When it comes to milestones, 500 is a pretty big one. In the business world, they have the “Fortune 500” and the NASDAQ 500. Don’t forget the car racing folks at Daytona, Indianapolis and a few more tracks. Doing something 500 times in just about any sport is a big achievement.

If you’re a high school basketball coach in Colorado, getting to 500 wins means you’ve notched at least 20 wins per season over the course of 25 years. The folks over at Websters call that longevity.

The current membership in the Colorado 500 Club only has around a dozen or so lifetime members. Take a look at who’s on the list and still active, and it’s an even more elite group of about half that number. So, it’s a big deal when that bell gets rung. This past week, another name was added. 

Joe Ortiz who has spent 25-plus years of his Colorado high school head coaching career at one place, ThunderRidge, hit the 500 mark with a win Wednesday night against Overland, 68-59. Like all of his teams, the players just get it done, day in and day out.

The 2022-23 team had no seniors. The two teams prior that that won back-to back State Championships. That 2022-23 team probably took a few extra licks but still managed to take several of last season's No. 1 teams to multiple overtimes before giving up a loss. I asked Coach Ortiz if there was maybe a team mantra this year of revenge?  

“Not at all," said Ortiz. "We’re not about any of that, we just want to win."

Over his 25+ years at ThunderRidge, Coach Ortiz has brought a lot of hardware to the “Home of the Grizzlies” in Highlands Ranch; including four state titles, four runner-up trophies, and 12 Final Four appearances. Ask Coach Ortiz about all that and he’ll probably tell you his greatest accomplishment is the effect on all the kids that went through his program.

Cruise over to Highlands Ranch-area rival, Rock Canyon, and you’ll find ThunderRidge alumni Kent Grams as head coach for the boys basketball team. You’ll find a few pictures of (albeit a much younger) Grams on the ThunderRidge Champions wall as a player in those early years. I asked Grams what Ortiz meant to him as the two share a pretty unique relationship.

“Coach Ortiz is a legendary basketball coach and teacher," Grams said. "Speaking for myself and my teammates, we were so blessed to have him as our coach, teacher and mentor. He obviously understands the X's and O's of the game but that is not why he has built ThunderRidge High School's boys basketball program into a contender every year. In my opinion, the reason he has sustained his success is because of the amount of time he spends building relationships with his players.

"When I played for Coach Ortiz, he coached us hard on-and-off the court. He was very demanding, and had very high expectations, but we knew he loved us. My teammates and I would have ran through a brick wall for him. I am so grateful to call him Coach and I am sure all of my teammates would say the same. “

You can’t get much better than that.