Marni Siegal, Nederland.  Peak Soccer, a Teens Inc. Recreational Program, is a co-ed mountain soccer league that is heading into its 19th season. The 2017 season will start the week of August 14th with practices at the Nederland Elementary School fields. Youth aged 5 (or entering kindergarten) to 11 are invited to join. Six games will be played between three mountain leagues: Gilpin County, Clear Creek County (Idaho Springs) and Nederland.

Marni Siegal is the 2017 Peak Soccer coordinator. She is contracted with Teens Inc. to oversee program operations. Marni has already begun getting things in place for the 2017 season. Practice days have been determined, game days have been scheduled and registration is currently open!

Peak Soccer relies heavily on parent volunteers to provide everything from coaching and snacks to field lining, refereeing, concessions and overall coordination. Head coach volunteers receive 50% off the registration fee for the player whose team they will be coaching. Coaches are still needed at the U7, U9 and U12 levels. Please contact Marni (peaksoccer@gmail.com) before registering your player if you are interested in coaching.

Fundraising from concession sales and support from Teens Inc. allows Peak Soccer to offer limited scholarships. Please contact Marni (peaksoccer@gmail.com) to inquire about these first come, first serve scholarships.

Practice days this year are spread out over all five weekdays. U7 players (under 7 years old) will practice with their teams once a week, either Mon, Tues or Thurs. U9 players (under 9 years old) will practice with their teams once a week, either Wed, Thurs or Fri. U12 players (under 12 years old) will practice with their teams twice a week, either Mon/Wed or Tues/Fri with a potential practice on Wed/Thur if a 3rd U12 team is needed. By utilizing all five days of the week for practices, there is greater opportunity for indoor practice (and decreased likelihood of cancelling practices) during inclement weather.

Games for the 2017 season will start on Aug 26 and run through Oct. 7 with Oct. 14 reserved as a makeup day. Nederland will host games the same day as the Ned-Ned race, Teens Inc’s. fundraiser. On that day, Sept. 9, games will happen in the afternoon instead of the morning so that soccer families from all three leagues can participate in the race. Nederland will host games on Sept. 9 and Sept. 23; Idaho Springs will host on Sept. 16 and Oct 7; and Gilpin will host on Aug. 26 and Sept. 30. Care was taken in determining the game schedule to hold games in Gilpin or Nederland during other Nederland events, such as the Ned-Ned Race, Ned Fest and Wild Bear’s Enchanted Forest, so that Peak Soccer families would have the opportunity to enjoy these other community events.

Registration for Peak Soccer is open and will continue through July 31. Late registration will open on August 4 and will incur a $25 late fee. Late registrants will be placed on teams as space allows. To ensure your player a spot on a team and avoid the late fee, be sure to register by July 31! Registration is available on-line at www.peaktopeaksoccer.org or in person at Teens Inc. (151 East Street, Nederland).

If you are interested in coaching or have questions regarding scholarships or anything else, please contact Marni Siegal at peaksoccer@gmail.com or 303-718-1025.

(Originally published in the June 29, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)