DENVER — As Denver Summit FC embarks on its maiden voyage, there's reason to believe this team could be very good right away.
On paper, Curt Johnson has brought in talent all over the pitch as the team's general manager.
The man steering the ship as head coach also boasts a championship resume that helped reel in Denver's biggest fish.
“I think what really pushed [me to sign with Denver Summit FC] was when they hired [Nick Cushing as head coach],” Colorado native and USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps said.
Cushing was the final piece to the puzzle that brought Heaps home to Colorado.
“They are really investing and they want this to be a top club," Heaps said about the club's hiring of Cushing. "They’re going about this the right way and in the right process, and this is someone I want to play for that I haven’t gotten to play for. That’s really exciting for me as well.”
That sort of buy-in from one of the world's best players bodes well for Cushing's ability to establish a championship culture with his new team.
“I take that responsibility as a real important part of my job," Cushing said. "I can’t wait to work with Lindsey. We’ve got an incredible group and Lindsey will add to that, her mentality is only going to be a huge asset for this team.”
Janine Sonis, a fellow Colorado native, enters her second stint playing for coach Cushing, and she's thrilled to re-join her old boss.
“I can’t think of a better leader to lead us into our first year," Sonis said, who played for Cushing at Manchester City.
The duo of Sonis and Cushing won the FA Women's League Cup twice with the blues. With Cushing at the helm here in Denver, Sonis said the team will have one thing on their mind.
“He’s a winning coach," Sonis said. "He’s obsessed with winning and he wants to bring championships to Colorado. He put a team together that shares that vision.”
Cushing also coached New York City FC in Major League Soccer. In his nine years as a head coach he's won more than 170 games, but he's never led an expansion franchise.
“I like a challenge," Cushing said. "It’s going to be a challenge, there’s going to be ups and downs in expansion, but having the right people around me and having an open mind to embrace chaos is something that I’m really excited for.”
“The fact that you feel like you trust your coach before you even step on the field is something that’s really important," Summit defender Carson Pickett said. "He’s a winner, he wants to win and we don’t want to wait. Who cares if we’re [an expansion team], we want to get championships right away. He’s definitely instilling that mindset.”
15,000 fans have already put in down payments on season tickets for the Summit's inaugural season. That commitment blew Cushing away.
“This is incredible," Cushing said. "This is something that I’m super inspired about. I’m so lucky to have that behind our team so I will make sure that we provide a team that can inspire and entertain our fans.”
Training camp is underway in Santa Barbara, California, which means Cushing is establishing the scheme and tactics he'd like to employ with the Summit. When asked what that may look like when they take the pitch in their first match, Cushing said his football philosophy can be summed up with one word: attack.
“We’re going to be an attacking team," Cushing said. "We’re going to attack everybody, we’re going to have fear for nobody. Of course, it’s going to take time to develop our team and blend our environment and our culture and develop our style, but I’ll be really clear from day one we’re going to attack.”
The National Women's Soccer League added eight expansion teams between 2013 and 2025.
Two of those teams won championships (Orlando and North Carolina), but neither of them won in their expansion season.
Perhaps this group from Denver will be the one to reach that summit.