WHAT’S UP REC??

The leaves are changing, and so is the recreation department!! As we have experimented with instructional changes during our fall sports, we have found fun returning to the fields and have loved hearing the shrieks and laughter echo throughout city park. We are so thankful for all of our incredible volunteers that made each of our fall sport offerings the best experience for our youth through positive encouragement and great fundamental coaching. Now, we have hit the “ber” months that will send our sports indoors and start into basketball - we reach the season that has been at the forefront of our change. We have been working to finalize all the details of our new change and are finally in a position to do so!

The City of Soda Springs Recreation Department is excited to announce a new partnership with the Soda Springs Youth Sports Foundation to facilitate the team sport programs for the youth. In a cooperative program, we are thrilled to be able to work together to provide the development and training that is needed for the youth to build for success throughout their sport playing days, and for life. We recognize that not all young athletes develop at the same pace and that skill acquisition comes at many different stages in life. Our goal is to make sure that our young athletes can continue to develop in their sport while having fun and ultimately developing a love for the game and the process of working toward personal goals.

We will begin this partnership for the upcoming 2024-2025 basketball season. As many are aware, we have taken steps to change our format for team sports and basketball will be the biggest change of them all. We will be holding a mandatory skills evaluation, or “tryout”, for each athlete registered through the city recreation program. These will be held for each grade level prior to the beginning of their season. Following the mandatory skills evaluation, athletes will be placed in groups that are appropriate for their skill and age level. With our partnership with the SSYSF, we will be able to facilitate both development programs and competitive opportunities outside of the area for our youth. Our primary goal is to provide a positive and fun learning environment that can help them learn and grow in accordance with USA Basketball’s development stages. As our youth advance in their skills, we will continue to form teams for them to compete and learn. This may include traveling outside of the area, but for many will include competing at home and growing in the game at their pace. Some of the greatest athletes to pass through Soda Springs High School were not superstars in 4th or 5th grade, and we want to make sure all of the youth have a place to develop at a pace they can be successful. We feel this is a win-win solution for the youth as they will be able to have fun while learning the game during the most critical development stages of body growth and motor skill refinement.

This new change also allows for us to expand the age range of program offerings for our youth. While traditionally we have only offered 3rd through 6th grade, we now will be able to extend our coverage to 7th grade and older in all sports. With the desire of the community to have a strong athletic program at the high school level, we feel these changes will be beneficial for all of our youth programs, not just basketball. Basketball registration is available now and is open to anyone that would like to participate. We will be updating the schedules on our website as we confirm dates with coaches and gyms. We will continue to provide information for each sport season but are thrilled to start this new partnership for all sports and will publish further information about what is coming in 2025 by the first of the year.

Our changes are not done with this new partnership! We are super excited to announce our new Soda Outdoor Adventure Recreation (SOAR) program sponsored by the Recreation Department. Starting in the summer of 2025, we will have outdoor equipment available for rental, as well as providing educational classes for kayaking, paddleboarding, mountain biking, hiking, outdoor conservation education, and a new Outdoor Explorer Program for all ages in the summer of 2025. We recognize that not everyone identifies as a team sport athlete, and we are ramping up our efforts to provide more community recreational and educational opportunities for all ages. We have some great volunteers but are always looking for more volunteers - so if you have an interest in teaching or leading outdoor recreation experiences, please contact us!

While we know that everyone wants answers immediately, we ask for a little bit of patience as we work through the speedbumps of our changes! We will be updating our website as we have information and look forward to an exciting 2025!