Durango has a wide variety of teams across many sports. From school athletics, recreation leagues, and club programs, there are opportunities for all ages to participate in basketball, football, lacrosse, volleyball, pickleball, hockey, soccer, cycling, and much more.
Durango Recreation League
Durango’s rec league teams are hosted through the Durango Rec Center and offer teams for youth and adults. Sports include lacrosse, basketball, soccer, hockey, kickball, volleyball, softball, and BMX, among others. There are a variety of men’s, women’s, coed, recreation, and competitive divisions to join.
Durango School Sports Team
Although elementary school P.E. classes give students an introduction to many sports, school-sponsored teams begin in middle school. Miller Middle School and Escalante Middle School both have their respective teams: the Miller Angels and Escalante Eagles. They offer basketball, football, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling. The options expand at Durango High School (DHS) with alpine skiing, baseball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, golf, hockey, lacrosse, marching band, soccer, swimming, diving, and tennis. Animas High School students can participate on DHS teams, and they offer some of their own student clubs such as backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and climbing.
Fort Lewis College (FLC) - Durango’s public, four-year liberal arts college - offers a wide variety of opportunities for student athletes to wear the Skyhawks jersey. These include club-level cycling as well as men’s basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, and track and field; women’s basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball.
Durango Sports Clubs
Beyond school and rec league teams, Southwest Colorado offers club teams for certain youth sports. These programs generally offer a higher level of competition and allow athletes to develop in their chosen sport with structured practices, games, tournaments, and travel.
Biking
Durango DEVO is a local nonprofit organization whose main objective is to share the love of biking. Age-based groups encourage all riders to participate and enjoy the ride. From toddlers on push bikes to adults, there is a mixture of riding styles from downhill, jumps, racing, bikepacking, and casual group riding around town. Although DEVO is not a race-based program, Durango is proud to have cyclists on Team USA competing in the Olympics as well as Vuelta España, Tour de France, and other World Cup level competitions.
Hockey
Durango Area Youth Hockey Association (DAYHA) is a non-profit based in Durango that aims to encourage, develop, and advance the sport. Programs start with beginners ages 5 - 8 and progress through 10U, 12U, 14U, and high school teams (in collaboration with DHS). The DAYHA Ice Devils also host annual events and hockey camps for the community.
Volleyball
Four Corners Volleyball Club provides playing opportunities for athletes ages 12 - 18 during the school’s off-season. Teams based on age and skill compete throughout the season in many tournaments. As a non-profit organization, their mission is to enrich and prepare student-athletes for the potential continuation of their volleyball careers at the college level.
Ski Team
Born out of the Purgatory Ski Team, the Durango Winter Sports Club offers Alpine, Freeride and Freestyle skiing, Snowboarding, and Gromlins - an introductory program. Although a race-focused program, the underlying pillars of DWSC are sportsmanship, personal development, teamwork, and friendship.
While this list doesn’t cover all of the opportunities in Durango and the surrounding area, it provides an overview of the many ways to get involved in athletics in our region. There are also river sports, golf, rock climbing, and, of course, supporting Colorado’s professional sports teams. We hope to see you out supporting our local teams! Contact The Durango Team at The Wells Group for more information on fun things to do in the area!
