Middle Park High School softball head coach recognized as Coach of the Year

Michaela Cross/Courtesy photo
Alex Gallegos, head coach for Middle Park High School’s softball program, has been named Coach of the Year for the Frontier League.
At the end of the 2024 season, she was selected for the designation by her peers in response to her work in helping to reestablish Middle Park’s softball program and leading the team to some of its first victories.
The Frontier League — which primarily encompasses Front Range high schools from Fort Lupton to Bailey — selects one coach per sport, per season to receive the accolade, according to Middle Park High School Athletic Director Scotty Hicks.
At the time of the award, the Middle Park softball team had completed its third season following a 14-year hiatus.
Assistant coaches Jen Flores and Michaela Cross, who joined Gallegos in getting the team back up and running, helped select her for the award.
Flores grew up playing softball, so when she heard that the sport was making a comeback at Middle Park, she said jumped at the chance to apply to become a coach. Since then, she said she’s had a rewarding experience coaching the team.
“It is so rewarding just to see the smiles on the girls’ faces, all the emotions — the tears, the happy tears, the sad tears,” Flores said.
Similarly, Cross grew up in the sport, playing with Gallegos when they were in high school together at Middle Park. Cross said she remembers that the team had only about eight or nine girls when it was eliminated in 2008 due to budget cuts.
In stepping up to coach, Cross said she simply wanted to be a part of the program that gave her so much joy as a teen.
“I loved the sport, and I loved making lifelong friendships,” Cross said. “Alex has been one of my best friends for a long time. Softball honestly brought us together.”
Both coaches said Gallegos’ leadership has helped shape and improve the school’s softball program since being reinstated.
Flores said Gallegos has set the tone for the program by staying positive, showing up consistently for athletes and maintaining a safe environment.
“Alex is amazing,” Flores said. “She is a true leader.”

Growing the program
Since the softball program at Middle Park was brought back so recently, many of the athletes had never played softball and some had never even picked up a ball.
That provided a unique challenge for the coaches, but it was one they were happy to take on.
“It was literally starting at square one, pounding in the fundamentals of the game,” Flores said.
Like many sports, softball has intricate rules, and teaching those rules was part of the challenge, Flores said.
“To see their improvement from Day 1 to three years later, it was just amazing how much they’ve improved,” Flores said.
Flores added that some of the athletes joined the revived program in 2022 as freshmen and sophomores, and have stayed with the program throughout their high school athletic careers.
This past season, the team had eight seniors who had been with the program since the beginning.
“They’ve come so, so far in the three years that we’ve had them,” Cross said. “It’s amazing.”

Looking to the future
None of it would have been possible without guidance from Gallegos, who Flores said would work with the athletes to the point that her hands would be raw by the end of practice.
“It was important to keep it positive. Alex does such a great job of that,” Flores said. “She does a great job of setting the tone of being consistent and positive. It’s just an absolute pleasure to work alongside her.”
Flores said she believes Gallegos “absolutely deserves” the Coach of the Year award.
“She’s a true, amazing coach and leader,” Flores said. … “Starting with very minimal to work with and building this program day after day, year after year — she’s put in the hard work and 100% deserves that Coach of the Year award.”
In 2025, the team is looking forward to playing on the school’s new field.
For community members who want to support the softball program, the coaches said recognizing the athletes’ accomplishments and attending their games goes a long way. Families with young girls who are interested in softball can explore the sport prior to high school with the Grand Slammers, an organization that provides opportunities for young children to play baseball and softball.


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