Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  Emmy Murphy is from Lyons and grew up participating in high schools sports. She knows and understands mountain school sports programs and remembers playing against rival mountain teams Gilpin County and Nederland.

Now, the school back in session and fall athletes in full practice mode, she has taken over the Nederland Middle School Athletic Director position and will be serving all sports programs. Former AD Jack Taylor resigned last spring to teach at Boulder High.

Now Murphy will begin the process of getting to know everyone and everything, from the names of the athletes to the booster club heroes to the taste of Frito pies, Nederland dinner of champions.

After graduating from Lyons in 1998, a multi-sport athlete and student body president, theater participant, National Honor Society member, and team mascot, Murphy attended Colorado State University in International Foreign Affairs and French. After college, she moved to the French Caribbean Island of Martinique and spent three years teaching English through the US Embassy.

She had signed a one-year contract, but loved it so much, she stayed on for two more years. “It was a tropical paradise with a French vibe,” she says. “It will always have a special place in my heart.”

Murphy says the French have a wonderful work/life balance, a healthy perspective on living. They work to live, rather than live to work. She said there were no high school athletic programs on the island, just private clubs.

She returned to the States to get her master’s degree at CSU in Education and Human Resource studies. She then was hired as the first alumna to return to Lyons as a teacher. Back in her home town she taught French and eighth grade social studies. She also coached high school volleyball.

After two years she moved to Brighton as a full-time French teacher. At this time her desire to become an administrator began to pressure her. She had known that to be a good administrator one needed to be a good teacher first.

When they cut the French program at Lyons and she went to Brighton, she moved to Old Town Lafayette, where she still lives. She taught French for six  years and was the golf and volleyball coach and then the Dean of Students.

“I loved that. The kids were fantastic. They were like my family.”

Early last June a friend told Murphy about the opening in Nederland. She said that knowing principal Adam Fels’ reputation as the leader of a team, she applied. After the interview, she was hired

“I think I’m a good fit and am excited to be back in a small community. I assumed the sports program would be small and I plan on lisenting and learning how it’s done here, then implementing a sustainable system.”

She has recently gone through the athletes’ registration process, the physicals, the fees, and had meetings with the coaches. She also inaugurated a reward system for completing the process, having a pizza party for the team who finished the process first. This year, the football team, one of the largest in years, won the party.

“This is how you build a team. Thirty members of the football team rallied. My philosophy for athletes is that I want them to be responsible young adults and contributing members to society. Wins and losses are important but what will athletes say about their sports career? It is more important that the coaches cared about them and supported them during their high school days.”

This fall, the returning head volleyball coach is Shelby Nation, football coach is Aaron Jones, new cross country coach is Dan Shea, middle-level cross-country coach is Jen Lavely, and middle-level fly football coach is David Schultz.

Murphy says it is her goal to build a strong middle-level sports program and she is taking a look at the boys’ soccer program, which disintegrated last year.

She plans to begin a VIP pass fundraiser raffle, which would allow certain people to stand on the sidelines during home games. Murphy wants to build school spirit and participation in the booster club.

“I am looking for parents to support working the concessions during home games. Nederland should show its pride in hosting middle-level and varsity volleyball and football games and the culminating events.”