Introducing: Hearts In The Game

Denver — The Colorado Spartans and team owner, Tony Thompson, are thrilled to announce the launch of Hearts In The Game (HITG), a non-profit organization that will directly benefit youth sports initiatives. 

Mission Statement:

We empower Colorado's youth through sports by providing essential resources—from equipment to safe year-round play spaces—fostering mental health and developing future leaders who strengthen our communities. 

In 2025, HITG’s primary focus will be to make youth football more accessible in the Denver Metro area. To achieve this, the organization will provide funding for equipment such as helmets, shoulder pads, and jerseys, as well as subsidizing other team-related expenses for children in eighth grade and below. Both private sports leagues and public school programs will benefit from these resources.

"That's our demographic. Those are our fans," Thompson said. "It's anywhere between $750 to $1,000 per kid to play youth football (in Denver). With my brother and I being in the same grade growing up, my mom wouldn't have been able to afford that."

For many families, this financial barrier forces difficult decisions.

"They (parents) get their kids involved in these sports because they want to see their kids happy," said Thompson. "But it shouldn't be a life decision to think, 'dang, should I let my kid play football, or should I pay rent this month.' We will help offset those costs.”

The Value of Youth Sports

Thompson has seen firsthand how valuable youth sports are to the development of young men and women. Seeing kids unable to take advantage of those invaluable developmental opportunities is one of the primary driving factors in his decision to create HITG 

"I asked the coaches, 'What do you do if the kids can't afford it?' They told me that they can't play. That's a crazy thing for me," exclaimed Thompson. "There's a ton of athletes that I know that come from a whole lot of nothing, and they've made it to the NFL or played college football. More importantly, I think sports make people more productive in life… I think it plays a vital role for many people. It creates leaders in the community and understanding how to overcome obstacles in life."

Thompson hasn’t just seen it. He knows from personal experience. He attributes much of his present-day success to his formative years playing sports in South Dakota. 

"I grew up on a reservation, and if it weren't for youth sports, I wouldn't be where I am today. It changed my life playing youth sports. If that was taken away from me, or my mom couldn't afford it because we got priced out of it, I don't know what I'd be today," Thompson said. "That's why I'm passionate about it because I want people to understand that it can change the output of a person's life.” 

Building a Community Through HITG

The non-profit will be an entry point for the Spartans players, staff and fans to be directly involved in the Denver community. Players and coaches will host youth football camps, mentor young athletes and give their time to help mold the next generation on and off the field. 

"A lot of times, it's education through coaching that changes a kids' perspectives," said Thompson. "It clicks for a lot of players whenever there's another athlete teaching you.

The name Hearts In The Game is special to Thompson. It refers to the fact that most young kids play youth sports for no other reason than their love for the game. In today's social media day and age, and with NIL forever altering the collegiate sports landscape, that pure love often changes or dilutes as athletes age. Thompson wants to capture and foster that spirit.

"At that age, nothing else matters besides that sport and so really, your heart's just in the game. Those kids play because they love the sport," Thompson said.

Future Goals

Though Hearts In The Game will initially focus on supporting youth football equipment initiatives in 2025, this is just the first step towards the long-term goal of contributing to many additional sports and opening a multi-use indoor practice facility that can be a haven for kids and teams across the city.

"A realistic three-year plan would be to create some sort of indoor facility," Thompson exclaimed. "We want to try to provide some sort of safe place that's indoors, where kids can practice year-round, and that's going to come through donations."

Get Involved

Are you interested in making a difference? Please check out the website and learn more about the positive impact Hearts In The Game is making on Denver kids' lives. Your involvement can make a significant difference and empower you to be part of the solution. https://www.heartsinthegame.com/

50% of all earnings from Spartans partnerships after 12/01/24 will go directly to HITG. Learn more about our partnership opportunities: https://www.co-spartans.com/become-a-sponsor