Teams Paying Their Own Way Boosters Fund Sports To Get Them Started

It’s not a widespread phenomena, but pay-to-play definitely exists in North Idaho high school athletics.

If you want to see your school adopt another sport, it’s a good bet you’ll have to pony up the funds - at least for a couple of years.

Just a little more than 10 years ago, for example, a rapidly growing Coeur d’Alene youth soccer following desired to see the sport played in high school.

An agreement was reached by which the local soccer club footed the bill for equipment, travel, referees and the like for two years before the school district absorbed the costs. That’s the stance most area school districts take when considering adding other sports.

More than 10 years later in Coeur d’Alene, soccer continues to thrive and is offered at both the city’s high schools.

If money became an issue and sports had to be cut at CdA’s two schools, school officials probably would be hesitant to cut soccer because it has become extremely popular at the youth level.

Just about every year, a Panhandle high school adds another sport.

Last year, Bonners Ferry added four sports: baseball, softball and boys and girls soccer. Swimming was added at Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint.

Lakeland will add soccer next year.

This spring, Priest River added baseball and softball. And boosters there have found out that the venture can be costly.

But they also realize the benefits: 21 boys are on the baseball team and 17 girls are playing softball. And those athletes weren’t stolen from other spring sports - those are new students out for sports.

A group of Priest River athletic boosters came up with the idea two years ago to try to get baseball and softball into the high school.

Last year, school district officials approved the addition of the two sports on condition that the boosters pay the cost to operate both programs for two years. If the programs prove successful and there’s enough participation, the school district will then consider funding part or all of the programs.

The boosters have raised enough funds to pay for the startup costs of new equipment, travel and umpires fees.

The biggest cost facing the boosters, however, is the development of baseball and softball fields. The teams are temporarily using youth fields at the elementary school.

Boosters gained district approval to construct baseball and softball fields near the junior high school.

But if the fields are going to be playable by next year, nearly $100,000 must be raised, said Susie White, a Priest River Baseball Booster board member.

“We’ve got a long, long way to go,” White said.

Though the fund-raising task is formidable, Richard Johnson, another board member, is pleased the project finally got off the ground.

“I’m glad we quit talking about adding baseball and softball and finally did it,” he said. “As people see the success of the programs, things will come together.”

Three of Priest River’s baseball players - senior Jeff Needs, junior Matt Heinrichs and sophomore Will Mason - were the only players who had previous high school playing experience going into the season.

They played at Sandpoint last year and had to make the daily drive back and forth for practices and games.

“It’s about time we got baseball here,” said Heinrichs, who started at catcher last year for Sandpoint’s varsity. “If we didn’t have it, I’d have had to travel to Sandpoint again. There’s been enough interest to start baseball here for a long time.”

Needs, the lone senior on the team, is excited to be playing at Priest River. The team was 2-5 overall going into a non-league doubleheader Wednesday.

“We’re not doing too bad for a first-year team,” Needs, a pitcher and utility fielder, said. “I think we could have won most of our games if we’d cut down on our errors. But I’m having a lot of fun.”

Needs thinks the interest to play both sports will continue to grow. The future does look bright as 13 of the baseball team’s 21 players are freshmen.

The boosters hope to start junior varsity teams in both sports next year.

But just because a sport is started doesn’t mean school districts will ultimately pick up the tab.

Take Wallace, for example.

Bob Schreiber is in his sixth year of coaching the Wallace Miners baseball team. The sport continues to be offered at the school because boosters, not the school district, fund the program.

“Because we live in an economically deprived area, school officials couldn’t justify making taxpayers pay for another sport,” Schreiber said.

So the $3,000 it takes to field a baseball team at Wallace every spring is privately funded. Schreiber volunteers his time as head coach.

“If I don’t do it, then it would open the door for them to eliminate the sport if they couldn’t find another teacher to coach,” Schreiber said.

The other sport Schreiber coaches, wrestling, has won the fight to remain as a funded program by the district. School officials had considered turning the cost to run the program over to the boosters next year.

If fewer than 15 wrestlers are involved in the program next year, Schreiber said, boosters will have to partially fund the program on a prorated schedule devised by the district.

“Partial funding is better than none,” Schreiber said.

At Priest River, baseball coach Doug Stone has already seen many positives come from the season.

“It’s been great that the community is supporting it,” Stone said. “It gives kids more opportunities to play sports and stay out of trouble. If we have two teams (varsity and JV) next year, I think the turnout will be even better. I think some kids held back because they weren’t sure this was going to go.”