Ogden city officials and leaders from Ogden School District met for a three‑hour workshop last week to develop a joint strategy aimed at increasing youth participation in sports, improving coaching quality and aligning city and district facilities and communications.

The workshop, which organizers described as interactive and “work”‑focused, produced five guiding principles and an initial set of next steps intended to raise participation, broaden access and coordinate use of city and school athletic assets.

Why it matters: City and district officials said the shared boundary and overlapping constituencies create a rare opportunity to reduce duplication, create easier sign‑up pathways for families and build a continuous “pipeline” of participation from elementary school through high school.

Chad, facilitator for the workshop, said the group opened the day with the theme “unleashing your potential” and spent time identifying barriers to participation and developing a strategic framework. “We started off the day, talking about at least our theme, unleashing your potential,” Chad said.

Participants identified five guiding principles to steer the collaboration: student driven, data informed, one‑city alignment, high‑quality experiences and clear communication that reaches families in multiple languages. Officials said those principles will guide both short‑term pilot activities and a longer‑term plan tied to the district’s Nexus 2030 strategic work.

Officials listed common barriers they intend to address, including transportation, scheduling conflicts, limited coaching capacity, mental and physical health needs, cultural differences and lack of access to some competitive leagues. The group discussed concrete steps to lower those barriers: coordinating sign‑up processes so families can register at school, creating more intramural offerings at elementary schools, hosting a future coaching summit and using city recreation channels to advertise school and city programs.

Mayor Podolsky said the city’s goal is to “set the table” for partners and to align internal and external resources. “We are 1 city, 1 municipality, and 1 school district,” the mayor said, urging an “abundance mindset” focused on children rather than organizational turf.

School district leaders and school principals at the table emphasized the potential benefits of earlier, higher‑quality coaching and stronger transitions between rec programs, middle school and high school teams. Participants noted handoffs midseason—when responsibility for a program moves between entities—often create gaps where students disengage.

Next steps identified by participants include reconvening in March to review progress, program mapping to identify immediate partnership opportunities between Ogden City Recreation and district elementary schools, piloting expanded intramural programs to build early interest and planning a future coaching summit to raise coach recruitment and retention.

Organizers said they will pilot small operational changes first—such as QR codes or school‑based sign‑up collection—to reduce friction for families, then scale successful approaches. The city and district also plan to explore using the rebuilt Marshall White Center and other facilities to host joint programming.

Officials said the workshop was intended to be the start of an ongoing process rather than a one‑time event; they expect to report back on measurable participation changes after the March follow‑up meeting.

The workshop was described as an initial alignment effort; no formal policy or budget vote occurred during the meeting.