Boots have yet to meet ball for Denver Summit FC, but it's never too early for a little good old-fashioned team bonding.
"I think when you win championships in this league, it's mostly because of the culture and not just about who's the best team," says Summit defender Carson Pickett.
Ahead of their inaugural training camp, Summit players met up for the first time to make custom cowboy hats.
Perhaps a small gesture, carving out a few hours to get acquainted, goes a long way to establishing that championship culture.
"It's such a positive feeling, and it's so exciting to finally be here all in one room," says Colorado native and Summit defender Janine Sonis. "This is a blank canvas; we get to make it what we want to make it. They've put together such a great group of players and an incredible staff. I don't think we could be set up any better."
"We've recruited good players," says Summit head coach Nick Cushing. "But [more importantly] we've recruited good people. We had a strategic aim to have ambition in the team, to have people who have won, to have energy, and you can feel that now."
That ambition piece is easy to see - this group doesn't even have an official uniform, but they're bold about their team goals for the season.
"We want to bring Denver fans championships, we want to be a winning franchise," says Sonis. "We have ambitions to win in our first year, which is quite unheard of. I want fans to be really proud of the product that we have on the field, but even more proud of the human beings that we are off [the field]."
The team will spend time out in Santa Barbara to begin training camp before returning to Denver in early February. Game number one for Denver Summit FC is on March 14th.
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