The Colorado Springs booster club started off small but soon developed into a growing vocal and loyal positive for fans and the Switchbacks before and during home games.

The Trailheads Supporters Group’s origins date back to the inaugural home game on April 4, 2015 when eventual president Chris Earley plopped a beer keg into a snowbank outside what is now Switchbacks Stadium.

There were about 15 willing to chip in for pregame beer that chilly night but the club, which prides itself on being family friendly, soon grew to 260-plus members. The tailgates that season drew about 30, swelling to 60 this spring with more expected into the summer.

The Trailheads flag flies high above the gathering in the eastern parking lot for the tailgates, which start three hours before each home game. The next home contest is Friday against the Orange County Blues.

“We try to keep things as loose as possible,” Earley said. “We are a group for fans of all ages. We have a lot of people step up and help in whatever way they want.”

One of those areas was in the food offerings. The parties will have themes over the course of the season with food from all nine nations represented on the Switchbacks: England, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, South Korea and the United States.

That project is led by Maylen Gaspar and Sara Sandoval-Scott, who amped up the food offerings at each tailgate, using grills and tables bought through the sale of last year’s Trailheads scarves.

“We wanted the food offerings to be more than hot dogs and we saw how the (five-member) board (of directors) were already busy getting all this together,” Gaspar said, gesturing around the tailgate party with her spatula. “We will still have hot dogs and burgers for those less adventurous.”

That initiative is typical for the group.

“We wanted it to be a loose-knit group and it all turned into a potluck block party,” said board member Annie Coffman, adding that the alcoholic beverages are closely monitored.

Also, the group uses its Facebook page to organize viewing parties of about 30-40 fans somewhere in the city when the Switchbacks are on the road. They also sell $20 cancer awareness scarves – pink for breast cancer and lavender for other cancers – on the group’s website, trailheadssg.com. The group hopes to raise $1,000 by the mid-July Cancer Awareness Night.

The group is also a big help for the Switchbacks once they march into the southeast corner of the stadium.

“They really are the 12th Man,” captain Luke Vercollone said. “They are very good, supportive fans and we appreciate all they do.”