Part 1: Building something from scratch
Begin with the reasons the program was created, the obstacles facing a new team and the decision to hire Betsy Duerksen.
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Trailblazers
Before there was a Montana women’s soccer tradition, someone had to build the first team. Trailblazers tells the story of the 1994 Grizzlies and their first head coach, Betsy Duerksen. Across three episodes, the players and coaches remember starting a program, getting through that first season and seeing its impact extend far beyond the field. It is a special presentation of Soccer in Snow & Smoke.
Three-part documentary · 1994 Griz soccer · Andrew HoughtonPart 2: The season, together
The first Grizzlies recall summer workouts, travel, rough fields and the relationships that carried them through 1994.
Part 3: What stayed with them
The final episode follows the team’s legacy across the soccer program and the players’ lives, three decades after that first season.
The complete three-part story.
Choose a conversation below, then keep exploring the series archive.
How Montana women’s soccer began and Betsy Duerksen became the first head coach.
Trailblazers · Nov 2, 2023 · 24:16
The 1994 season, remembered through workouts, road trips and team life.
Trailblazers · Dec 6, 2023 · 46:37
The final chapter: the first team’s 30-year legacy.
Trailblazers · Feb 14, 2024 · 28:46
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