Rapids 2 GM Brian Crookham wins MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year
When Brian Crookham met one of his career s defining moments he stood at the center circle at Dick s Sporting Goods Park hands in his pockets and took it all in It was back in early November after his Colorado Rapids squad of which he is the general manager overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Minnesota United - in the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference final It s a piece of hardware he got agonizingly close to in which made the midfield moment more special as he watched his players celebrate in front of a record crowd Thursday the club revealed he received another piece of hardware the MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year award I am honored to represent the club with this award Crookham disclosed in a declaration The commitment from ownership and our senior leadership to the athlete advancement space paired with our coaching and promotion staff s execution in the competitor advancement process makes this recognition achievable We look forward to continuing to leverage the excellent opportunities that have been provided to us through our participation in MLS NEXT Pro Since the league s inception in the Rapids MLS NEXT Pro affiliate has made it to the conference final twice In it lost to eventual league champion Austin FC II in penalties That season now-breakout Rapids first-team stars like Oliver Larraz and Darren Yapi led the way As one of the longest-tenured members of the club Crookham has managed the squad since and the entire club s advancement from a member perspective Day by day he s tasked with putting players in the best position to succeed individually A band trophy was the cherry on top judging by his long proud gaze on that November night at DSGP A week later Rapids lost at Michael Bradley s New York Red Bulls II in a thriller decided on penalties Crookham s contributions and credentials for the award are felt bulk during the offseason He often spearheads preparation for the MLS SuperDraft which the Rapids take more seriously and invest more in than multiple MLS clubs and preponderance of the players selected end up on Rapids Last year s draft produced two of the better R players in latest memory in Vermont s Sydney Wathuta and Cornell s Alex Harris who proved themselves worthy of a real chance at first-team time next season In the same offseason Sam Bassett was signed as a Homegrown midfielder and contributed greatly Crookham also exposed and signed Mamadou Billo Diop an -year-old diamond in the rough from DME Academy in Florida Diop scored goals fifth in MLS NEXT Pro and added two assists in Related Articles Denver Summit women s soccer stadium plan advances after delays Keeler Broncos fan asking Sean Payton Bo Nix not to give him second heart attack vs lousy Raiders Trump s immigration message is colliding with his welcome to World Cup fans World Cup draw explained Everything you need to know about the big event Empower Field in Denver among US stadiums proposed as sites for Women s World Cup More than just impressive signings Crookham was distinctly impressed with the work ethic from the group as a whole They are literally at the training facility from early in the morning until five o clock at night every day Crookham disclosed It s the preparation for the session the session rewatching the session When they get back in from training you walk in there and it s so focused There s a level of trust with each of them the conditions and the trust that s in that habitat for everybody to bring their own personality and their own stuff to the table When you talk about that moment following the Western Conference final I think it was a culmination of that because at certain stage you transfer that responsibility to the players and the players have to go out and perform When you ve got that right you ve got the whole lifestyle right After a brief period of celebration and reflection it s right back to work for Crookham who is already diving deep into the SuperDraft which takes place Thursday Dec The Rapids don t have as various picks as they did last year but they ll have all of their natural picks and two of the Philadelphia Union s picks this season which they acquired in a deal for General Allocation Money That deal included all of Philadelphia s natural picks for the next three drafts in exchange for a total of in GAM to be distributed in equal portions over those seasons Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams