With fall approaching fast, the city of Durango is gearing up for its youth sports programs and looking for kids to fill the ranks of its boys and girls soccer, lacrosse, cycling and basketball programs.

Durango Recreation Coordinator Andy Grenhart said the city’s most popular fall program is youth soccer, with age divisions ranging from preschool to eighth grade.

Each boys and girls division can make room for up to 80 registrants, although it's rare to reach maximum capacity in each division besides the preschool group. The preschool division is very popular because athletic programs for that age group are few and far between. That specific program is already reaching full registration, Grenhart said.

The divisions for the older children tend to reach about half the maximum enrollment. Grenhart said it’s not uncommon for the city to combine divisions to create full teams, because doing so would foster competitiveness in the program.

Grenhart said the city is trying to grow its middle school soccer divisions, which has lesser turnout than divisions for younger children. The middle school program is a co-ed program, and participants will be divided into three or four different teams based on how many sign up.

“In the springtime, the city can play other middle school programs run by (neighboring) school districts, from Bayfield to Ignacio and Cortez … Trying to gain more traction in the fall time to improve interleague games in the springtime,” Grenhart said.

Participation in Durango Parks and Recreation’s middle school soccer program appears strong this year compared to last fall, he said. There are 53 registrants in 2023, compared to 24 sign-ups in 2022.

Grenhart also said the city is also on the lookout for five to eight coaches in various divisions.

“It kind of ebbs and flows in terms of enrollment, but the last three seasons it has only gotten bigger,” he said.

Grenhart said his focus is to improve programming offered to youngsters by increasing coaches’ training and improving the overall player experience.

Along similar lines, the city is trying to encourage more girls to sign up for its fall youth lacrosse program, Grenhart said. Lacrosse is more popular in the spring, but registration is not as competitive in the fall, making it the prime opportunity for newcomers to try the sport.

To grease the wheels, the city is offering free rental gear for girls who sign up for lacrosse this season. Grenhart said rental fees for boys who want to participate are $50 flat for the full season, a significant deal compared to buying helmets, gloves, elbow pads and shoulder pads that could easily exceed $500 if purchased from a retailer.

Girls lacrosse requires less gear than the boys program, with a lacrosse stick and goggles the only equipment needed to play, he said.

“The city is always looking to involve more young ladies in the game of lacrosse,” he said.

The city runs a division for fourth grade and under, as well as fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade divisions, Grenhart said.

The youth BMX program is one of Durango Parks and Recreation’s longest running programs, which contains options between new rider clinics for inexperienced riders on Fridays and after-school BMX camps through October.

Grenhart said USA BMX races also happen every Friday through mid-November.

“They are pretty popular programs,” he said. “Some people think you need a lot of experience to participate, but USA BMX and Durango BMX support introducing it and provide the means to participate.”

The city’s other cycling program, Dirt Lovers, focuses on mountain biking and trail riding.

“Focus with mountain biking is to stress trail etiquette, basic trail maintenance, how to ride with a group and how it’s an important social recreation activity,” Grenhart said.

The program starts in the summer and offers different sessions for intermediate and expert groups. Typically, intermediate groups meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, while experienced riders meet Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Starting Tuesday, the expert group will start holding sessions from 4-6:15 p.m.

Grenhart said sign-ups for the BMX and Dirt Lovers programs can be competitive. But if a wait list becomes long enough and staff becomes available, the city can form new groups by pulling from that wait list.

The September after-school session is already full with 20 participants signed up, Grenhart said.

“(The biking programs are) something that is very unique to Durango,” he said. “We are so lucky to live in a town with trails that are literally outside our back doors. What a great way to get the kids pedaling after school.”

The October sessions are about half full so far.

The city’s youth three-on-three basketball program, which preludes its five-on-five program held in January. Children can register as three-member teams or individually join teams as “free agents,” Grenhart said.

The three-on-three basketball program, which started last year, is open to children between third grade and eighth grade. The program’s meant to merely get them interested in the sport, Grenhart said. There are four to five teams in each age division.

Turnout was okay in 2022, Grenhart said. He has fielded a handful of questions this week, however, indicating more youth might be interested in participating this year.

“I personally take this job very seriously to offer to the community the needs of what they’re wanting and to provide something that’s at an affordable price,” he said of the city’s youth sports programs.

cburney@durangoherald.com