The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“What surprised me most was their grit and determination”
by Than Acuff
After winning the 2A state title last year fueled by a large senior class, the Crested Butte Titans boys’ soccer team has some shoes to fill for the 2026 season, but coach Matt Wilson feels it is more than a “rebuild” season.
“I don’t really like the word rebuild,” says Wilson. “We expect to compete at a very high level every year. We have a younger group this season, and they’re going to have to grow up quickly, but I don’t look at this as rebuilding the program. We’re continuing to build on what we’ve established. It’s a different team, and we’re going to have to figure out what this team’s identity is.”
The Titans have 35 players looking to find their identity and got right to it at midnight August 10 followed by the typical preseason schedule of two practices per day intended to get a squad of mostly underclassmen up to speed.
“We only have three seniors on the varsity squad, but all three are crucial pieces to the puzzle,” says Wilson. “Beyond those guys, we have a very large junior class that we’re expecting to make a significant impact. The reality though, is a lot of these younger players aren’t battle-tested yet. The good news is that they’re motivated, athletic, technical and extremely willing to learn. They may not be completely ready today, but they’re going to have to become ready pretty quickly.”
After the first week of workouts, the Titans and the coaching staff got a small glimpse into what they have to work with as they spent Saturday, August 15 in Montrose with scrimmages against 4A programs Rifle and Montrose as well as 3A school Bayfield. Admittedly, there were a lot of question marks heading into the day and some coming out of the day but there was an overriding facet of the team that Wilson found encouraging.
“I didn’t have huge expectations going into Montrose because the majority of this team didn’t play significant varsity minutes last year and they did okay,” says Wilson. “It certainly wasn’t perfect, but they competed, worked for each other, and that was really encouraging. What surprised me most was their grit and determination. They were willing to compete and fight for one another, and that’s something you can’t just teach overnight.”
Given the Titans have so many new faces stepping into the varsity line up, the coaching staff has been working with a formation they feel fits the personnel best and testing the fitness and ability of their players.
“Training has been very positive overall,” says Wilson. “We still have plenty to work on. Our formational tactics need to improve, we need to spend a lot more time on the ball, and ultimately, the game is going to be the best teacher for these boys. We’re also still figuring out some starting positions and who is going to settle into which role.”
Their first teachable moment comes when they hit the road to face perennial powerhouse Vail Mountain on Saturday, August 22. And while a stout start to what appears to be a tough schedule overall, Wilson points out the first game is far from do or die.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think it matters if we’re ready for Vail Mountain or not, these boys are going to get a trial by fire,” says Wilson. “Vail Mountain is an extremely technical team and playing them away from home is going to be a very tough way to open the season. We’ve only been training for about a week and a half, so we’re still very much in the process of figuring things out. This is a young team playing a quality opponent on the road, and there’s no better way to find out where you are than to play a team like Vail Mountain.”
