A Coach’s Review: Autonomy, Support, and Player Pathways at Colorado Edge
- Feb 5
- 5 min read
When a former Division 1 collegiate athlete chooses a youth club for their own children, it speaks volumes about the quality of that organization. For one Colorado Edge parent and coach, the decision to join wasn't just about soccer logistics; it was about coming home.
In this testimonial, we hear from a coach who has spent the last six years on the sidelines at Colorado Edge. His history, however, goes back much further — to when he played for the club in its previous eras as the Arvada Eagles and Table Mountain Ice, before moving on to play at the University of Massachusetts.
Why return? The answer lies in a "well-established reputation" for integrity and a community-first approach. While many clubs focus solely on the elite tier, this testimonial highlights the value of a club that offers Recreational, Competitive, and Academy pathways, ensuring every child finds their place.
Colorado Edge Testimonial: Coach Dan Brinkman
From the "autonomy with support" coaching model to the deep relationships built off the field, here is why the legacy of Colorado Edge continues to thrive in Arvada.
How long have you been a part of Colorado Edge Soccer Club?
I've had the privilege now of coaching with the Colorado Edge Soccer Club for the past. Six years starting in the fall of 2020. I grew up in the Arvada area playing soccer and with this soccer club when it was formerly known as the Arvada Eagles. In high school, I moved over to a traveling club with the Colorado Ice Soccer Club when it was formerly known as Table Mountain Ice. After high school, I had the privilege of walking on and playing soccer in college with the University of Massachusetts, played 4 years of soccer at UMass and graduated in 2000. And after that, I stepped away from the game for a while and focused on building a career and going back to school. I've now had the privilege of moving back to Arvada and raising my family here and have put both my daughters into the Colorado Edge Soccer Club.
What attracted me to this club was really the legacy that it has here in the Arvada area. It has a well-established reputation for teaching good fundamentals and soccer to kids. I grew up playing in this club and in this area. I know a lot of people who still speak highly of the Colorado Edge program, and it is why I have chosen to continue to have my kids play and why I have continued to coach with Colorado Edge. Really, it's legacy and the people who run this program are passionate about the game of soccer. They love the game of soccer, and they want to teach it to another generation as well.
What has been a favorite experience at Colorado Edge Soccer Club?
My favorite experience over the past 6 years of coaching with Colorado Edge. It's not all the games that we have been able to play, all the winning, all the heartbreak, and the losing. It's really been the relationships that I have been able to form, not only with my own kids and watching them play the game of soccer, but also building relationships with other kids and their families. Growing up playing soccer, I know a lot about my experience. It's not all the travel. It's not all the games that you play, but it's the relationships that you build after a game, you go out to eat, or you hang out at someone's house with the team, and you build relationships with other parents and you hear their story and hear their journey. And that has just been a fundamental part of, I think, youth sports. Yes, playing the game, learning the game is important, but at the end of the day, it's about building character, and it's about building relationships, and it's about what you learn through the game of soccer that can translate over to other areas of your life. So that really has been the best part of coaching. It's not necessarily all the games and the passion that you see your kids play with; that's always, always fun and always great to see. But it's the relationships that you build outside of the soccer field or outside of the game.
How has Colorado Edge Soccer Club impacted you as a coach?
Serving as a coach with Colorado Edge over the past 6 years has really impacted me and reminded me about why we coach and why we love the game of soccer. Yes, winning is fun. It is exhilarating. There's a sense of accomplishment that you have through it. And then on the flip side, losing is difficult. Losing is hard, especially when you lose by a lot or you consistently have a season in which you are losing. But it's reminded me as a coach that no matter if we win, no matter if we lose, and no matter how we lose or no matter how we win, we show up the next week and we practice, and we show up to the next game, and we play because we love the game. We love the game of soccer; we love the game and what it's taught us as individuals, as coaches. And that really is why we show up every week. And so all the winning and all the losing. And all the difficult losing and the ways in which you lose, or in all the ways you win. It's all about the game of soccer, and it's all about the passion and the love that this game provides, and that's why we show up week after week.
What stands out about the club's facilities, scheduling, or communication?
What I really appreciate about Colorado Edge and what stands out as a coach is the way in which the club provides me, as a coach, the autonomy to be able to run my team and to communicate with my team, but also knowing that if I need direction or if I need support from others, that the communication that I have with my director is open. They respond quickly to questions or to issues or circumstances that you may not fully know how to navigate, and they help walk you through that journey. So I really appreciate that. They're there as a support, but they're not always there to tell you what they'll have to do or how you have to do it. There is a level of autonomy that I have as a coach to be able to coach my team and to communicate with my team, but also knowing that I have the support of the club that is there if necessary.
Would you recommend Colorado Edge Soccer Club to a friend or colleague?
I think one of the reasons I would recommend the Colorado Edge Soccer Club to any family or to anyone who's interested in having their child get involved in the game of soccer is the variety of programs that the club offers families. There's recreational, there's competitive, there's academy level of programming. So wherever your kid's at, whatever your level of interest is for your kid to learn the game of soccer, and to maybe even travel across the state or into other states and to play. Their club really has a wide variety of options available for you to really meet you where you're at, and to provide your kid with the ability to play at a specific level. I'd also recommend Colorado Edge because it has a very well-established reputation in this city for teaching the game of soccer and to teach it the right way. All the lessons that you learn and how to play the game, but how you win, how you lose, all that's taught through Colorado Edge Soccer Club.