EverybodyPlays x Real Colorado

“Our country faces an acute challenge of annually increasing costs to participate in youth sports - EverybodyPlays provides a great service to those in our community for combatting this issue.”

This tacit nod to a troubling problem was shared by Danny Bills, Director of Real Colorado’s MLS Next/ECNL program, whose imperative is to cultivate an accessible yet exceptional soccer program. Danny, like many others, believes that the work done by EverybodyPlays can rectify the systemic obstacles inherent in present-day youth sports.

I spoke to Danny on the phone today, and he described the growing financial challenges of maintaining a program that delivers amongst the highest levels of competition in the country. Real Colorado, heralded as the developer of some of the world’s best players, including Mal Pugh (USWNT forward), faces fierce competition from fully-funded programs such as the Colorado Rapids. “To compete, each athlete’s family must front thousands of dollars per season for their kid to participate,” Danny remarked. “Despite this, our teams continue to compete in the MLS Next Cup and ECNL playoffs.”

Real Colorado takes all possible steps to alleviate the financial burden on families, such as removing registration fees to play. However, seasonal costs can climb to as high as $7,500 per year, especially as economic challenges drive travel prices higher.

To ensure that Real’s players remain unbarred from participation, we are extending our partnership with Real Colorado and providing funding to four athletes during the next three seasons - starting with playoffs this summer. Committing funding to two boys and two girls, we will identify the players that embody our organization’s core values while having demonstrated alignment to Real’s mission.

Real Colorado consistently sends players to college and to professional leagues worldwide, and I am proud to give our new EverybodyPlays athletes a shot at the same. 

Together with Real Colorado, we continue to even the playing field - one athlete at a time.

✌️ Joe