The Farm FC: Pushing Youth Development Forward in Colorado Soccer

Denver, Colo. – As today’s youth soccer scene increasingly gets more pressurized and results driven, The Farm FC is taking a different approach to development. Led by CEO Jeb Brovsky, The Farm FC is putting emphasis on connection, individual growth, and placing the individual at the center of the development process. 

Brovsky has been around Colorado Soccer since his youth, growing up in Lakewood. Once finishing his playing career after collegiate and professional soccer with Vancouver Whitecaps, Montreal Impact, New York City FC, and Minnesota United, Brovsky remained in touch with people he described as mentors. 

“I’ve met a lot of amazing people in the soccer world,” Brovsky said. “One of those was Andrew Kummer, who was a coach at the Colorado Rush. I stayed in touch with him, guys like Dave Dengerick and Erik Bushey, who became mentors. I came back to Colorado and started coaching and directing at the Rapids. I got a really big insight into the operations of club soccer and the youth game.” 

Throughout his time in youth soccer, he started to notice not much attention was being placed on the individual. 

“At the center of everything that I was doing, I wanted to put all the attention on the individual, the human being. In a lot of club systems, sometimes it can feel like a cog in the machine, and you can feel like just a number.”

Brovsky said how youth soccer clubs are not placing emphasis on what truly mattered for development. And development of a human being who happens to play soccer rather than just an athlete. There wasn’t a lot of time being put into what made players great, which was access to confidence, creativity, and their individuality. 

The Farm FC started off this core idea and it’s only grown since its inception. 

“In my career I was known as the joker, or the guy that kind of kept things light in the locker room. I always felt like a rebel or a misfit in some of those locker rooms,” Brovsky said.

“I always felt sort of like a misfit. The Farm started as an acronym for all the rebels and misfits.

I really started to see that this game and development should be cultivated. We should grow human beings as much as we are growing players.”

The game has changed today at the youth level. Players have more comparisons, more data, more evaluations and the game can steer away from its art. So much noise exists in the environment about pathways and elite development. 

Brovsky described how The Farm FC is tackling today’s youth landscape, and how he loves taking on the challenge of cultivating and developing kids that all have a different pathway, set of skills, and environment.

“There’s a lot of stress, the access to resources, social media has changed the game so much,” Brovsky said. “My main focus is working with players from professionals all the way to youth players on individual mindset training. I really want players to dial into their bodies, connect with breath work and where they feel pressure in their body.”

Brovsky has taken the framework from his professional career and has made it accessible for young players. In the development world, he believes these important things are skipped over. The Farm FC focuses on removing blockages and discovering confidence in players, putting players back into control. 

There is a lot of good work happening in Colorado around development. 

The Farm FC is not a club or in competition with anyone and adds important work in the seams of development. 

“Our focus is on the relationship-based, individual humanity of the game. We really want to connect good ideas around the soccer world. A lot of good work is being done, but they are operating in silos,” Brovsky said. 

Focusing on educating coaches and parents on the emotional intelligence side of the game is an important goal for Brovsky. 

“I think the more parents know and the more they are brought into the environment, you have teammates. If this coach gives me clarity, a parent will sit on the sideline and just enjoy the game,” Brovsky added.

Focusing on organic growth, Brovsky wants to build relationships and focus on person-to-person. When starting, The Farm pivoted off building a one of a kind facility, and instead focused on highlighting the places people play in Colorado. 

Several indoor facilities in Colorado Springs are used for training sessions, and Brovsky coaches high school soccer at Kent Denver, utilizing their facilities when possible. 

As the Farm FC prepares to continue developing youth players around Colorado, the future is exciting for Colorado Soccer. 

“Women coming back and being a part of the first pro experience is super exciting. I certainly want to use the Farm and my home experience growing up in Colorado,” Brovsky said. “Colorado has such a rich soccer history of great players, great coaches, but also the excitement of the Summit coming in will be electric.”

The Farm FC continues to push forward, changing the developmental environment throughout the state. Brovsky sees the Farm as the organization that puts oxygen back into the system, dousing fear and building confidence. 

“I know whatever we do next will be human first and it will be fun.”

Learn more about The Farm FC here.

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