The Colorado Avalanche spent July 10 helping create a day that had nothing to do with wins and losses and everything to do with belonging.
At Kroenke Youth Sports Day at the Young Athletes Summer Camp, the Avalanche joined the Denver Nuggets, Kroenke Sports Charities, and Special Olympics Colorado to welcome nearly 180 young athletes for an afternoon built around movement, confidence, and connection.
Campers moved through five stations and got a taste of basketball, street hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and other sports with help from volunteers and representatives from the organizations. The setup was never about competition. It was about giving kids a chance to try something new in a space where they could feel comfortable doing it.
"The fully inclusive opportunity where they can come and basically just really be introduced to all the different sports that we offer in a non-competitive environment," Special Olympics Colorado's Mandi DeWitt told CBS Colorado. "Being introduced to all the different gross motor skills-walking and running, balancing, jumping, catching, throwing, striking-kind of all of the essentials that every child needs to work on.
That's what everything is about here today. It's not just about learning how to play these new sports.
It's about making some new friends and also having the opportunity to feel like a winner."
That spirit carried through the afternoon. The pressure was gone, the smiles were constant, and each stop gave campers another chance to build confidence while meeting new friends.
For the Avalanche, Nuggets, Kroenke Sports Charities, and Special Olympics Colorado, the day was another reminder that their reach goes well beyond the games they play. And by the time it was over, the kids had more than a few new sports under their belts. They left with confidence, friendships, and the feeling that they belonged.
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Avalanche Took A Cheap Swing On A Name Fans Should Remember
Fabian Lysell is the kind of low-cost swing teams make when they think there may still be something worth unlocking. A former first-round pick, he has spent most of his pro time in the AHL, but the Avalanche see enough upside to bring him into the mix and see whether a change of scenery can help him find traction at the NHL level.
For Colorado, the appeal is obvious: little downside, a player with pedigree, and a chance to sort out his fit in training camp rather than on the fly. Lysell is not under contract with the Avalanche yet, so the next step is less about celebration than evaluation, with a roster spot and a possible fourth-line wing job there for the taking if he can make a case for himself. [Read more 🡒]