University of Colorado Athletics
Brooks: Rokos' Rock Finds Home, Purpose
October 08, 2009 | General, Skiing, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Because it has such a nice ring, the nearly 800-pound slab of stone could be called "Rokos' Rock." Or how about "Rock of Rokos?"
Veteran Colorado ski coach Richard Rokos most certainly would wrinkle his nose at either suggestion. Sure, the large chunk of sandstone and its even heftier purpose was his big idea several years ago, but it's already been christened the "Mountain of Honor."
After all, that's what it's all about. Still, Rokos and several close friends of CU skiing deserve kudos for finally making it happen. Here's how it came together:
Rokos, a finely tuned Czechoslovakian who has been an integral part of the Buffaloes skiing scene for the past 22 years (he's about to enter season No. 19 as head coach), believed something was missing at a school that historically has put the "win" in winter.
How could CU honor its skiing greats? And - this is a little on the selfish side, he concedes - how could Rokos unburden himself and his staff of coming up with, year after year after year, all of those Ski Ball themes?
"It was more of a kind of desperate thing," he confessed. "Every year during the ski ball we are trying to have some theme . . . national championships, winning/losing, Olympic games, back to the top . . . blah, blah, blah. (His blahs, for the record.)
"It's agony every year."
So, he decided to kill two birds with one . . . rock.
 Candy Nesheim (left) and CU head coach Richard Rokos dedicate the Mountain Of Honor. |
The roughly 4 1/2-foot high stone, purchased from a quarry near Lyons, was a gift from Candy Nesheim, daughter of the late and legendary Fred Casotti, CU's long-time sports information director who passed away in 2001.
Rokos initially wanted to pay tribute to former CU and U.S. Ski Team coaching greats Bob Beattie and Bill Marolt, whose names are the first two featured on brass plates adorning the Mountain of Honor.
Said Rokos: "I felt like those guys - Beattie, Marolt - were inducted into halls of fame from elementary school on. But there's nothing here for recognition, basically, for anyone on the ski team."
Now, there's a rock-solid way to honor anyone deserving it. And, adds Rokos (rather gleefully, at that), "It will take care of Ski Balls now and forever, because we don't need to agonize over the themes. We'll say next (to be honored) is whoever.
"It will be a good thing to wrap the whole Ski Ball around, because we'll put (the rock) on a stage and recognize the person and the team. It sort of belongs to the ball in many ways."
 Maria Grevsgaard |
"A great choice . . . because, in the first place, she deserves it," Rokos said. "She has one of the winningest records among all athletes in the history of this school. And it gives hope that, wow, it's not just for old guys that are retired (and) need some recognition in retirement.
"It can be won during (an athlete's) lifetime and they can be actively pursuing it. I think that's the beauty of it . ... it's about who deserves it. If you deserve it right now, it's yours."
The Mountain of Honor now sits at the lower (concourse) level entrance to the club level elevators on Folsom Field's revamped east side. There was a dedication ceremony in that area before CU's football game against Wyoming on Sept. 19.
Someday, said Rokos, the names of the honorees will be chiseled into the stone, which is nearly six inches thick at its base and rests in an iron cradle fashioned and welded by Bob Foss, a Sugarloaf Mountain resident who has trained with the CU ski team at Eldora Mountain Resort since the late 1980s and jokes that he's become Rokos' "mascot."
For several very logical reasons, Rokos hopes the Mountain of Honor's current site is permanent. For starters, its size makes moving it impractical. And beyond that, Rokos wants it to remain visible to the public. It is, after all, meant to be shared.
Said Rokos: "An 800-pound rock, you don't move it every day . . . so I plan on it (remaining where it is). I felt like we are obligated to have it in a respectable place for many reasons. We wanted it to be in a place where she (Nesheim) could be proud of it, and since Mike (Bohn, athletic director) said this was the place, we didn't ask anymore (questions). It will be there."
It's obviously a better location than where it sat for nearly two years - beneath the bleachers in Folsom Field's north end zone. That was no place for a Mountain of Honor, and neither did Rokos believe it belonged at the off-campus ski building, where he feared it might be vandalized or even stolen.
"It's something we'd like to be seen (and) now we have a respectable place; it's perfect," he said. "Obviously, there is enough room (for more names of honorees) so it can stay another 100 years."
Forget where it might rest next century. Rokos, 59, is a here-and-now kind of guy. If he had his way, the mountains above Boulder - particularly at Eldora - already would be wearing several feet of snow, and he and his skiers would tuning up for what they anticipate as a special season.
Held at Sunday River, Maine, last season, the NCAA Nordic and Alpine championships rotate west this season, coming to Steamboat Springs in mid-March. The Buffs are unabashedly buzzing about the possibilities.
"Steamboat . . . we have a history of winning there," Rokos said. "And we have lots of kids who call Steamboat home; knowing the hill is a huge part of it.
"They grew up on that hill, they know the technicality of the terrain. That's what helps them to ski well. And on the Nordic side, it's the same thing."
The national championship being held on a Colorado mountain is a tangible source of motivation, but Rokos really doesn't require much of an external push.
"Expectations never change - at least on my part," he said. "My expectation is to win (the NCAAs) every year. And if it doesn't happen, then we've failed. That's my view of it, but you have lots of failures throughout your career if you set it that way."
Last season, CU finished as the national runner-up for the third consecutive year. Had the Buffs not been one competitor short in the Nordic women's competition, Rokos believes his bunch would have claimed the sixth national team title of his tenure.
But this season, with a majority of his top skiers returning, Rokos says, "Good things are in place . . . it will be challenging and good for us. It's always about chemistry on a team and how people interact with each other.
"I know they are all good skiers, no question. But sometimes a year can be goofy because you have a couple of lemons and they don't make it easy for anyone. But we don't have them this year.
"All new additions seem to fit in with the team perfectly; it's a joy to work with this group. Bruce (Cranmer, Nordic coach) feels the same way. Our kids are knowing each other very well."
Then there's the matter of reaching Steamboat in March - and then reaching for a height not attained by the Buffs since 2006.
"You have a fire when (the national championship) is in your area," Rokos said. "There will be lots of people who would like to see us win - and we'd all like to do it, no question.
"Everybody is motivated to the point where they are willing to put everything behind. Our focus and direction is on one thing, and that's the NCAAs."
There have been way too many runner-up finishes to suit Rokos, CU's longest tenured ski coach. He believes this season will be different; most of what he needs to win a championship is in place - not the least of which is an 800-pound rock.
And there's plenty of room for more names.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
