by Mark Watson

SPORTS EDITOR

Covering sports has opened my eyes to a smorgasbord of sporting opportunities that are available for young and old, athlete and fan in Tooele County -- many of which have only come into existence in recent years.

High school students can choose from several options depending on their skills and interests. Available are the long-lasting basics of football, basketball, wrestling, tennis, track, softball and baseball. But now there are new sports on the menu for boys and girls.

After stepping up to 3A, Grantsville has been introduced to men's and women's soccer, while swimming and girls golf are possibilities now at both Grantsville and Tooele.

The Buffs also have put together strong water polo teams. I watched a couple of games on Saturday at Pratt Aquatic Center and enjoyed the experience. Water polo looks like a blast to play and it's fun to watch. Goals come fast and furious. It's a mix of soccer, swimming, hockey and dunking other players.

Most of the prep sporting events are only watched by the parents of players -- except football and basketball. But there are other options, and a few are quite tasty. In fact, two of these smaller sports programs are strong traditionally.

Tooele's softball team is solid with its history of state championships, and the team never rebuilds, just reloads' year after year. Pitchers are skilled and throw hard and fielding is usually superb as infielders gobble up those hard-hit balls and outfielders chase down and snag fly balls.

Grantsville usually produces top tennis players and the good thing about this year is that the coach has scheduled matches against some of the best teams in the state regardless of classification. If you want to watch some good tennis, check out the tennis schedule and find out who's playing. Usually the top three singles players on a team are highly skilled, so ask which court features those players.

The international king of sports is soccer, according to our editor and many others worldwide. Like water polo, the action is non-stop. Utah now features a major league soccer team so if Real Salt Lake starts to win, youngsters will become enthralled with the sport. Tooele and Grantsville high schools have hired new soccer coaches and both display a passion for the game.

There are plenty of golfing options in the county with three 18-hole golf courses, and Deseret Peak Complex provides indoor and outdoor archery, swimming, softball leagues, moto-cross courses, bicycle courses, and indoor and outdoor rodeo arenas. The Complex even hosted one of those "ultimate fighting" events last winter.

The Stansbury and Oquirrh Mountain ranges provide miles of forest areas to hunt wildlife, hike, fish and rock climb. Three reservoirs are stocked with plenty of catchables each year.

The greatest sporting story in the history of Tooele County is the opening of Miller Motorsports Park, according to MMP media relations manager John Gardner. He may be onto something, but I must tell you Gardner has motor oil coursing through his veins and is a walking encyclopedia of what is going on in the world of motorsports.

He does have a good point though. If you are a motorsports spectator or want to race yourself, what could be better than having a $100 million motorsports park in your own backyard with major events happening nearly every weekend May through September? There are several programs out there for people who want to learn to race cars.

Perhaps the next best thing for Tooele County would be the construction of an NFL or Major League Baseball stadium. That could be a few years away.

mwatson@tooeletranscript.com