A well-known figure in the Colorado high school coaching and volunteer ranks has passed away after an illness. Virginia Lorbeer, who helped spirit become a sanctioned sport in the 1990s, was 82.
Lorbeer coached the first 5A state championship squad at Montbello High School when the meet was for cheerleading only. The Colorado High School Activities Association said through her efforts, spirit became sanctioned in 1991, the same year that Standley Lake High School won the state poms title. She was the coach for the Gators at the time.
Peers took to social media with words of praise and thanks as news of Lorbeer’s passing on March 15 spread.
One said, “She was a coach who epitomized what it means to be a coach. Not just of her own team, but of everyone she met. She was so thoughtful, encouraging, and steadfast. She met everyone with kindness and that beaming smile.”
She was born May 31, 1941, in Denver, to Earl C. and Alice L. (Schlemeyer) Lorbeer. She earned a bachelor of science degree in education and English from Fort Hays State in Kansas in 1963 and a master of arts in secondary school administration from the University of Colorado in 1973. Lorbeer did post-grad work at the University of Northern Colorado from 1977 to 1979.
Teaching, coaching in her DNA
Lorbeer was a teacher of business education and a sponsor of the school pep club and cheerleaders at Manual High School from 1964 to 1981. She moved over to Montbello High School, where she taught business education and was the director of student activities for the school. She also spent time as a passenger relations agent for Trans World Airways at the old Stapleton Airport.
According to the Canon City Record, Lorbeer’s name adorns a coaching scholarship handed out at the state spirit tournament each year. The scholarship honors a spirit coach “whose dedication to their program and support of school and community sets them apart from others in the sport,” the Record reported in 2022.
She was on the board of the Colorado High School Coaches Association, which inducted her into its hall of fame shortly before Lorbeer died. She received the organization’s Don DesCombes Award for distinguished service in 2022. The Colorado High School Activities Association inducted her into its hall of fame in 2000.
Helping where help was needed
Volunteering was part of Lorbeer’s history with CHSAA as well. She volunteered at the state basketball tournament from 1973 until last year. She was in charge of the volunteers who ran the statistics program.
“She rotated games among the (stat) teams,” said veteran basketball and football official Mike Contreraz. “If you worked the semifinals one year, you worked the title game the next year. I enjoyed working for and working with her.”
Rick Hergenreder, a retired veteran basketball official in Colorado, worked with Lorbeer at the state high-school basketball tournament – “close to 30 years,” he said.
“She was always very organized and ready to go and one of the last to leave,” Hergenreder said. “I also worked with her at the state track meet. She worked the gate checking in athletics and always had a smile for all those who came through.”
For her volunteer efforts, CHSAA presented Lorbeer with its Distinguished Service Award in 1995.
“She was very concerned that the individual did the job right,” Contreraz said. He and Lorbeer worked the state tournament for close to 30 years. “She didn’t come down hard. She pointed out the concern and encouraged you not to make the same mistake.”
Not just a figure, but a friend
Outside the world of poms, volunteer work and cheerleading, she was a friend.
“From the first day I met you, I felt like I had been in your life as long as I can remember,” said Skyview High School girls basketball coach Chris Kemm. “Your support, your genuine being, and genuine love and support. I will miss all the cards and notes you leave behind every event, and your constant support that only a coach knows how to give.”
“She was a very kind, very caring person,” Contreraz said. “She was an easy person to talk to, and it was easy to get to like her. She had a soft voice. You had to strain your ears to hear her.”
Funeral services are pending through Keithley Funeral Homes and Crematory-Brock’s Chapel in Hays.
“You fought so valiantly to be there for everyone, and there is no telling how far your reach went,” Kemm said. “Heaven needed a new coach to coach the coaches. And boy, heaven got the best one.”
“She volunteered at CHSAA for many state championships,” Hergenreder said. “She seemed to have endless energy with everything she did. I will miss seeing her this year at track.”
“She was more concerned that you did everything right for your benefit,” Contreraz said. “If you did it right and worked hard, it was for you. It was the only way you were going to be successful. She had a big heart, and she cared about you. That’s what she wanted.”