craigdailypress.com

By trade, Tim Hafey designs buildings from the ground up.

But one of Hafey's passions is coaching baseball.

For the past 10 years, he has been at the helm of the Pine Creek High School baseball team in Colorado Springs, and last week he was named the new coach at Moffat County High School.

Hafey replaces Rich Sadvar, whose at-will contract with Moffat County School District was not renewed despite back-to-back coach of the year awards.

Sadvar said he wishes Hafey success in his new endeavor.

"All of my seasons at Pine Creek have been rewarding," Hafey said of the school's first 10 years of existence. "Coaching high school baseball is a true pleasure."

Hafey's resume also includes coaching softball at Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs. He was a junior varsity and varsity assistant at the school, which is in the same school district as Pine Creek.

The 2006-07 baseball season at Pine Creek was one of transition for the Eagles, as they advanced from a 4A school to a 5A, Colorado's largest division.

"My last season was kind of disappointing," he said. "We were down in talent, and making that jump from 4A to 5A was big. But, I wanted an opportunity to coach at a championship level and I think I have that here in Craig."

Although Hafey may be new to MCHS, he is familiar with the area and is looking forward to settling down close to his brother, niece and nephews.

"We came here two years ago with Pine Creek in a District 8 tournament," he said. "I was impressed with the facilities and the level of play from Moffat County. I've coached at a competitive level, and I would like to do that here and bring some notoriety to this program."

In Hafey's decade with the Eagles, Pine Creek qualified for the playoffs eight years.

One of his fondest memories comes from his first year at the helm when his 32nd ranked Eagles upset No. 1 seeded Mitchell High School, 5-2.

Hafey said the Bulldogs can expect to set goals and work hard.

"I like to work hard, but the game of baseball doesn't have many new innovations," he said. "Goal setting is big for me. You really need to make some expectations of what you want to see happen."

Drew Turner can be reached at 824-7031, ext 211, or aturner@craigdailypress.com