Lompoc Soccer - the next step
Hey guys -- This is an experiment. Actually, it's more like the early stages in a new chapter for lompoc soccer. So please bear with me as I figure out how to make this this function in a way that will serve us best. The intention is to have a web presence to serve as a hub for our club's soccer matters. This will be a much cleaner, more efficient, and probably more fun way of communicating, while diverting the email chatter that has probably bogged down even W's administration's monitoring capabilities at times. This is a club site, not one individual's, and my goal is to get it functioning that way.
There is much more information to share today, though. I wanted to wait until after the holidays and a new year is upon us to start talking about new soccer developments....
If there is one thing that I feel strongly about in regards to this thing we've been building, it's 'staying power.' Our generation is the first in the US to grow up playing soccer, and here we are as adults still playing and some of us already dressing our kids in the gear from our favorite clubs. We have an opportunity to not just continue playing soccer, but to create a club that is more than the sum of its' parts. It's a simple formula: soccerheads + soccer + beer/food = camraderie and fun. If done right, this could even be a club that lasts for longer than our playing careers.
There are a number of things that point to this being the right time to create a third team under the lompoc soccer umbrella:
1. Jerry opening two new bars (one in N. Portland and the other in Sellwood opening soon, if not already);
2. Having another team sponsored by the lompoc that we have a good relationship with;
3. The number of players we have had contact with and the many more we could recruit;
4. The fact that Over 30 Division 1 will only get more competitive;
5. The World Cup being just around the corner (see below).
Jerry is on board with making at least one of his bars a World Cup party place. He has been supportive at every turn and as long as we continue to patronize his bars and help market them (and I have loads of ideas on this, especially with the WC coming soon), I am sure he'll continue to be a good partner for us in this new chapter.
A lot of guys are probably wondering what exactly this means for them. Before we get to asking those questions, though, I would like to ask everyone to think about what you get out of your soccer experience with this team. Is it the competition and winning? Exercise? Camraderie? Having a few teams will mean that there's a place for everyone to get their fix, while still being united under a bigger umbrella. I don't think anyone would argue that at times the divergent views of what our team should be falls into two camps. With everyone having different concerns and priorities resulting from their family, work, and personal choices and desires, that's certainly to be expected. But what if we could have the best of both worlds? A team more 'recreational' in nature and one more 'competitive' in nature, with Rob and Carey's team in the mix as well? If people are supportive and open to evolving what we've built thus far, I think we'll all look back in a year or two and see that we've built a soccer club that we all enjoy and take pride in.
I invite everyone to mull this over and when you have something to share, please do so. Surely you can tell my passion for this -- I've thought a lot about it and give my promise that if this plan is put into action, it won't be half-assed. Some details have yet to be worked out but I am aware of the challenges and I am ready to go the distance to see that this is done properly. Maybe everyone will tell me to shove it and it gets scrapped; maybe everyone supports it but it dies an early death, but it won't be for lack of effort. At any rate, like I said in an email last week, our group of guys is the best and it's because I feel so strongly about that that I see an opportunity to build something great on our shoulders....
Happy New Year fellas ~
Kevin
There is much more information to share today, though. I wanted to wait until after the holidays and a new year is upon us to start talking about new soccer developments....
If there is one thing that I feel strongly about in regards to this thing we've been building, it's 'staying power.' Our generation is the first in the US to grow up playing soccer, and here we are as adults still playing and some of us already dressing our kids in the gear from our favorite clubs. We have an opportunity to not just continue playing soccer, but to create a club that is more than the sum of its' parts. It's a simple formula: soccerheads + soccer + beer/food = camraderie and fun. If done right, this could even be a club that lasts for longer than our playing careers.
There are a number of things that point to this being the right time to create a third team under the lompoc soccer umbrella:
1. Jerry opening two new bars (one in N. Portland and the other in Sellwood opening soon, if not already);
2. Having another team sponsored by the lompoc that we have a good relationship with;
3. The number of players we have had contact with and the many more we could recruit;
4. The fact that Over 30 Division 1 will only get more competitive;
5. The World Cup being just around the corner (see below).
Jerry is on board with making at least one of his bars a World Cup party place. He has been supportive at every turn and as long as we continue to patronize his bars and help market them (and I have loads of ideas on this, especially with the WC coming soon), I am sure he'll continue to be a good partner for us in this new chapter.
A lot of guys are probably wondering what exactly this means for them. Before we get to asking those questions, though, I would like to ask everyone to think about what you get out of your soccer experience with this team. Is it the competition and winning? Exercise? Camraderie? Having a few teams will mean that there's a place for everyone to get their fix, while still being united under a bigger umbrella. I don't think anyone would argue that at times the divergent views of what our team should be falls into two camps. With everyone having different concerns and priorities resulting from their family, work, and personal choices and desires, that's certainly to be expected. But what if we could have the best of both worlds? A team more 'recreational' in nature and one more 'competitive' in nature, with Rob and Carey's team in the mix as well? If people are supportive and open to evolving what we've built thus far, I think we'll all look back in a year or two and see that we've built a soccer club that we all enjoy and take pride in.
I invite everyone to mull this over and when you have something to share, please do so. Surely you can tell my passion for this -- I've thought a lot about it and give my promise that if this plan is put into action, it won't be half-assed. Some details have yet to be worked out but I am aware of the challenges and I am ready to go the distance to see that this is done properly. Maybe everyone will tell me to shove it and it gets scrapped; maybe everyone supports it but it dies an early death, but it won't be for lack of effort. At any rate, like I said in an email last week, our group of guys is the best and it's because I feel so strongly about that that I see an opportunity to build something great on our shoulders....
Happy New Year fellas ~
Kevin
posted by Kevin Richards at 10:49 AM
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