More Than Sports: DPRD Offers New Programs

Thursday, February 20th, 2025

Dalton's Parks and Recreation Department does a great job with youth sports programming, but it also has a lot more to offer. Several new programs like a free yoga class and a chess club for kids have already been launched this winter, and department staff are working on other new programs that will be launched soon. 

"We have over a thousand kids who are signed up for drafted soccer this spring which is awesome, and all of our athletic programming is doing well. But we're pushing to try to create other types of programming that isn't just bat and ball. Not everybody's into athletics, and that's fine," said Steve Roberts, who returned to Dalton last fall as the DPRD's director. "We just want to reach out and touch as many lives as we can with what we offer. We've been so focused like most recreation departments are on youth programs, which is important, don't get me wrong. But I think we have an opportunity to keep going and offer things throughout people's lives and different time periods in people's lives. That's what we're trying to do." 

The new yoga class is offered at the Mack Gaston Community Center on Monday nights at 6:00 pm. The class is offered free of charge and is open to all ages. 

"Speaking from experience, stretching can really save your body," Roberts said. "I think having stretching classes and the yoga, those are the kinds of things that keep your mobility... we're trying to set those things up to give an opportunity for our community to have a better quality of life." 

The new chess club launched earlier this month. The club meets at the Mack Gaston Community Center on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 pm until 5:00 pm. For now, participation is capped at 20 kids to allow the teacher time to instruct each of the participants. The club is full, but DPRD staff have a waiting list for new players. 

"The program teaches critical thinking skills through teaching the game of chess," said DPRD assistant director Will Chappell. "They're learning all of the pieces and the different strategies of chess. They'll have little competitions where they can play other kids their age once they start learning more."

There are more programs in the works. One program for toddlers and their parents called "Little Rec Rascals" was announced just this week. The program is designed for kids up to four years old and their parents. It's a chance for the little ones to get out of the house and interact with other kids their age and develop social skills before they head off to daycare or school. The program will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am until 10:30 am at the Mack Gaston Community Center. 

"We'll offer one of our gyms for the morning and we'll roll out different kinds of toys and games," Roberts said. "It's a place for those kids to be able to come and have interactions with other kids before they get into the school setting and it's a place for those mothers to come and bring the kids knowing that the weather's always controlled and they can have fun."

Roberts and his staff are also working to develop more programming for Dalton's special needs population. The department already offers therapeutic recreation programs and has partnered with the Special Olympics and local school systems to offer programs and special events like the annual Special Spruces Christmas party. 

"We are looking to expand our special needs program and offer more during the day," Roberts said. "We're trying to set up some yoga and some zoomba for them and working with Cross Plains Community Partner to have transportation there during the day." 

DPRD staff have also worked this winter with home school families in the Dalton area to explore the possibility of offering programs to enrich their curriculum. The department could offer weekly physical education classes for students. Haig Mill Lake Park also has trails that are ideal for taking a science class outside to explore nature. 

"You know, we put out a request online and asked for feedback on what people would like to see us offer, and people reached out about the home school programming," Roberts said. "With the P.E. kind of classes, those could be scheduled once every week or wherever we go with that. But they're looking for some one-off stuff, too, where they'll come out and walk the Haig Mill Trail, we'll get someone to point out the different trees, or show where certain types of fish will be in the inlets." 

"Catoosa County does a big program that’s for home schools and some other departments do as well. That's where we got the idea that there's probably a group that needs some sort of programming during the day when (our facilities) are primarily empty," Chappell added. 

The Mack Gaston Community Center's game room is also available after school hours for kids. The room boasts four X-Box consoles that can be played individually or networked together for competition. There are even TV monitors so those who aren't playing can watch the action. Use of the game room is free, and kids can sign up for a membership with parental permission. 

"Especially when we have basketball and volleyball season, the gyms get shut down for league play quite regularly," Chappell said. "So we wanted to have  something (like the game room) where at least the teenagers aren't being forced out and have to go somewhere else (when the gyms aren't open)." 

There's more to come. Adult softball leagues will soon be gearing up at Heritage Point Park when the synthetic turf installation is completed. In March, the DPRD plans to re-start the "Storytime in the Park" program in partnership with the Dalton-Whitfield Public Library. And once the John Davis Recreation Center on Civic Drive re-opens later this year, the DPRD will have even more space to offer new programs. As far as what some of those new programs could be, Roberts and his staff have ideas but they also want to hear from residents who have ideas of their own. 

"One of the things I'd love to do is find a dance instructor. When I was in Cartersville (with their Parks and Recreation Department), we had ballroom dancing and it was a packed house every night," Roberts said. "We're still looking for ideas, we want to make sure people know we want feedback and ideas, especially if anyone knows anybody who is stilling to instruct some of this stuff." 

If you've got an idea for a program the DPRD could offer, contact Will Chappell by email or send a message to the DPRD's Facebook page. You can also follow the facebook.com/mydprd for announcements of upcoming programs and events - and there will definitely be a lot of announcements soon.