Bayfield boys soccer head coach Chris Zoltowski has seen the growth of soccer in the Bayfield community since he moved to Bayfield in 2015.
After coaching Bayfield boys soccer to the 3A Southwest League title this past fall, Zoltowski and his wife Rae Jean look to continue the positive vibes in the Bayfield soccer community. They are starting Peak FC, a youth soccer club based out of Bayfield.
Chris Zoltowski said he and his wife have been working on Peak FC for months. They chose the name Peak FC to represent Colorado and the mountains.
“We just felt like soccer is blowing up in this community,” Chris Zoltowski said. “Our middle school had over 60 kids. The girls high school soccer program, they're at least 30 strong. The boys high school program won the league for the first time in history and it's just really blowing up. We're trying to offer more options other than a singular club in this community for the kids.”
There’s already been good chatter about players who want to join, according to Chris Zoltowski. He and Rae Jean Zoltowski want to give kids in the Bayfield, Ignacio and Pagosa Springs areas another opportunity if they can’t make it to Durango.
Peak FC will start at Bayfield schools, where there are soccer goals at every school.
The club’s age level will start at the U-8 level with boys and girls teams. From U-8 to U-10, Peak FC will compete in the Four Corners League in Farmington. After that, U-11 to U-14 will play in the Duke City League in Bernalillo.
“That's the age you really want to sell the sport to the kid,” Chris Zoltowski said. “You really want them to learn to find their love and their passion. Nobody wants to sit in a car for a couple hours just to go to a game. To offer them something competitive, Farmington has a great league there. It offers some competition for them outside of this area. When they begin to fall in love with soccer, it makes it worth that drive to Bernalillo.”
At the high school level, Peak FC will focus only on tournaments to allow its multisport athletes the ability to compete in their other sports.
Both Chris and Rae Jean Zoltowski, a member of the Rio Rapids Durango Soccer Club Board of Directors for two terms, want to develop passion that will lead kids to practice on their own, improving their skill level and will allow Peak FC to have competitive teams in higher level tournaments.
“We're about growing the player on and off the field,” Rae Jean Zoltowski said. “It's not just about a player, it's the whole big picture. We're not here just to develop the next Messi. We're here to develop good human beings.”
Chris Zoltowski was very grateful for the help from the New Mexico Youth Soccer Association in setting up Peak FC and being a resource throughout the process.
Peak FC is planning on having camps throughout the summer and evaluation clinics to see where players are and to put them with players of similar ability.
Chris Zoltowski said he plans on having some former players he coached a long time ago who are passionate about the game help coach some of the teams. Every coach will be properly licensed to coach 9v9 soccer.
Peak FC would ideally have four to five subs on each team so all the kids can get an ample amount of playing time.
The cost to be a part of Peak FC hasn’t been finalized but the cost for the younger age levels in Farmington will be less compared to the older kids playing in Bernalillo, according to Rae Jean Zoltowski.
“We are trying to reduce costs because we do know that it's a burden to these families to have to travel so far for soccer with multiple siblings,” Rae Jean Zoltowski said. “So with that, we want to try to align the schedule as much as possible where brothers and sisters will probably play the same weekend in Albuquerque. Tournaments may not align but for our league play, we want to help those families out as much as possible.”
For registration in the first year, kids will be given a full kit with two jerseys, shorts and socks along with swag to members and to players who attend Peak FC camps this summer.
Chris Zoltowski plans on having kids practice twice a week for 90 minutes per session. His goal is to have players register for the entire season which is both the fall and spring seasons.
For more information, visit Peak FC’s Instagram, Facebook and website.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
