PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE  Spring 2005  

It is the time of year when I find myself charged with the task of writing the President’s message for the upcoming newsletter and the New Year.  Each and every year for the past eleven, I have taken pen in hand and scribed my observations, thoughts, insights and wishes for the future of the club.

How did we build a club? How did we get to where we are now?  Where will we go from here?  It reminds me of that old question: “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” or from our perspective  “who sets our course, the club or the player?” In our case, I believe that it is the player who must come first.  It was the needs of the player, which dictated the birth of our club and continues to influence its existence.  However, without the club, our players lose their vehicle to play and their voice to influence the game.

Speaking as an old timer and founding member, I have seen many families come through this club, some with as many as three children playing at one time. Some players have gone on to college soccer, some have returned to share their experiences with the youth of the club, and some are still playing within the club.  The parents of these players were (and some are still are) very involved in the club. Hard work, dedication, and sacrifice were the key to our first years as a club. Sacrifice may be the most important link in continuing the growth process.  It was the sacrifices that were made for the players of the club that led to our little club’s successes.

This eleventh year, as the Cortlandt Soccer Club is preparing to enter into adolescence and what I will call its “teenage years,” I feel compelled to write about our growth in terms of: too little, too slow versus too much, too fast. 

Too little, too slow, too much, too fast. 

Too little, too slow:

                        Over the years the Board and I have come under some criticism for not allowing the club to expand at a faster rate.  Many of the new and overly exuberant coaches would exclaim, “Just advertise and we will find coaches!”  However, the quality and dedication of a coach needed to perform at this level is much higher than needed for a recreational program.  Therefore, we have chosen a slow, concise, and organized method of growth with the quality of coaching and training in mind first.  The dedication and the ability of the coach to progressively train has always been the deciding factor.  

Too much, too fast:                      

Growth of the number of teams in the club should never be the primary goal. To allow growth at a rate faster than can be supported by trained coaches is an injustice to the players of the club. We must always strive to provide the highest level of training available to our new players at each stage of their development and must continue to insure that our current players receive appropriate training over the course of their playing careers.

             Last, but not least, the space/field issue directly affects growth and expansion. Without safe, secure, dedicated fields and indoor training facilities, we are limited in the number of teams we can realistically sponsor. 

Our Future: 

The addition of new teams and continuing improvements to training our current teams leads to bigger administrative issues for the club and more commitment from the parent members whose children are trained here.  Our future as a club depends on the involvement of all member parents. Your dedication and everyday skills are needed to support the club and insure its future and progression as one of the premier clubs in the Hudson Valley.  Many hands really do make light work! There are a variety of opportunities for you, the parent, to get involved and help.  We have many committees that are vital to the weekly success of our training and the long-term success of the club’s growth.  

            Space committee:

Last year we had a viable, aggressive space committee that secured space for our teams to train for the winter months without interruption. This year we have no such committee. This winter we also experienced a decline in available training space over last year. We are currently seeking a strong and aggressive chairperson with members from each team and parents from all local school districts to help secure space for the future.

Tournament committee:

            The Chevy Hudson Valley Classic has become one of the best tournaments in the Hudson Valley. This is directly related to the committee members who have given of themselves unselfishly for many years. Some members are entering their fourth year on the committee.  We need parents from each team to come aboard and mentor with the committee heads so we always have a transition of committee members to take over as members retire.  The Classic is our biggest fundraising event and its proceeds will eventually provide us with the down payment for our own fields, as well as support our rental of indoor space.

            Webmaster:

            Our website is an important part of the Club’s presence. It is the most visible tool for the club to convey vital information with regards to tryouts, registration, cancellations and so much more.  In this day and age of computer and internet technology, we need a skilled Webmaster. I am currently managing the site but, if we are to grow, a member of the club who has the skill and expertise to design a user-friendly site and to manage it more effectively should take on this task.

Registrar:

Our registrar committee has an extremely important job. Although its demands are primarily in the spring registration period, it is the registrar who insures that all teams and coaches have the proper documentation to play each week. This spring, we are seeking one or two people to fill the registrar’s position or co-chair the position.

In closing, I would like to thank all of you who have given up your time, willingly and unselfishly, to promote the best interests of all our players. Without your support, none of this today would be possible.  Many thanks to: our devoted coaches, our team administrators, our parents who keep our fields lined and free of debris, our current committee heads who run the tournament, and to all the volunteers who make the tournament happen.  Mostly, thanks to the fellow board members who, along with me, have accumulated 36 years of service and dedication to your children and the future of this club.

What once was a dream and seemed so far away, becomes closer to reality and so much easier to see with each passing year.

                Marty

Back