Akron’s Jordan Baer. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Shaking with excitement.
That was the first thing Akron’s Jordan Baer felt when she received her call from the Colorado High School Coaches Association’s Tom Southall that she was the recipient of the 2015 CHSCA Steinmark High School Athlete of the Year Award for girls.
“I am shaking with excitement right now,” Baer said. “I’m so honored. I know a couple of the other girls that were nominated. This is such a great accomplishment and I can’t seem to describe this thrill right now. Thank you so much.”
Baer will be presented with the Steinmark Award at the Colorado High School Coaches All-State Games, June 12, in Alamosa where she will be playing in the CHSCA All-State basketball games. This is the 42nd year for the girls, but the 43rd trophy as there was one year, 1984, in which two girls were recognized. The first winner for the girls was Anne Vento of Pueblo Centennial in 1974.
Vento was the first girl’s player to fashion an undefeated season playing tennis. She also was a standout in swimming and track. Dave Logan of Wheat Ridge, now the voice of the Denver Broncos, head football coach at Cherry Creek and KOA radio talk show host, was the winner of the first Steinmark in 1972.
“The Fred Steinmark Award stands for faith, courage, heart and determination through academics, athleticism, and citizenship,” said Baer. “He set incredibly high goals for himself and worked diligently to achieve them. He battled life’s obstacles in a public manner and got the country educated about the disease and the possibilities of a cure. He kept looking to the future, despite the fact that it looked bleak medically.”
Academically, Baer graduated as the valedictorian at Akron this school year with a 4.1188 grade point average. And, of course, she was just as outstanding on the athletic courts in basketball and volleyball.
Baer started in 106 basketball games and averaged an outstanding 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists through her career. She has been a first-team All-State selection in basketball every year since she was a sophomore and was second-team All-State as a freshman. She was also named as CHSAANow.com’s Class 2A Player of the Year.
She also came through to earn all-state first team honors in volleyball as a junior and senior. She spent the course of her career slamming the volleyball as she racked up 1,018 kills.
And like all other Steinmark winners over the years, she was very involved in her school and community activities. She will be headed to Colorado Christian University in the fall.
Indeed, Baer fits well into the Steinmark role of athletics and academics of those who have been honored before.
Freddie Steinmark was a brilliant scholar, athlete and citizen that graduated from Wheat Ridge and earned All-State and All-American honors while competing for the Farmers in football, basketball and baseball. At the University of Texas, he helped the Longhorns win the national title in football in 1969. His life was cut short as Steinmark died of cancer in 1971.
There are four requirements for a senior student athlete to receive a nomination for the CHSCA Steinmark Award that can be made by any coach or school. The rules for nomination require that two sports be played during an athlete’s high school career in which they must be All-State in one sport and at least All-Conference in another. They also need to have carried at least a 3.0 grade point average and be active in their school and community.
Even though the Steinmark carries “Athlete of the Year” designation, it actually recognizes a high school career. It is an all-classification award and through the decades all classifications, boys and girls, have had winners. It has become recognized as the most prestigious athletic award a graduating high school senior athlete can receive in Colorado and is now sponsored by the Colorado High School Coaches Association.
It is a difficult task to select the finalists for the award out of the many youngsters who have been nominated by coaches throughout the state each year. The winners are selected by a panel of high school coaches and administrators, but no coaches or administrators from the schools of the nominees are allowed to participate in the selection process.
Winning the Steinmark is certainly another reason in which her father, Alan Baer, can be proud of his daughter. After all, he also coached her in basketball.
“Jordan is my daughter but I have also had the privilege of being one of her basketball coaches since she started competing in the second grade,” he said. “She doesn’t desire individual attention, as the team goal is of the utmost importance to her. In fact, she struggled greatly fulfilling this application for this award and she is very uncomfortable being in the spotlight.”
Throughout all four years of high school, Baer started in every varsity basketball and volleyball game. She was a top outside hitter in volleyball and could certainly hit her baskets from the outside in basketball.
“Jordan is extremely dedicated at getting everyone involved in the game and her passion is contagious,” Alan continued. “She loves to win, is determined to win, but accepts a loss as a challenge to get better. Her relentless work ethic goes hand-in-hand with her success. Throughout, she has been an exceptional role model, not only for her teammates, but for the youth in our community.
“She realizes that although her sports career has been full of shining moments, she grasps that these are not defining moments, but truly stepping stones to her future,” concluded her father.
Akron teacher Britney Weers also speaks highly of Baer and her accomplishments.
“Jordan’s character and integrity far exceeds any other student I have taught,” Weers said. “She will go above and beyond what is asked of her without batting an eye. This is shown through her success in both sports and academics. When students see her attention to detail, they begin to follow in the same direction.
“Even beyond the classroom, Jordan can be seen as a leader,” said Weers. “She is one I know I can count on to get a job done, and done well. In my ten years of teaching, I have never met a student who is as much of perfectionist as me. She will not let any task go partly done.”
Once again, the competition for the Steinmark Award made it extremely difficult for the committee of coaches and athletic directors to arrive at their final decision. Cori Aafedt of Valley, Courtney Clark of Lamar, Riley Cooney of Mountain View, and Jordyn Colter from Cherry Creek where very much in the hunt for the award as this year’s finalists.
Other student athletes receiving nominations this year were: Alexandria Dufour of Frederick, Savannah Heebner of Castle View, Anna Schweke of Clear Creek, Payton Shahan of Pagosa Springs, and Jordan Williams of Norwood.