Littleton, CO—The Littleton soccer team was born when the Colorado Rockies relocated to the Colorado Springs suburb of Aurora, and they’re the only club in the Colorado Rapids Development League.
In the first week of their season, the Littleton Red Stars defeated the Lakewood Stars 4-1 in a shootout in front of an estimated 70,000 fans at a sold-out Pepsi Center in Littleton.
“I’m so proud of them,” Littleton native Chris Kolling, who is also the club’s director of operations, told New York magazine.
“It’s a testament to the people who have put in so much time to get here, but it’s also a testament of the people that love soccer.”
Kollings family is not only from Colorado, he said, but he also grew up in Lakewood, and he grew up playing for the Lakeland Pride, a club in Lake County, Florida.
When the Colorado Lions signed Kollins brother, David, in 2013, the club chose Littleton as its hometown.
“When we had the opportunity to play here, I just knew it was the right thing to do,” Kollingers father, David Kollinger, told the magazine.
And in just the first month of the Littletons existence, Littleton has already won its first four league matches.
“That was a lot of fun for me and my family,” Koss said of the moment they signed their new owner.
“This is just another great opportunity to see what our family can do.”
Littleton’s biggest challenge so far has been figuring out how to get players on the field together.
In addition to Kollers first season, Littletons first full season is scheduled to start in December.
The club also announced it will add a full-time player development coach to the staff, and Koss told New Yorkers that the club is working to get more players on staff and into the club by next year.
“The way we work is, we take the best players we can, and we try to make sure they have the best training,” Kolls said.
“We have a lot going on in the youth academies right now that we’re looking to improve on.
It’s just a matter of trying to get everybody up to speed.”
Little is the second expansion team in the US, after the Chicago Fire.
In a bit of a surprise, Little and the Lake County Chargers are the only teams in the league that have not yet started their own league, although they’re considering doing so.
Littleton FC also has a home game against the Lake City Stars this coming Sunday at the Pepsi Center.
