Providing mountain kids with the opportunity to be their best in athletic arenas is crucial to self-confidence, team awareness and the joy of sport. This starts with access to the activities, and Mountain Recreation has been there for so many of us, providing local kids the opportunities they might not get from higher-priced sport clubs. A publicly funded organization like this brings together our priorities for keeping kids outdoors and allows parents the opportunity to watch and enjoy their children as they run around local sport fields.
In 2014, we signed up our 9-year-old son Owen for his first lacrosse team through Mountain Rec, then called WECMRD. As parents, we had no idea how to play the sport, hold the stick, or even what to cheer for from the sidelines. We also didn’t know if this would be a one season experience or maybe something longer. We were glad that our modest registration fee included all the gear. Sheryl met us in the back of the Eagle Ice Rink and helped us find a helmet, shoulder pads, matching gloves and elbow pads, each piled up in different rubbermaid trash cans. That was the beginning of an extraordinary journey for our family and so many other lacrosse families.