Wheat Ridge boys basketball coach Tommy Dowd (blue shirt) sits on the Farmers’ bench less than two months after a heart attack. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Public Schools)
WHEAT RIDGE — On the surface it looked like a normal boys basketball season opener at Wheat Ridge High School on Tuesday night.
The lower-level squads for the Farmers sat behind the varsity bench when Wheat Ridge tipped it off against Greeley West. The cheerleaders and poms were in full force. There was a solid Wheat Ridge student section that stood the entire game.
And of course, Tommy Dowd was on the Farmers’ bench where he has been every year since taking over the boys basketball program in the 1997-98 school year. However, just a few months ago a heart attack nearly took Dowd’s life.
“It really changed my perspective on what to worry about and what is important,” Dowd said after a 65-54 loss to Greeley West. “What is important is getting everyone squared away and giving kids opportunities.”
Wheat Ridge players are glad they still have the opportunity to be coached by Dowd.
“We are just kind of playing for him,” Wheat Ridge senior Travis Cowan said of Wheat Ridge’s longtime coach and teacher. “He has been through a lot. We just want to make him proud.”
Wheat Ridge’s Payton Dietrich (2) is guarded by Greeley West’s Andre Sepeda on Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The heart attack hit Dowd while he was at home in mid-October. He hadn’t been feeling well for a couple of days, but had no idea it was so serious.
One way Dowd knew he was having a heart attack was the symptoms he was experiencing were similar to what Everett Middle School teacher Bill Gold, also a heart attack survivor, had described to Dowd.
Fortunately, Dowd’s youngest son Hank and his father-in-law was with him and were able to get him to Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge within five minutes. Soon after arriving at the hospital he had a stent put into the artery that had a 100 percent blockage.
“I’ve got a clean bill of health with the doctor. They don’t expect anything,” said Dowd, who has had his oldest son and junior varsity coach Vince Dowd run practices so far this season. “Everyone is watching me and making sure everything is OK. You just feel so lucky that you have so many people want to check on me — coaches, players and friends. It’s been awesome the outpouring of support.”
Dowd had former students, players and parents come up to him after Tuesday’s game to ask him how he was doing.
“The really nice part about my job is there are so many kids you know that you don’t know that you had an impact on,” Dowd said. “When something happens to you everyone is checking on you.
The game-plan is to have Vince continue to run things for the next few weeks. Assistant coaches Joe Wallin, Shaun Mulligan and Stacey Coryell have also stepped in while Dowd has done more evaluating and observing.
“I’m comfortable doing it basketball wise. I also know I’m never going to fill his shoes here,” said Vince Dowd, who also teaches at Wheat Ridge High School.
Tommy Dowd has been involved as an assistant football coach, along with head boys and girls golf coach to go along with running the boys basketball program for nearly two decades.
“I’m happy that I’m able to do this, but I’m going to do it in a different way. “I’m still competitive. I still want to win. I still get a little pissed off,” Tommy Dowd said with a laugh.
The positive thing is the heart condition is more hereditary with plaque build up in his arteries, according to Dowd. It’s something he is taking medication to control.
Greeley West’s Darren DeLaCroix, right, attempts to block the shot of Wheat Ridge’s Jack Marvel. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
On the court Tuesday, Wheat Ridge juniors Naishon Thomas (20 points) and Payton Dietrich (11 points) had strong games. Cowan hit four 3-pointer on his way to 14 points, but it wasn’t enough against Greeley West (3-1 record).
The Spartans trailed 12-11 after the first quarter, but seniors Santiago Zuniga-Hernandez and Darren DeLaCroix led the way scoring 15 points each. Sophomore Andre Sepeda finished with a game-high 17 points, including 10 points in the final quarter as Greeley West sealed the victory.
“It’s hard for us to score at times,” Tommy Dowd said. “We need to identify some roles of people who should be shooting and getting more touches. We are a little out of sync.”
Dowd added he is excited about the young talent in the program, which includes 6-foot-10 sophomore Zeke Van Tuyl.
The Farmers finished in the middle of the pack in the deep 4A Jeffco League last season with a 8-7 conference mark. Wheat Ridge nearly upset No. 2 seed Sierra in the opening round of the 32-team 4A state tournament last season after the Farmers just made the field as a No. 7 seed.
There will be a little bit more margin of error the season with 4A going to a 48-team state bracket. The nine conference champions will get automatic bids and the rest of the field will be determined by RPI standings.
Wheat Ridge as a busy remainder of the week playing three games in the Skyline Falcon Challenge at Skyline High School. The Farmers open the tournament at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, against Thornton.
Greeley West stays on the road, facing Windsor at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.
Wheat Ridge junior Naishon Thomas (3) is fouled by Greeley West’s Darren DeLaCroix (3) and Andre Sepeda on a drive to the basket Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)