On February 17, 2023 Warriors Youth Sports and the Arapahoe Youth League lost a family member.  Mike Lupton passed away unexpectedly.

For thirty years Mike has been an integral and essential part of the Warriors organization and the Arapahoe Youth League.  Mike began his service to the Warriors as a football coach in 1993.  He coached for many years and took his team to several Super Bowls.  During that time Mike assumed the position of Vice President of Warriors Youth Sports and Director of the football program.  He continuously served in those positions until his death.  But Mike did not stop there.  For decades Mike served the Arapahoe Youth League in too many roles and positions to name.  Suffice it to say that if someone needed help with an AYL club issue or the AYL needed help he was there.  Mike was synonymous with the Warriors and the AYL. He was also known around the Denver area as the go to person for anything related to youth sports.  Mike’s institutional memory for everything Warriors and AYL is irreplaceable.

If you did not know Mike’s name, you knew of his presence.  He was on the sideline of most football games, baseball games and the other sports ensuring that everyone and everything ran smoothly.  You just knew that if Mike was there, it was all going to work out well.  That is the way Mike lived his life. You either loved him or you didn’t.  All of us who knew Mike thought he was too ornery to die.

Those who knew him are all hurting.  He was a superhero to us.   We are not in control of our final destiny, and we are never promised tomorrow.  But we should thank God for folks like Mike Lupton.

Mike’s wife, Sheila (who is also a Warrior’s stalwart) and three sons (who all played Warriors sports) survive him.  The family requests that rather than flowers please consider a donation to the Mike Lupton Scholarship Fund for Youth Sports or Freedom Service dogs.  Please use the links below:

Funeral will be Wednesday, March 1 at St. Mark's Catholic Church, Highlands Ranch.  Rosary at 10:30, funeral mass at 11:00, reception to follow in lower level of church. All are welcome.

Mike Lupton Scholarship Fund

Freedom Service Dogs  

The Arapahoe Youth League is the Premier Competitive Youth Sports League in the Denver Metro area. We offer competitive league play for all levels of talent from ages 6 years of age until High School.
 
Click the appropriate sport of interest in the links above for more specific information on that particular sport. We currently offer football, baseball, basketball, softball, lacrosse, and volleyball leagues.
 

If you have questions concerning what teams are in your area, what club to register with, etc, please contact the individual Club that manages that AYL territory in our league. Our territories were recently aligned around high school boundaries, though the AYL is not affiliated with any high school, we try to align with the public school boundaries as much as possible. If you reside or your child attends school  in a Club's boundary (including private schools that reside in that Club's territory) then you should contact that Club directly for registration and roster questions. The AYL is run where each Club is managed as a separate entity & each Club manages a distinct territory in our league.  There are some areas that are shared by multiple Clubs, so please contact the Clubs directly for more details.

The AYL Clubs are as follows:

Parker Youth Sports (Hawks) - This Club manages the territory that is basically in Parker & Elizabeth. If your family lives in areas that would attend the following High Schools (Chaparral, Elizabeth, Ponderosa, Legend, & Lutheran), then you would contact the Hawks. This is our Parker Territory.

Thunder Youth Sports -  This Club manages the metro areas of Littleton, Englewood, & Sheridan. If your family live in the areas that attend the following High Schools (Arapahoe, Heritage, Littleton, Englewood, Sheridan, DPS Lincoln, and DPS Kennedy [shared]), then you'd contact this Club. This is our South West Territory.

Creek Youth Sports - This Club manages the territory of South Central Territory. If your family reside in areas that attend the following high Schools (Cherry Creek, Denver South, Denver East, Thomas Jefferson, Northfield, Overland & George Washington).

The Raptors - This Club manages our Castle Rock area.  If your families reside in the areas that attend the following Douglas County Schools (Douglas County & Castleview), then you would contact the Raptors.

Warriors Youth Sports - This is our Highlands Ranch, Roxbourough, Sterling Ranch, & Lone Tree area Club. If your family reside in the area that would attend the following Douglas County Schools (Highlands Ranch, Mountain Vista, Thunder Ridge, and Rock Canyon & Valor), then you would contact the Warriors.

South Jeffco Sports Association - This Club manages our South Jefferson County area.  If your families reside in the areas that attend the following Jefferson County Schools (Columbine, Chatfield, & Dakota Ridge) or DPS school Kennedy [shared]then you should contact South Jeffco

Spartans Youth Sports -  This is our South Aurora territory. It focuses on mainly the Cherry Creek schools in Aurora (Eaglecrest, Smokey Hill, Cherokee Trail, and Grandview territories & Regis Jesuit). The Spartans also share Overland High School with the South Central

OPEN Territory - This is our territory that manages the Aurora area (Aurora Public Schools) as well as areas North of I-70.  If your families reside in the areas that attend the following schools( Rangeview, Gateway, Vista PEAK Prepatory, Aurora Central, & Hinkley) then you should contact the AYL directly as we are in th eprocess of establishing a new Member Club for this territory.

It is now mandatory that all coaches that coach in the AYL must take the NFHS Concussion Class.  For more info click on Senate Bill 40 click the menu button to the left or to take the certification class now click here.