As a paleobotanist, Joe Guennel searched the landscape for traces of fossil plants that could lead to oil deposits.
Through his research, he became an expert on wildflowers and authored two books to help identify those that grace the terrain in rural areas. But he didn’t change the landscape.
Yet, Guennel’s passion for soccer could be responsible for changing more of the landscape in Colorado into “football” fields than any other sport. Soccer fields and playing complexes have sprung up across the state, some with several adjoining fields.
“I see soccer fields everywhere I go,” Guennel said. “I think there are about 100,000 young people playing soccer in the state now.”
Guennel’s place in the growth of soccer in the state is of vast importance. He’s known as the father of soccer in the state because of his determination in getting young people interested in playing the sport.
“Some people call me that,” Guennel said of the title. “I was president of the youth soccer association, and I developed the high school programs. I was able to get a lot of youth teams started.”
What Guennel sees of soccer today is a far cry of what he saw when he arrived in Denver in 1961. Then, soccer fields in Denver were about as common as palm trees.
When he moved west to join a research laboratory for an oil company, Guennel didn’t intend to be busy with soccer. But his ties to the sport going back to his roots in Germany wouldn’t let go. He found enough land to put in a small soccer field near the Wellshire Golf Course and the trek began.
“It was a struggle at first,” Guennel said. “We weren’t allowed to dig holes to set goalposts in the city parks. We designed a portable wooden goal base so we didn’t have to dig holes.”
Guennel had been an improviser from his days in Oelsnitz, Germany, a small town near Dresden.
“I grew up in a soccer environment, but my parents didn’t want me to play the game,” Guennel said. “I would organize teams with some of the neighborhood kids, but I didn’t play in an organized game.”
Guennel moved with his family to Pennsylvania in 1934 when he was 13. He played football, basketball and baseball in high school. His given name was Gottfried, but one of his coaches started calling him Joe and the name stuck.
He finally played in his first real soccer game in 1944 while in the military.
After moving to Colorado, Guennel kept the soccer fires burning for another 16 years. He gave up all of his offices in the soccer programs in 1977. But he didn’t give up his love of the sport. At 89, he’s working on what he calls “his project.”
The ongoing World Cup provides ammunition.
“We have to increase the action,” Guennel said. “Soccer hasn’t caught on in the United States as it should because it’s a boring game. The low-scoring games have to be eliminated.”
Guennel doesn’t just preach. He has what he believes would be solutions.
He believes the offside rule should be eliminated. He believes that all out-of-bounds plays should be started with kicks and eliminate the throw in. He would like to see four game officials. And for soccer to reach great popularity in the U.S., it has to become popular with inner-city youth.
Instead of just watching games, Guennel compiles statistics that chart ineffective play.
“A lot of time, they’re just running around out there,” Guennel reported. “My statistics are part of the improvement plan I want to propose.”
He knows his ideas would cause soccer purists to roll their eyes. But as it did with his first soccer field in Denver, Guennel’s tenacity just might get his proposal published.
