Okay, let's talk about it. Niwot undoubtedly violates recruiting rules, both explicitly and behind the scenes in less direct ways. Maybe this Niwot parent doesn't know anything about it, but I've heard directly from parents that have told me that Niwot coaches have asked their middle schoolers where they're going to high school and have directly appealed to them to attend Niwot. That is an unequivocal and unambiguous violation, as high school coaches are by rule not allowed to discuss high school plans with middle schoolers. And this is recently, under the leadership of Christensen.
I have also heard from parents at non-Niwot feeder middle schools that Niwot parents have advocated that their kids go and run at Niwot. Sure, it's possible that they've not been encouraged to do it by Niwot coaches, but where there's smoke there's fire. I've heard of this so often that it doesn't seem coincidental and someone's encouraging it, and it absolutely blurs the lines of recruiting.
Similarly, literally two days ago a middle school cross country coach at a Longmont (non-Niwot) feeder was telling me that he had a bunch of Niwot parents volunteer to help with his cross country race he hosts and that Niwot runners wanted to come run with his middle school runners, which he wisely declined. Former Niwot Parent, are you telling me that Niwot parents spread throughout the district volunteering at middle school meets out of the generosity of their hearts and the love of the sport? Or that Niwot runners are volunteering to run with students that and in non-feeder schools for the same reason? C'mon.
And then there's a crapload of strong circumstantial evidence. There's the overwhelming amount of coaches on the Real Training staff that are Niwot coaches. When I, as a coach, get an invite to a Real Training XC race and on MileSplit and it says the host is Niwot High School, that's a pretty obvious direct line. When the director of Real Training's middle school program is a Niwot assistant coach and middle school runners from all over the Front Range run with Real Training, you cannot tell me that isn't an undue influence. I personally know a talented 8th grade runner whose parents have been directly asked by coaches where he is going to high school. Guess who the kid runs with? Real Training. And guess where he's going to high school? Niwot.
I could go on, but Niwot's recruiting is one of the worst kept secrets in northern Front Range XC. All of us coaches joke about it and kinda shrug our shoulders because there doesn't appear to be anything we can do. Saint Vrain Valley School district's current athletic director and superintendent are former Niwot employees and only seem to be willing to look the other way. CHSAA has been made aware multiple times of what's going on at Niwot and also looks the other way. A local coach wrote a letter outlining this which only resulted in getting yelled at by the St Vrain AD. I'm starting to wonder what it would take for anyone to do anything, media attention? At the very least Niwot should be moved up to 5A for competitive reasons.
What do you have to say, Former Niwot Parent? Maybe you didn't witness any of this stuff, but it's going on and has been for awhile.