Dec. 5, 2009

Almost 30 years ago, a group of Manitou Springs High School students including me, Cole McGinnis, Brian Otte, Mark Young and others tried to form a varsity soccer team at the school. We were told by the administration that we needed to find a coach and a faculty sponsor; if we could do that, then the school would be willing to discuss the next step.

We found a coach, and we even organized a scrimmage against a local men’s team, which we lost 1-0 in the fall of 1981 on the varsity football field.

But no one on the school’s faculty would sponsor us. Their commitment was to be minimal; all they had to do was declare that they would be the faculty sponsor. The coach would be in charge of all operations of the team. But nobody on the MSHS faculty would sign the paperwork.

It was a tremendous disappointment for a group of kids who showed leadership and initiative in following their passion: soccer.

In the years since, we’ve seen the popularity of boys and girls high school soccer explode in Colorado. Some of the finest American collegiate players have come from high schools, small and large, in this state. And now it’s come to my attention that a group in Manitou Spring is trying to start a team at the middle-school level.

I graduated from Manitou Springs High School in 1983, and now I live in Greeley. I coached my son and daughter in Greeley-sponsored leagues until they reached junior high. That’s where city leagues stopped in Greeley, and the local school district does not offer soccer until high school, leaving a three-year gap. The only option for kids that age is club soccer, which can be very expensive.

So the choices are pay up or sit out. My daughter sat out; she stopped playing soccer when she reached the sixth grade. My son sat out for those three seasons. He didn’t compete again until he reached Greeley West High School, where he played for the varsity as a freshman.

Finances are costing many kids to sit on the sidelines. Only a very focused child will nurture that desire to play for three years and resume the sport after reaching high school. And three years of sitting idle does not improve a teen or preteen’s skills.

I think offering soccer in middle school or junior high is a no-brainer. The benefits to the student, the school and the school district are obvious. So are the costs. But from what I’m told, a dedicated group of parents has been working on ways to defray many of those costs.

I would like to suggest that Manitou Springs schools do not say no again to children who want to play soccer. Do the right thing here, and help these kids get this program off the ground.

Sincerely,

George Tanner
Editor
ColoradoSoccerNow.com

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