Working in my day job with parents of players in other clubs, I love hearing stories of how soccer is going for them – the good, the bad and the ugly, and regardless of what their experience is, at the end of the day, the resounding answer I hear is community, bringing it back together. With the assumption of a return to “normal” this summer and in the fall, building our community looks different to everyone but what does it look like for soccer?

If we look at TEAM, teams are much more than our kids on the pitch. From our Executive and Board of Directors to our team of coaches, to our team of managers, to the team that comes together to put an interlock schedule together or gets us ready for picture day, to the parents that cheer from the sidelines. Our technical team, to the committees that meet on varying matters, to our team of coordinators, from Little Kickers to U18 and beyond. These parents, volunteers and others are our community, joining together to make all our experiences a cherished one.

Open and honest communication about what is working and what is not. Bringing all our “teams” together in celebration as a club for everything that we all do, as a Club of friends and acquaintances that we spend time with each week. From Little Kickers to U18, to all our adult teams, we are all instrumental in the running of our club.

As for our players, no matter what age group you’re in, we win and lose as a team. Teams of all age groups could do team building through fundraising, attending PFC games on the weekend, or hold a pizza party at the clubhouse. Some of our younger players could forge relationships with our older players, which has already started through our Pro-D Day camps but could also mean mentoring and possibly coaching. Attending games for our older age groups to show their support for those teams. The possibilities are endless. While it is beyond awesome that some teams are already doing this, if this was done on a Club level, all our players, their families and our “teams” would obviously benefit, and no one would be left behind.

All of us have a role to play in making experience a positive and successful one. Bring your ideas, big and small, it all matters.

As far as I can remember, we’ve never really had directors-at-large, but I would imagine that they would take an active role in board meetings and jump in to help wherever needed while learning about a position that they may wish to take on the following season. I started to write a list, but there are just so many things I didn’t know where to end! Most importantly, its about being involved, learning about youth soccer and the giving of your time.

Our AGM will be announced in the coming weeks, stay tuned and we hope to see you there!

Yours in Soccer,
Mary

Mary Newell
PLSC Communications Coordinator & Registrar