In a determined effort to bring girls softball to Moffat County High School, a group of parents and school officials recently have ramped up their efforts to establish an official fast-pitch softball team at the high school.

Tawnya Carter, a parent of an MCHS student, said that her daughter fell in love with softball as a child while participating in Craig’s slow-pitch recreational leagues. Now a sophomore, her daughter plays for Meeker High School’s softball team, as MCHS does not currently offer softball as a fall sport.

Carter highlighted the challenges her daughter and others face in commuting to Meeker to participate in the sport, emphasizing the associated time and monetary commitments as well as the potential hazards of frequent travel.

---

---

Carter shared that in the past, attempts to secure a school district vehicle for group transportation were met with resistance, prompting parents to carpool to ensure the girls had the opportunity to play.

Carter said that at one point, seven girls were carpooling from Craig to play on Meeker’s team.

---

---

“At that point, you can pretty much field your own team,” she said.

Carter’s passion for the cause led her to attend the high school’s fall sports meeting earlier this year. Carter wanted to reach out to the district’s new K-12 activities director, Dillon Hoselton, in hopes of putting softball squarely on the district administration’s radar.

“This was the first year that we really kind of pushed it as far as we have,” Carter said. “We went ahead and just kind of took our shot at it.”

Hoselton acknowledged the longstanding desire for softball in Moffat County, as well as the difficulties its backers have faced.

“I know softball has been a topic in Moffat County for a long time, and it just never came to fruition,” Hoselton said. He noted that the Western Slope as a whole has historically struggled with organizing teams.

Carter and Hoselton agreed to revisit the topic following completion of the fall sports season. Around that same time, Carter and her husband Matt, along with other parents, began regularly attending school board meetings to push for softball during public comment opportunities.

Following one of those meetings, Carter was approached by MCHS Executive Director of Secondary Ryan Frink, who expressed interest in their campaign.

This winter, Carter, Frink and Hoselton sat down for a meeting, where they “talked through logistics of how to go about adding the team,” according to Hoselton.

The trio collaborated to address academic and athletic considerations, consulting with the Colorado High School Activities Association and preparing a startup budget.

Carter said recent community support has been robust, with multiple individuals even expressing a willingness to cover startup costs. Carter herself has committed to organizing fundraisers with players to support ongoing expenses.

The push for a girls softball team gained momentum with 28 girls expressing interest, according to Carter, who hopes that more will join if the opportunity arises.

She emphasized the importance of providing diverse sports options for students and pointed out the recent cancellation of boys and girls swimming at MCHS, underlining the need for more offerings for girls.

Carter also noted that this year’s MCHS’s volleyball team cut 11 girls during tryouts.

“I was like, 11 girls — you only need 10 for softball,” Carter said, suggesting that many of the girls who didn’t make the volleyball team may have appreciated another option for fall sports participation.

“It’s never a bad idea to give our kids, our students, another option for something positive to do in our community,” Carter said. “Why not give kids options to be involved?”

Carter’s outreach extended to neighboring communities in Hayden and Steamboat — neither of which have a girls high school softball team of their own — offering participation opportunities to girls from those areas if softball becomes an official high school sport in Craig.

“They are more than welcome,” she said.

Hoselton credited MCHS parents for “taking the reins” in the push for softball, and expressed optimism about potential competition next year against teams from Aspen, Basalt, Cedaredge, Delta, Gunnison, Meeker and Cortez — and the possibility of participating in larger tournaments on the Eastern Slope.

While scheduling and competition-level considerations are still in progress, a survey conducted by the school earlier in the year confirmed sufficient interest among students to field a team.

Frink also outlined the school’s enthusiasm and commitment to the cause, stating that “all the things are in place” to put the proposal before the board.

Monday’s upcoming school board meeting will be crucial, with parents and school officials hoping for approval to move forward with establishing a girls softball team. The proposal has so far garnered widespread support at various levels, leading to optimism among backers.

Carter said that Monday’s meeting will provide “a chance to present everything to the school board for approval” with Frink presenting on behalf of the parents and players.

In anticipation of the meeting, Frink stated, “We’ve got all those pieces ready to go for Monday’s board meeting to present that,” and expressed his excitement about putting the proposal in front of the board for approval.

Carter expressed hope that the community will rally behind the cause by attending the school board’s Monday meeting, at 5:30 p.m. in the district administration building (600 Texas Ave.) or by reaching out to the district administration and school board members prior to Monday evening to voice support.