Imagining the future of baseball and softball in Niwot

Approximately 50 community members convened at The Wheel House on Jan. 22, to consider the future of baseball and softball in Niwot.

The meeting was arranged by the Niwot High School baseball and softball programs in conjunction with Niwot Youth Sports (NYS).

The group discussed a spectrum of ideas starting with needs at Niwot High School baseball and softball facilities for everyday items, such as tarps and lawn chemicals to enhance their ability to conduct ground maintenance. The group also talked about the need to make field and dugout improvements and to fund new batting cages, fencing, and pitching machines. The need to possibly purchase an ABI machine for turf maintenance was also discussed, as well as purchasing state of the art technology to help athletes articulate their skills to college recruiters.

"If fully realized, the program would not only be something that athletes will be proud of, it will be safe," said Niwot High School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Joe Brown. "You can see that there will be demand in the future. But it requires planning ahead. If you want to climb a mountain you can't get your gear together when you're walking up it. You have to do it before you really get going. That's what we're doing here."

Biff Warren, who has been involved with both the high school softball and baseball programs as well as Niwot Youth Sports, provided a short history of Niwot softball and baseball programs. "I've been asked to do this because, well, I've just been around a long time," Warren joked. He described how he was first asked to coach youth baseball 47 years ago for what is now known as Niwot Youth Sports. He recalled that all youth sports fields were "borrowed" from developers at the time, and the high school had limited facilities for baseball and none for softball. "Now there are 10 fields controlled by Niwot Youth Sports," Warren said, and noted that the current Niwot High School facilities were built 24 years ago, and are now in need of improvement.

Warren mentioned Larry Longseth and Scott Tennant, who were among the many volunteers who helped acquire and build the Niwot Youth Sports ballfields, and their children, Pat Longseth and Jessica (Tennant) Walker, both of whom were on hand, who are now in NYS leadership positions.

"It's great to see the second generation coming back through and supporting all that. But fields aren't cheap and in a lot of communities, there's not the kind of grassroots ability to maintain something like we have here. But we have the chance to have something we're all proud of," Warren said. Brown explained that a vision for developing both a successful softball and baseball program in the community involves fundraising, but also building connections between Niwot High School and Niwot Youth Sports. Although developing those connections had been on the mind of administrators for some time, the pandemic slowed down things enough so that it was possible to more deeply consider what that future might look like. At this point, planning has taken place and officials are set to move into fundraising that will make those dreams a reality. Pat Longseth, an alum of both NYS and NHS sports, is now president of NYS. Longseth spoke of the vision for the sports' future to develop relationships with players in the region early on, through camps and clinics. He noted that as athletes experience games, exhibitions and clinics, they not only develop skills, but build relationships with high school athletes, which ultimately helps NHS programs. Brown noted that NHS is now 70% open-enrollment, so as NYS players build relationships with friends in Niwot, they will be more motivated to stay in the area for high school. Niwot High School baseball and softball are kicking off a fundraising effort to make the improvements possible. Needs are broken out into multiple tiers according to how critical officials feel the need will be for funding the program.

The group is also reaching out to regionally-based corporate funders that are interested in supporting the community. The first tier requires $45,000 and Brown reported that donations to date are just $8,000 short of meeting the first tier goal.

Donations may be made online, or to the St. Vrain Valley School District here, or by check to Niwot High School directly, with a notation of "baseball" or "softball" and mailed to 8989 Niwot Road, Niwot, CO 80503.

Donations may also be made to Niwot Baseball, Inc., P.O. Box 610, Niwot, CO 80544, or to Niwot Softball, Inc., 5264 Warrior Street, Frederick, CO 80504. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.