Logan Moore, Hayden Martinez and Trafford Havens will certainly hurt, but there is a lot to be excited about for the Manitou baseball team.
It’s been a fun ride with the seniors who have given so much energy to various programs. They’ve done their best to leave their teams better than they found them and for that, they are owed a tip of the cap from me and the rest of us that claim Manitou Springs as home.
As for what’s next, first and foremost is a bit of a breather over the summer. Change is coming to Manitou Springs sports next year. We may not know quite yet where we’re going, but it is important that while on that journey that we look back at where we’ve been.
