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Big Foot

The Colorado Rush changed the rules of youth soccer -- and stomped the opposition.

A A A Comments By Eric Dexheimer Thursday, Jun 20 2002

Just two weeks ago, two parents of kids on the Denver Soccer Club got into a scuffle, Francis says. One parent had complained about a referee's call; after the second told him to be quiet, the first attacked. The aggressor knows just how competitive soccer can get: When he's not tussling with other parents, he's the coach of George Washington High School's soccer team.

Last year, Francis's club finally fielded a top U-13 boys team. "Several of these kids have been called directly by Rush parents already," he sighs. "And we lost basically another whole team to the Rush this year [last year's U-16, this year's U-17], twelve of sixteen players. They came to me and said, 'This is an important year. What do you have at Denver? The Rush has this...'"

John Johnston

Anthony Camera

Youngsters -- and their parents -- listen to a Rush coach during tryouts recently.

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Now that the CSYSA has abandoned all pretense of recruiting oversight, there's even been talk of paying kids to play youth soccer -- if not a salary, then at least expenses. Some claim that point has already been reached. Dave Schaffer, the Fort Collins coach, says he knows of at least one player who's paid gas money to drive to a Denver-area team's practices. "There are certain players in the state who have never paid a thing to play soccer," adds Francis. Both coaches decline to name names.

For the moment, Rush coaches say they're content to push the boundaries of competitive soccer through their new "gifted and talented" school. The school, which is now scouting for locations, should give the club an edge not just with additional training hours, but also through passive recruiting, Kummer says. "We're certainly not going to train kids from other clubs for free," he points out. The solution: Out-of-club players seeking admission to the school will have to join the Rush.

When the concept of a public soccer school was first floated, the Rush officials hoped to attract eight players. So far, about forty have shown serious interest in the Jeffco program. And that's just the beginning.

"Someday," Kummer says, "we're hoping to start our own private school."