RATHDRUM - Lance Bridges' upbringing got him into the swing of things with sports.

Bridges, Rathdrum's parks and recreation director for the past 15 years, is the son of former Brooklyn Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels pro baseball player Rocky Bridges.

"My brothers and myself always had visions of following in his footsteps, but I couldn't hit my weight so I didn't hit my ability," Bridges said.

Rocky Bridges, who as an infielder, died of natural causes at 87 last year.

"I couldn't have asked for a better father," Bridges said. "He was supportive. If we needed assistance, he was there for us. He had a great sense of humor."

Bridges brought his love for sports and recreation to North Idaho, where he was involved in the infancy of the North Idaho Centennial Trail and parks and recreation programs in Post Falls followed by Rathdrum.

Bridges was honored as the grand marshal of the Rathdrum Days Parade this summer.

"It was a surprise and a nice gesture from the community," he said.

Bridges and his wife, Becky, have two sons, Billy and Ben, who are often by his side at events.

"I could not do what I do without their support," he said.

You said one of the most controversial topics of your career was before the beloved Centennial Trail was built through Post Falls. Why was that?

It was such a new idea at the time. I believed strongly that we needed in the community a safe place to walk and ride, but we had challenges. The biggest challenge was running the trail along Ponderosa (Boulevard in Post Falls). We filled up Templin's (Red Lion Hotel) during the public comment period. The biggest hurdle was that I don't think people fully understood what it was at first. The biggest challenge was educating people.

What was your upbringing like as the son of a pro baseball player?

It was stable and we mostly lived in California. My dad would come home in the offseason. He was supportive in any direction we wanted to go. We grew up with baseball being the American pastime.

When did you become Post Falls parks and recreation director and what was the program like?

I started in 1984 and they had some recreation programs started. I thought that I wanted to be a banker earlier in my career, but I wanted to be more active and working outside with the community.

Why did you decide to make the switch to Rathdrum?

I wanted to extend my career with a new experience. My passion has always been to give kids the opportunity to play. It was a good fit for myself and the city. I think it was a good decision to continue my career. This community is fantastic and there is a lot of support. The city has been very supportive of parks and recreation. We were babies compared to Post Falls, Coeur d'Alene and Hayden, but we're catching up.

What was it like when you first started at Rathdrum?

I started the program from the ground up. All I had was a notebook and pen, as that's all the supplies we had. Through this community's well-known community spirit, it started to flourish after that. All we had out here was a few youth organizations such as Little League. A lot of kids from out here would go to Post Falls (for recreational activities).

What changes have there been from when you first started?

Stub Myers was an old landfill and it has been totally revamped now with lights, a playground and a baseball/softball complex. Thayer Park used to be a dumping ground for wash machines and a place kids rode motorcycles, but it's now a nice greenspace and excellent neighborhood park for the community. Since I started, we've added Majestic, Thayer, Cooper and the skate park. I was particularly interested in a splash pad for the kids at Majestic, which also has a dog park. On the recreation side, we've added a daddy and daughter dance, mom and son skating, softball, AAU basketball tournament and youth volleyball. We're still trying to get softball off the ground. We've also brought in the circus, fishing derby and Taste of Rathdrum.

At 60, when do you plan to retire?

As long as I still have a passion, I'll stay. That's important to me. If you start losing passion, it's time. I've been doing this for 35 years, but who knows when the next chapter in life will be? There may be a day when I get up and say enough is enough.