For many, the idea of getting or keeping our kids active can feel challenging. We have to fight against all the technology that grabs and keeps their attention.

Sports are one way to help curb screen time dependence. It gives kids a chance to not only wear off a bit of energy but also learn to build community and friendships with their teammates that could extend well after the season.

As we were talking the other day in the office about all of this, our assistant mentioned how surprised she was to find out the middle schools in the Thompson School District didn’t offer certain sports (mostly football). That led us to think - maybe we could provide a resource for families on where they can find helpful information regarding sports in Northern Colorado! So we assigned our wonderful assistant Stacie to the task of writing this blog post, as a mother of five active and athletic kiddos - she’s an incredible resource on all things sports-related in our area!

This is definitely not an exhaustive list, but it’s a good starting place. If you know of an option that needs to be added, reach out and let us know and we’ll update this post!

The local rec center, Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA can be a great place to start, especially for your younger kids who might not know what they want to play yet. They offer most of the sports and at an affordable price. The commitment at this level is also a bit easier to adjust to (usually with two practices per week that last between 1 - 1 1/2 hours each and then one 1-hour game on the weekend.)

The one possible downside is that most rec centers run off of volunteer coaches, which is usually other parents. It can occasionally be challenging to find enough coaches, but in my experience, they always seem to make it work so kids can play!

YMCA (Larimer County): https://www.ymcanoco.org/sports/larimer-county-sports

YMCA (Weld County): https://www.ymcanoco.org/sports/weld-sports

YMCA (Boulder County): https://www.ymcanoco.org/sports/boulder-county-sports

Boys & Girls Club: https://www.bgca.org/programs/all-programs

Check out the links below to find a local rec center close to you:

Fort Collins:

City of Fort Collins Recreation Center https://www.fcgov.com/recreation/
EPIC Center (For the Ice Skater/Hockey Player in your home.) https://www.fcgov.com/recreation/epic

Loveland:

Chilson Center https://www.lovgov.org/services/parks-recreation/chilson-recreation-center/activity-guide

Estes Park:

Estes Park Rec Center https://evrpd.colorado.gov/recreation

Berthoud:

Berthoud Rec Center https://www.berthoud.org/departments/parks-recreation

Windsor:

Windsor Parks & Rec https://www.recreationliveshere.com/101/Recreation

This level of play may still utilize a volunteer coach or have paid coaches depending on their situation. They also will be more competitive and a bit of a bigger commitment as well as some may require tryouts. Many clubs offer a “recreational” group that could lead to joining a club/competitive team down the road. You can find some of those here:

Football

Flag Football can be found at almost any rec center during specific seasons (usually in the spring - fall season)
Competitive non-club Football is offered through NOCO Football https://noco.football/ where you will find full-tackle football in the fall and hybrid/2-hand touch and/or flag football in the spring. Again, this is a competitive league that is a significant step up from what any rec center would offer. It is designed to build up the player in understanding of the game so they can increase their skill to eventually pursue high school ball. Tackle football teams start as early as 3rd grade in most areas and go through the 8th grade.

Soccer

Elite Soccer League https://www.elitesoccerleague.com/programs-1
Fort Collins Soccer Club http://www.soccerfortcollins.org/Leagues
I-9 is an instructional program that can offer an entry-level perspective into the sport https://www.i9sports.com/franchises/364/fort-collins-loveland-greeley-windsor
NOCO Rush https://norcorush.com/

Volleyball

Norco now offers what they call Norco Prime where you commit to a 9-week season and all practices and tournaments are held locally. https://www.norcovolleyball.com/prime
Power to Play offers seasonal volleyball and can help set you up with a team if you don’t have one. https://www.power2play.org/

Softball

The Colorado Softball Academy offers an opportunity for kids as young as 6 to start developing their skills. Located in Loveland, they are pretty central to all of us here in Northern Colorado. https://coloradosoftballacademy.com/
I-9 is an instructional program that can offer an entry-level opportunity into learning the sport. https://www.i9sports.com/franchises/364/fort-collins-loveland-greeley-windsor

Baseball

Pro Swing. Not necessarily a league, but if you or your child are looking for training in baseball, Pro Swing in Berthoud may be a great fit! They offer training & camps. They do offer tryout (club-style) Baseball as well. https://www.proswingpark.com/
Fort Collins Baseball Club offers 3 levels (Recreation, Intermediate and Club). https://www.fortcollinsbaseballclub.org/
NOCO Rush Baseball https://nocorush.com/ offers non-travel competitive baseball.
Northern Colorado Baseball appears to also be a non-travel “club” but you may want to verify when contacting them. https://northerncoloradobaseball.org/

Basketball

Power to Play offers seasonal basketball and can help set you up with a team if you don’t have one. https://www.power2play.org/
Fever Hoops is a great place for competitive basketball with local only travel in Denver & Northern Colorado. https://www.feverhoops.com/home
Soar Hoops offers competitive basketball with in-state only travel. https://www.soarhoops.com/bballdetails

This level of play offers the most competition & commitment between cost and time. In most situations, your child will most likely have to try out for a team and there will be traveling at least within the state, but in most cases even out of state for tournaments.

We are fortunate here in Northern Colorado to have clubs that offer top-level competitive teams in multiple sports, so if you and your child are interested in this level of play, there is likely a club that will fit your needs!