While the Golden baseball season is (typically) limited to March, April and May, the competition is always on for players looking to earn a college scholarship.

Unfortunately, that reality is one that can leave Golden players at a disadvantage when it comes to competing against players from warmer climates.

“I always tell my guys `you’re not competing for a scholarship with some kind in Lakewood,’” said head coach Jackie McBroom. “You’re competing with some kid in Austin, Texas that has the ability to go outside all the time.’”

But while Golden’s players will never have that ability, they will soon have what McBroom describes as the next best thing: a 110-feet-long by 28-feet-wide building where they can practice hitting, throwing and other skills year around.

McBroom said the facility will have two cages where players can practice batting but that you could “probably have up to six guys doing something in there depending on what they are doing.”

Such a facility is something that McBroom has long thought necessary for Golden High—and any other school that wants to maximize its players chances for success both on the high school diamond and beyond.

Now, the project is on track to hopefully be finished by the end of the school year and definitely by next winter when it will be needed by players, he said.

“It’s been in the works for about a year but we are hoping now to break ground by February or March,” said McBroom. “It’s been a lot of talk, a lot of paperwork, a lot of emails but now it’s actually starting to happen.”

To make the indoor facility a reality, McBroom and the team’s booster club first had to set about raising the roughly $110,000 it will cost to construct it and get it up and running with equipment.

To do so, they solicited donations from player’s families, local businesses and other community supporters while also launching a campaign to sell personalizable bricks that will be installed outside the team’s field at the school.

McBroom said they have raised enough money to construct the building thanks to an outpouring of support from the community. However, they are still collecting donations to cover the cost of netting and other equipment.

“We’ve been lucky to have had a couple of local businesses that have either donated more money than most or they have really volunteered their expertise with drawings or donating materials and things like that, which has been big for us.”

Golden High will be the second school in Jefferson County to have such a facility behind Dakota Ridge, which will have an identical one. However, several other schools in other districts around the state also have such a facility.

“There’s a big competition for getting and keeping players not only between the high schools but also with the private clubs,” said Rob Owens, the fundraising chair for the project. “So, having this kind of facility is really an important step to getting players interested in Golden High School and getting a good competitive program for the players.”

But McBroom said the facility’s usage won’t be limited to high school players as he plans to also use it to host “a small camp or something like that” for youth players.

Those youth players, in turn, could someday become the Demons’ future stars.

“Jackie is building a great program and this will help him keep going,” said Owens.