Brian Crookham
General Manager, Rapids 2 / Sr. Director, Soccer Development
Brian Crookham joined the Rapids staff full-time in May of 2007. As General Manager of Colorado Rapids 2 and Sr. Director of Soccer Development, he is responsible for all of the club’s programming related to player development. As the General Manager of the club’s MLS NEXT Pro team, he has direct oversight of the academy and the Rapids adidas Alliance programming. He also serves at the primary contact for the club’s international partnerships.
Under his guidance, the club's youth development system has evolved into a fully-integrated player development structure where players have the ability to enter the club as a young player and pursue their dream of one day playing for the Rapids First Team through the MLS Homegrown Player program.
Crookham began his career with the organization as the Director of Coaching for the Rapids Academy.
During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Crookham also assisted head coaches Gary Smith and Fernando Clavijo with the first team. He has also served as a color analyst for Rapids television broadcasts on Altitude Sports and Entertainment since 2004.
For the three years prior to coming to the Rapids fulltime, Crookham was the Assistant Technical Director for Colorado Youth Soccer. There he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Olympic Development Program and worked in coaching education.
Prior to his stint at Colorado Youth Soccer, Crookham served as the Men’s Soccer Coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Metropolitan State College in Denver. During his nine-year tenure, the soccer team became nationally recognized, going from a team that had never before been ranked to as high as No. 4 in the NCAA Division II top 25.
In 2000, the program made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Crookham coached three All-Americans, 11 All-Midwest Region players and the 2001 RMAC Player-of-the-Year. The program was also recognized nationally with Academic Honor Awards in each of the last three seasons he was there.
In his role as Assistant Athletic Director, he was responsible for managing the student-athlete eligibility, academic progress, and NCAA rules compliance for the school.
A USSF “A” licensed coach, Crookham also served as a USYS Region IV staff coach and an instructor in both state and national coaching education programs for U.S. Soccer.
A native of Jenks, Oklahoma, Crookham started his coaching career in his home state and was inducted into the Oklahoma Soccer Hall of Fame in 2019. He currently resides in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, with his wife Michelle and their three children, Connor, Beth and Sean.