Jeff Gomer’s coaching legacy cemented at Ralston Valley

Jeff Gomer’s 19-year run coaching Ralston Vally High School’s girls basketball team ended with a Sweet 16 road loss to Cherry Creek on March 1.

“After 19 years it just felt like it was time,” said Gomer, who retired from full-time teaching at Ralston Valley three years ago. “There were some days were it was tough to get here. Once I was here I was fine.”

The Mustangs’ girls basketball program was more than fine this season. Ralston Valley finished as the Class 5A Jeffco League runner-up for the fifth straight season racking up an 15-8 record, despite having just one senior — Colorado School of Mines commit Saya Sabus — on the team.

“We’ve got four starters coming back and a really good freshmen class coming in and another good class behind them,” said Gomer, who added he believes it is the best girls basketball job in Jeffco. “The program should be in good shape. It’s in a good place for whoever is going to come in.”

Gomer began his coaching career as a student-teacher at Lakewood High School back in 1980. He was an assistant boys coach for another legendary coach Ron Rossi. After Rossi retired from Jeffco Public Schools in the early 2000s, he moved onto Holy Family High School where he has guided the Tigers to six state girls basketball titles.

Gomer had a stop at Durango High School before heading back to Jeffco where he was the head girls basketball coach at Standley Lake High School for 10 years. Gomer took over Ralston Valley’s girls basketball program in the early 2000s.

“It’s a community team,” Gomer said of coaching at Ralston Valley for nearly two decades. “We did get some transfers that helped us, but for the most part it was good kids with good work ethic.”

According to the CHSAA girls basketball records that was last updated in March 2019, Gomer had 422 coaching victories and 302 at Ralston Valley. Gomer grabbed 49 more wins over his final three seasons coaching the Mustangs.

His final total wins would put him at 471 all-time and 351 at Ralston Valley. That puts Gomer in the top-5 for both all-time girls basketball coaching wins in Colorado and all-time girls basketball coaching wins at one school.

Gomer has more victories that any other girls basketball coach in Jeffco history. The closest is Bob Hicks who had 325 wins at Pomona (1979-1998).

“I felt consistently we were a top-10 team in the state,” Gomer said. “Every year were are competitive.”

Ralston Valley won five Class 5A Jeffco League titles during Gomer’s 19-year tenure with the Mustangs. Ralston Valley had a string of four conference titles in the span of five years from 2009 to 2013.

“Over the first 14 years we never had a player over 6-foot or a Division I player,” Gomer said. “Our best kid (Ashley Van Sickle) here when to Montana State. We had good players and luckily we had a lot of them so we could compete.”

Ralston Valley’s last league title came in 2017. The Mustangs had one Final Four appearance and a number teams advance to the Elite 8.

“The majority of the years we got everything we could out of our girls,” Gomer said. “This year was a great and fun group. It was a good way to go out. They were nice kids. They got along. I was able to leave with a good taste in my mouth.”

Gomer did leave the door open to returning to coaching sometime down the road.

“I may get back into it,” Gomer admitted. “If I did it would be to build something. I don’t see myself getting back into it right now, but once December comes around … games are always fun.”