About

Hello Telluride Soccer Community,

I am delighted to write to you as the new President of the Board of the Telluride Youth Soccer Club. I have been a part of this club for the past three years as a parent and more recently as a board member and am honored to serve in this role. I moved to Telluride full time in 2020 with my wife, Jessica, and our three kids after coming here for the past 20 years. I share a strong passion and love of this beautiful game alongside many of you. The Club, overall, is in great shape and I want to personally thank Justin, Anna-Britt and the many other coaches, parents, board members, team managers and kids that have committed endless hours of their time since the club’s inception.  This is an opportune time to bring in fresh energy and transition the leadership of the club as we prepare for the Fall Season.

We have made changes in our leadership team at the Executive Director/Director of Coaching and Administrative levels. These changes are aimed at building off of a great foundation that has been laid over the last decade to continuously improve the quality of our programs, enhancing the experience of our players and families, and strengthening the financial sustainability of our club.

First, I am pleased to announce that we have hired Andrew Brachle as our new Executive Director.  Andrew has been a member of this community for the past 20 years with almost 15 years of experience in Telluride Youth sports through Telluride Gymnastics and Ninjas with his wife Teresa. Andrew grew up in nearby Glenwood Springs playing soccer for both his local high school as well as the Roaring Fork Valley select club team. Andrew will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the club, managing the staff and budget, developing strategic partnerships, and leading fundraising efforts. Andrew will be representing the Club and attending the League kick off meeting in Grand Junction on August 16th and will be working closely with Justin over the next 30 days from a transitional standpoint as the Fall season commences on August 28th.  Andrew can be reached at director@telluridesoccer.com.

Second, I am happy to formally introduce Ashley Williamson. Ashley is a current TYSC board member and the cultural liaison at our club. She has been a member of the Telluride community for 17 years and lives in Ophir with her husband and 2 daughters.  She is a National Board-Certified teacher who taught English Language Development at the Telluride School District for 15 years where she served as the ELD Department Head and oversaw the Pre-K-11th grade Winter P.E. program for TSD’s ELD students. She is a board member of SPARKy, a local nonprofit that supports young Latinas by sending them to college through the SPARKy Latina Scholarship Fund and she is founding board member of True North Youth Program. Ashley’s role as cultural liaison is key to connecting the club to the Telluride region’s Latino & Latina community. Ashley will be responsible for registration, communication, and other administrative tasks for the club.   Ashley can be reached at soccer@telluridesoccer.com.

Third, I am thrilled to introduce Erica Comte, who’s role within the club will expand from coaching U10 girls to working alongside Andrew in designing and implementing the coaching curriculum, mentoring and evaluating the coaches, and ensuring overall player development as well as supporting Ashley in various administrative functions. Erica played division I soccer at Cal State Fullerton as a defender then went overseas to Germany after college to play professionally with FC Gutersloh in the women’s 2nd Bundesliga. Erica was drafted in the WPS with LA Sol and finished out her career in the WPSL with FRAM Ajax.  Erica holds an E coaching license and has coached with various soccer clubs such as Chelsea SC and Strikers FC, in Southern California with ages ranging from U8 to U18.  Erica can be reached at coach@telluridesoccer.com.

I am confident that these changes will bring positive impacts to our club and help us achieve our mission of providing a fun, safe, and competitive environment for our players to learn and grow through soccer. I hope you will join me in welcoming Andrew, Erica and Ashley to our club family.

If you haven’t registered for the fall season yet, please do so by Tuesday, August 15th.  We will be meeting with CSA on Wednesday to create teams and finalize the league game schedule.  You can register at www.telluridesoccer.com.   

Once teams are created, expect an email from your child’s coach prior to the first day of practice which is Monday, August 28th for U10 and up and Tuesday, August 29th for 1st and 2nd grade players.  Please check the website for practice times. 

As always, thank you for your continued support and dedication to our club. I look forward to seeing you on the field soon.

Sincerely,

Jeff Manno

President of the Board

Telluride Youth Soccer Club