Longmont now has an all-girls basketball program, LoCo Girls Basketball League, for youths in third through fifth grades. Play starts Sept. 11.
The newly launched nonprofit aims at teaching young girls the fundamentals of basketball in a positive and empowering environment that it hopes will foster better attitude toward girls and women in sports.
“Our biggest idea for this nonprofit basketball league for girls was to simply get girls, moms, families and the community out on the court to learn together and play together,” said LoCo Girls Basketball League Director Chris Copeland. “For us, that’s empowering the league to be by girls and for girls.”
Copeland is the only male in the nonprofit, and he works as an aid to the women volunteers to offer his expertise, guidance and knowledge when it comes to basketball. He hopes the nonprofit will grow to a point where it will need to hire staff members and focus on bigger picture organization.
Prior to starting the girls basketball nonprofit, Copeland coached elementary sports, where he identified the lack of opportunities for young female athletes to participate in league sports in, near and around Longmont. Copeland, who has a daughter in the league, said it’s a fundamental need for young girls to see women coaching and who can empower their ambition on a different level than a male coach can.
“Dads love sports, they love coaching — but sometimes we forget that moms love it too and young athletic girls, they need role models in positions like coaching to keep them motivated later in their sports careers,” Copeland said. “Mom coaches are very profound for young girls, and we underestimate their value in the coaching arena.”
Moms wishing to coach, learn how to coach or coach on an alternating schedule are encouraged to reach out to LoCo Girls Basketball League through its website at, locogirlsbasketball.com. Copeland said the goal is to incrementally move up the league as the girls age through middle school and into high school.
“A few other parents at Central Elementary in Longmont and I sort of kicked around this idea during the winter 2020 basketball season — but, like many ambitions of other community members, we put it on hold due to the pandemic,” Copeland explained. “Once we started seeing more favorable COVID-19 data, we decided that it was time and so far it’s been very well received by the community.”
LoCo Girls Basketball League isn’t currently adding any more athletes to its fall roster. However, Copeland said, girls from around Boulder, Weld, Jefferson and Broomfield counties are welcomed and encouraged to join the league for its winter season, which is expected to kick off in mid-January.
“Right now, we are working out the kinks — from things like practicing to confidence and skills building and logistics to be able to play against other leagues,” Copeland said. “So it’s an all-hands on deck so we can really create something meaningful for our girls and moms to enjoy for many years to come.”
However, when asked what makes LoCo Girls Basketball League different from others, Copeland said, “it’s the opportunity to empower women in athletics on all levels, from our players to our coaches and our staff volunteers — that’s the the most meaningful difference because we believe each woman, each girl, is vital to the longevity of girls in competitive sports.”
As for what message Copeland want to give Longmont residents, future athletes and mom coaches, he said, “Take this opportunity kind of like you would take the bull by the horns — it’s ambitious for sure, but we are here to help empower young women and moms in competitive sports to make lasting memories and build on foundations that only participation in sports can do.”
For now, the plan with LoCo Girls Basketball League is to be able to offer it in every season and be able to offer camps for girls and moms in the summer seasons.
