Home

Steamboat Springs High School girls softball coach Dan Swanson got the news he wanted Tuesday.

There will be a softball season after all.

It was unclear until this week whether the team would have enough players to compete. The team has struggled with participation for several years. This fall's squad had nine players.

"Where we're standing, we have enough players to have a team," Swanson said. "But we don't have enough to have any depth."

Any high school girls interested in playing softball should contact Swanson at 970-819-5432 or go to the high school office and fill out an athletic packet.

The team finished without a win last season after winning just one game the year before.

Swanson said he has four returning players. Although he'd prefer to go into the season with at least 13 or 14 girls, he's happy the team can open its season with an 11 a.m. Saturday game at Delta.

"I am excited," Swanson said. "We've got a lot of new girls, and they are promising."

First-year Athletics Director Ken Webbe said they made the decision to have the season when it became clear the team would have enough players to field a full team.

"Our decision was predicated on, plain and simple, we had enough people to have a team," he said.

Webbe said having teams on the bubble at a school like Steamboat isn't uncommon. For comparison, Cherry Creek High School has an enrollment of more than 3,500 students and offers 24 sports. Steamboat, at about 640 students, generally offers 21 sports during the year depending on the availability of athletes.

"Everybody needs to realize, 630 kids go to Steamboat Springs High School," Webbe said. "There will probably always be sports on the bubble in terms of having enough kids."