Rockslide soccer team kicks off Strawberry Days as parade Grand Marshals

They’ve played together since toddlers. They compete with the best of them on the Front Range. 

Now, they’re going to kick their cleats aside to become grand marshals for the Glenwood Springs’ 125th Strawberry Days Parade.

Football Club Glenwood Springs Under 11 Rockslide has enjoyed thriving success in the Colorado Soccer Association’s Advanced League, which is why they’re succeeding 2019’s Grand Marshal: Glenwood Springs High School Class of 1955.

Led by head coach Chad Lee and assistant coach John Mount, Rockslide highlights include winning May’s Grand Junction “Border Battle” tournament. They also went undefeated last spring in the Advanced League’s Silver Division.

Next season, the Rockslide moves up to the Advanced League’s Elite Division.

“I’m so proud of them, to come from a small town of 10,000 people to compete with the Front Range,” Lee said Thursday.

The Rockslide, a participating team under newly formed Roaring Fork United soccer club, gets its namesake from the debris flows that surged through Glenwood Canyon in 2021, Lee said.

“Last year, we couldn’t go to Denver to play games because the canyon was closed,” Lee said. “We wanted a name to represent a force to reckon with.”

In addition to the parade, FC Glenwood Springs Under 11 Rockslide players plan to try out later this summer for the Olympic Development Program in Denver, as well as participate in the Barcelona Soccer Camp, Lee said.

The Rockslide also prepares to compete in the Denver International Soccer Tournament. Previous Denver International tourneys have featured teams from across the U.S., Canada, Honduras and India.

“Our coaching philosophy is, No. 1, the kids have to have fun. And, number two, they need to develop as players,” Lee said. “And that’s what kept them coming back over the years, and they work for each other.”

The Rockslide will be in the parade beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. Parade begins at the intersection of Pitkin Avenue and 14th Street and ends near the intersection of 7th and 8th streets.

Saturday’s grand marshals honor is a unique experience Lee wants his team not to take for granted.

“I’d like them to mature not just as players — but people — and understand that people in the community look up to them,” Lee said. “Hopefully, in the future, they can be better role models for everybody.”