As the city of Evans prepared to begin its first youth T-ball and baseball seasons this week at the reopened Riverside Park, new public reminders on sportsmanship greeted the adults who came to root on the kids.

In a message of sorts from the children who will play on the fields, the city put up the signs with five reminders for adults, parents, coaches and anyone else who might lose sight of the games’ purpose.

Reminder signs greeted parents and adults this week for the opening of the youth T-ball and baseball seasons at the reopened Riverside Park in Evans. This is the first seasons for those sports on the park fields since the facility reopened in October 2018, five years after being damaged during massive flooding in September 2013.



The reminders are:

I’m just a kid

It’s just a game

My coach is a volunteer

The umpires are human

No college scholarships will be handed out today.

City of Evans Recreation Coordinator Kristen Debo said in an email this week that the city has never before publicized a sign admonishing fans on behavior.

“We wanted to remind parents/coaches/family members that our programs are for fun, skill development and laying a foundation that will allow them to build upon,” Debo wrote.

Debo said the signs are posted on dugouts at the fields.

Now, the City of Greeley is looking at taking a similar step.

City of Greeley Recreation Superintendent Scott Schuttenberg will work on those signs after discussing the issue with the Greeley Parks and Recreation Board at its monthly meeting Friday morning.

“Greeley will likely be installing signs in the next few months after language is adopted by our Advisory Board,” Schuttenberg wrote.

The city’s parks and recreation board is a nine-member body appointed by the city council to make recommendations on the best use of recreational facilities, and it conducts studies relating to new park, recreation, and trail needs and programming.

The city of Greeley currently does not have similar signs at its parks. Schuttenberg said the parks and recreation department does training with coaches and holds parents meetings on behavior, but that the city has never before taken the step to invest in signs.

“We do preach the message that this is a recreation program and not Division I varsity athletics and let’s have fun and learn fundamentals,” Schuttenberg said.

In Windsor, the town also does not post signs but recreation manager Tara Fotsch said the department does put out a message on sportsmanship through training with coaches and parents by recreation supervisor Bobby Warner.

– Anne Delaney covers high school and recreational sports for The Greeley Tribune. Contact Anne at adelaney@greeleytribune.com, (970) 392-5647 or on Twitter @AnneGDelaney.