By: Ernest Gurulé
It has become a seasonal issue in Pueblo when local parks are inundated with lions, tigers and bears. But these packs are nothing to fear since they’re simply mascots of the various teams that the city’s parks and recreation department oversees each summer. But this menagerie is just the tip of the iceberg for the city. It also coordinates a number of other seasonal programs designed to keep thousands of young people engaged each summer.
The summer programs, said Chris Hopes, are for both city and county residents. They “start in June and end in mid-August, right before school starts,” he said. Hopes, Recreational Sport Coordinator for the city’s summer programs, said the city has created programs for every age group, including families.
The 16-year city parks veteran and Pueblo native said there are both team and individual sports ranging from tee-ball—the Little Sluggers league—for the youngest participants to track and field which ends each summer with a statewide competition at Lakewood’s Jeffco Stadium.
Track and field, said Hopes, is “pretty even” in terms of boys and girls participation. The events included in both local and the end of summer statewide competition.
Events includer sprints, long distance events, running long jump and shot putt. For younger participants there are softball and baseball throws.
All of the city’s summer activities are staffed by scores of young people hired on as seasonal help. Many work under the supervision of adults, including people like Dan Radiff, a legendary Pueblo sports figure and
retired educator.
Radiff helps out with the city’s swimming program. He has worked with the city’s summer swimming program for a number of years. Now retired, he also works as a substitute teacher at Pueblo County High School.
Radiff’s resume is platinum in Pueblo sports circles.
The Pueblo native earned a dozen letters in high school; played college football for Adams State; owns several national age group records in swimming and track and field; and once missed making the U.S. Olympic team by less than a half a second.
Nonetheless he accompanied the team as an alternate. Not surprisingly, he is a member of the Greater Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame. The focus, said Hopes is not to churn out star athletes and competitors, but rather concentrate on the fundamentals. If a young person decides to take what they’ve learned to a higher level, that is strictly up to them. But in some cases, what they’ve learned has been worth the time and investment, said Hopes, pointing to a group of young people who began in the Pueblo Parks and Recreation flag football program as youngsters.
In high school, he said, many of them were members of the Pueblo East football program that won three consecutive state high school football titles. “They began in the second and third grades,” he said. Much of their later success, he believes, came from “building the chemistry” learned in the parks and recreation program. A number of other athletes who’ve participated in the summer programs, he said, have gone on to both Division I and II programs in both team and individual sports.
Eric Santoyo, who doubles as a high school swimming coach, coordinates the summer aquatics program which partners with the city’s YMCA. There, he said, “lessons are provided” under a mutual agreement between the city and the ‘Y.’ He also makes sure everything runs smoothly at the city’s nearly always crowded public pools.
Pueblo Parks and Recreation also runs a baseball program. And while baseball may not be the national pastime it once was, it remains a popular option, said Hopes. In addition to “coach/pitch” baseball for a younger set, there are also “three baseball tournaments” that are played near the end of the summer season.
One of the most popular offering from Parks and Recreation is the three-on-three basketball competition played at what locals know as ‘the Slab,’ a basketball playground set on an island/greenbelt separating the city’s busy 29th Street.
There is also something for those who prefer to spend their time out of the sun and not in a competitive arena. The “Books in the Park,” is a partnership with the citycounty library district. Ray Aguilera and Fairmount Park are the sites for checking out books or working with arts and crafts. There is also a free lunch for those under age 18 provided by the Pueblo School District 60.
Participants in the city’s summer program pay a $55 fee to enroll but Hopes says there is a scholarship option based on income. For those participants, the fee covers the cost of a ‘uniform,’ for the baseball program that includes a hat and jersey.
