Futbol vs Football a hit with Rapids and Broncos fans alike

By Brian Jennings  

     

Tuesday night was the Colorado Rapids turn to host hundreds of youth players from around the Denver area as they joined with the Denver Broncos for a kid’s clinic on the field at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.  

Rapids players Michael Azira, Shkelzen Gashi, and Bobby Burling ran the aspiring pros through futbol drills on one end while Broncos players Riley Dixon, Brandon McManus and Casey Kreiter showed them how the pigskin is played.  Many of the kids visited from the local Commerce City Rec program and afterwards all received Rapids and Broncos goodies and a chance to meet and get autographs from the professionals.  

All three Rapids players were visibly enjoying themselves as their trainees didn’t always understand what was in front of them but they sure looked to be enjoying their time on the pitch.  “Today was about dribbling and juggling so that’s all they did for me,” explained Coach-midfielder Azira. “They need to hear positive things and encourage them-keep telling them to have fun.  They were having fun, laughing, goofing off so that’s what it’s all about.  Communication is important to the kids.”

Azira admits he didn’t have a chance like these kids to get on the field for individual instruction and guidance from the pros, but rather he took the old fashioned route-just playing for fun.  “We were just playing, man, no rules.  There could be four goals but the team that scores the last one is the winner.  We just go out there with no rules or anything-just have fun.”

Meanwhile, Burling was getting his words of wisdom in on ball control and moving through traffic.  Gashi, on the other hand, is a goalscorer by trade so it was only right that his area of emphasis was on the finer points of the pee wees shooting and occasionally scoring on net.  “My station was to take shots, have a lot of fun, and it was funny when they always have a smile when they get a goal.  It was beautiful,” said the affable Gashi.

The Albanian international admits he was able to emulate the pros when he was young, going to clinics and watching his idols, sometimes keeping his mother waiting as he took in as much of the game as he could.  “We had camps because when you love sports and you’re a kid you love soccer and it’s beautiful.”

“I remember my time when I was young I stayed and watched the first team training, when they finished I was the last guy giving them a hand to every player.  For my mother it was not easy, she’d always stay with me and say, ‘come on let’s go home’ and I say no I want to stay with the players.”

At the end of the night, even though the predominant color on the kids’ jerseys and those of their parents in the stands was Broncos orange, both organizations could be proud of the “work” on the night knowing they might have started the next Shkelzen Gashi or homegrown player on their way. 

“It was a great evening with the Broncos players. It was very fun to get the kids to work because they are the future of the Denver city.  The kids just want to have fun and I love that.”