Dear Barbarians:
Just when you think you are aware of what you are looking at, something changes. Throughout the seasons our surroundings in the natural world can provide so many with hope but ultimately we realize with angst, we are just passing through. Yet we learn that it shall all return if we are patient and not waiting for them to, just ever observant ever willing to accept who we are and who they are entitled to be, and who you are in light of how you may be looked upon. Perhaps the ultimate realization is that very seldom is there a problem with being you, or in allowing others to be who they are.
Even after its magnificence, that awe inspiring joy that our surroundings may bring throughout our course, when it fades or its time has ended it is viewed with disdain and loathing. Some might harbor this ill will of a matter of convenience yet, while they were in the glory of their prime they may have been useful and not given to any thought of what they would become or where they might be headed. One thing for certain many will arrive where they are headed with more than they embarked and others with less, while still others will know nothing of the price that was paid for each to be where they are, and be doomed to paying a far greater price than needed.
Over our existence as a club, the Barbarian FC has contributed more than it has taken. We are aware of the numbers who have decidedly moved on to what they wholeheartedly believed to be better opportunities and of those who have done so without recompense and still more who do so in search of that which alludes them. And yet, there are those who remain. To those who remain we applaud you in appreciation for your steadfastness and discernment for it is you who have given us clear evidence that what we seek to become you have willed, and there are none who can lay claim to being more than what you have given or the selfless way in which you have delivered it. Our seeking eludes most and so this is why we are who we are and they can never be!
The beginning of the 2010-2011 season in many ways signals the end of an era. For the first time in many campaigns we will begin our year without the services of Rooney Columbus, Matt Dziak, Joe Fearer, Brett Gwosden, and Nick Scioscia. For close to ten years, Brett, Matt, and Nick have been an integral part of anything this club has done and definitely stood for. To their parents, who have stood the test of time and still associate in some small way with one another, we salute you and thank you for helping guide the club through our ups and downs in laying a course that no one can refute as being why we have become who we are today. You have made your commitment clear to us and we appreciate knowing that you stood by us and worked as diligently as we have to ensure our representation locally, regionally, and nationally. We could go on about what you have done for the Barbarians; player and parent alike but space, time, and the attention span of our readers will not permit it!
For the time that these five players have been a part of the Barbarians the positive impact that each has had is immeasurable. Moving forward, it is our decision to have 2 named awards added to our annual acknowledgment of players, perhaps more, and will hopefully award some sort of prize to the recipient.
The Brett Gwosden Service Award will be given to that player who exhibits the dedication to both the Barbarians and the Community, for volunteering selflessly and demonstrating at all times the manifestation of being a team player. As well, The Nick Scioscia Defensive Award will be given to that player who demonstrates the true meaning of leadership and the willingness to defend their end at all times, and, without hesitation recognizes the opportunity to attack his opponent’s goal. So that there is a clear understanding of those players who will be considered for these two distinguished awards and not minimize the enormity of our undertaking, they must at least be above the U16 age group and have spent their entire eligible playing career with the Barbarian FC otherwise none will be deemed worthy of this distinction!
The upcoming season that will soon be upon us has all the makings of an even greater year than the seasons which have passed. Adversity, controversy, deception and all the earmarks of past goings-on all play a part and can lay in wait. Ours will always be an honest effort: to see beyond the betrayal and move forward despite what all the others attempt to use to derail or deride us from that which we know to be forthright. Common courtesy, common sense, and commonality are what we seek in attaining the altruism that keeps us all and will transcend this club to deliver teams that demonstrate the immensity of selflessness and expose the waste of selfishness. My sincere hope is that you who have experienced being around Brett, Joe, Matt, Nick and Rooney have an appreciation for how they have served this club. The Barbarian reputation has been grounded by them and our future has been demonstrated by them that it unmistakably depends on how each of us chooses to serve. We are forever in their debt.