Valor Christian High School (Valor) has appointed Michael Sanford as its new head football coach, bringing a wealth of collegiate coaching experience to the esteemed high school program in Highlands Ranch.

Born in California, Sanford played quarterback at Boise State University from 2000 to 2004. Since then, his career has spanned various roles at top-tier programs across the country, including Notre Dame, Stanford, Western Kentucky (as head coach), Minnesota, and most recently, the University of Colorado, where he served as interim head coach in 2022.

Sanford said coaching in a Christian environment feels like coming home. “In college football, I had to earn the right to be heard before I could talk about my faith,” he said. “Here, I can be open. I still want to live it first—but now I can share it, too.”

Now living in northern Colorado with his wife, Anne Marie, and their three children, daughter Peyton and sons, Gunnar and Griffin, Sanford is excited to plant roots here.

“My daughter has already been to 12 schools and she’s just a freshman, so we’re committed to giving her some stability. My 8- and 10-year-old sons are all in on the idea of coming to Valor someday, too,” shared Sanford.

Sanford’s hire marks a pivotal moment for Valor, where faith-based mentorship is at the core of athletics. “Coach Sanford leads from a place of boldness and conviction which makes him an easy person to follow in the way young people should go,” said Valor athletic director Keith Wahl.

Sanford is fully embracing high school coaching with the same passion he brought to college programs, now with an added emphasis on relational leadership. “I want to have a positive impact on the football field in the development of the athletes,” he said. “But also off the field—in their development from young men into grown men.”

Sanford is already making himself a fixture on campus—eating lunch with the players, attending planning meetings, watching them compete in other sports and leading training sessions three times a week.

He is also looking forward to some creative off-the-field bonding with a father-son poker tournament and a mother-son yoga session planned for the summer.

A self-described mountain guy, Sanford enjoys skiing with his wife and daughter, while hitting the slopes with his sons on snowboards. “Time on the mountain is our favorite way to unplug.”

Looking ahead, Sanford is also focused on championship goals. “We haven’t won a state title in seven years, which is a long time for a program with this kind of potential.”

Most importantly, Sanford wants to support athletes as they navigate the pressures of teen life. “You have to build authentic relationships,” he said. “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We’re all in this together—so let’s make it a good day, one day at a time.”

 

By Nicole Stark; photo courtesy of Coach Mike Sanford