Steamboat Girls Lacrosse is under new leadership for the first time since 2017. 

Pete Dopkin will take over as the organization’s executive director, with Jason Gilligan joining as the board president. 

The organization began in 2009 with help from Betsy Frick, Katie White and Jenn Paoli. It began completely volunteer-based, officially becoming a nonprofit in 2019. Lisa Shimek held the executive director role from 2017 through this fall when Dopkin officially took over. 

Dopkin is a therapist in Steamboat Springs and grew up in Maryland, playing lacrosse through college. He coached his daughter’s team in Steamboat last spring, learning about the organization’s operation from a coaching standpoint.

Dopkin said he and Gilligan have been focused on keeping up with the pace of lacrosse’s growth at the national level. He is excited for the program’s new brand and enhancements. 

“This is an opportunity for us as a program to put a new look on it with a fresh perspective,” he said. 

The organization has rebranded to a red, black and white color scheme, to refresh its connection to the city. Dopkin is also making an effort to collaborate with other youth programs in town to test the best ways to improve the product. He plans to enhance the relationship with the boys lacrosse program, making it easier for all local lacrosse families. 

Steamboat Girls Lacrosse is a 501(c)3 and is made up of only part-time support and volunteers. According to Dopkin, the organization is focused on providing families a low-cost sports option. 

Early registration for girls lacrosse opened last week and can be found under the “Register” tab at SteamboatGirlsLacrosse.LeagueApps.com.

“We are an open program for kids to grow, explore, learn, challenge themselves and have fun,” Dopkin said. “We are a competitive team because we are sports and athletics, but there is a level of allowing kids to find themselves in the sport on their team without some of that pressure.”