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 President's Message January 2008
Hello to all parents, coaches, players and interested spectators and community members. Another great season of soccer has officially begun! On January 4th we began registration and for the first time in club history, we accepted returning registrants via the internet. In keeping with our desire to offer a greater variety of payment options, credit card payments are now accepted at the office. These are big steps forward for the club. Soccer in Ancaster continues to grow, with almost 2,500 participants last year, and we do expect the number to perhaps be higher this year. Soccer in Ancaster is a success story and I should take a moment to thank all those that lend their time to make it happen.
With growth come challenges. Last year was no exception. On behalf of the board of directors of the club, I want to take a moment and discuss a couple of last year’s challenges. First, we had significant difficulty rostering players last year. 3 years ago, the club entered into a contract to use a software program for registration and rostering. Over the three years we have had some difficulty, but we have had assurances from the programmer that he would be able to address our needs. Unfortunately last year, the software program has failed. Over the winter, the club moved quickly to find a new system and so far we are very pleased. This system is the reason that on line registration is a reality. The largest club in the province, Oakville, uses the same system with great success.
Last year, we also had difficulty with our soccer uniform distribution. We are in the final stages of entering into a new agreement with Absolute Soccer and I am confident that with their help and support, we should be able to say that those difficulties are behind us. Absolute Soccer has been an important partner with the club for many years and we look forward to an improved relationship which should benefit all.
Over the last couple of months, we have received many comments about the club. The board is listening and we are moving as fast as possible to improve things based on your input. The board is continuing to review policies and procedures to ensure the strength and health of the club for many years to come. I would also like to mention that we continue to work closely with the City of Hamilton regarding the status of the Morwick Park initiative (the old dump site on Jerseyville Road) and we hope to have further information available soon.
Comments or input are always helpful and appreciated. Have a great soccer season!
President's Message 2007
One
of the key objectives of the 2006 Board of Directors was to focus
the Club for the future. The Board has undergone several strategic
planning sessions to come up with a Mission and Vision that will
take us into the future.
Mission: We are a community soccer club providing the people
of Ancaster and the surrounding area with the highest quality
soccer experience spanning all ages and skill levels.
Vision: To become the best community based soccer club in Ontario,
acknowledged as a leader in fostering personal growth and creating
opportunities for soccer participation at all developmental levels.
Our focus for the future is the continued growth and development
of our players, coaches and referees. In 2006, we implemented
Byte Sized Coaching to assist our coaches with planning and executing
quality practices. In 2007 we are implementing phase 2 by offering
coaching levels 1 and 2. In 2007 we will be implementing monthly
refereeing training evenings to provide ongoing training and updating.
As we grow, field space will be a challenge that ASC will have
to face. We continue to work with the City of Hamilton to finalize
arrangements for the new Edward Morwick Park, which we now expect
to open in 2008. In the interim, we do have field space for expected
growth.
In closing, I would like to encourage you to volunteer with the
Ancaster Soccer Club. Come out and help enhance the soccer
experience for the players, parents, coaches and the community
of Ancaster.
Jim Bethune
President
President’s Report – May 24, 2007
Hello to all parents, coaches, players and interested spectators.
The season has started and that is always an exciting time. Soccer
in Ancaster continues to grow, with over 2,400 participants this year. The Ancaster
Youth Soccer Club continues to flourish. Our success is a direct result of the outstanding
effort put forward by our parents, coaches, sponsors, volunteers and board members. Our
Club has become an integral part of this wonderful community and we will strive to build
upon our reputation locally and within the soccer community.
With growth comes challenges. This year seems to be no exception. On
behalf of the board of directors of the club, I want to take a moment and discuss a couple
challenges that we are working through at present. First, we have had significant
difficulty rostering players this year. 3 years ago, the club entered into a contract
to use a software program for registration and rostering. Over the three years
we have had some difficulty, but we have had assurances from the programmer that he would
be able to address our needs. Unfortunately this year, the software program has
failed. Some individuals that registered in January somehow are not in the data
base even though they have the printed forms. Coaches and sponsors’ children,
as per club policy, are to be linked together on teams. The linking feature in
the software this year has failed, resulting in significant loss of time which has created
set backs for us as an organization. Staff have had to manually check over 500
links. We are committed to providing the best in customer service, and we assure
you that these issues will be addressed immediately.
We do work very closely with Absolute Soccer, our uniform supplier. Soccer
is growing and our own growth has caused some challenges with Absolute and their ability
to supply. As a growing organization the lessons we learn, although costly on many
levels, help to prepare us for the future and to make us more adept at responding to
issues as they arise.
The board of directors has taken immediate steps to remedy the uniform
issue and registration software difficulties. The Club has formed a board committee to
actively review our options to find the best available registration and rostering software
available. We will be meeting with Absolute soccer to find better ways to
ensure timeliness of delivery of our uniforms and equipment, and at the same time ensure
our internal timelines and protocols are appropriate for the task at hand.
Again, on behalf of your board of directors, we regret any inconvenience
that we may have caused. Our role is to deliver the best product available in relation
to the service that we provide. Comments or input are always helpful and appreciated. Have
a great soccer season!
Sincerely
Jim Bethune
President
Ancaster Soccer Club
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