Dear Barbarians;
Welcome to another year of Barbarian Futsal! Personally, we could not be more excited as we move toward the beginning of the 2016-2017 futsal season; one that we have anticipated for a very long time. When this year gets underway, on the USFF side of things, it will be under the auspices of PA WEST and: good or bad, no matter your perception; I want to make it clear how we intend to proceed as an integral part of this phase in the ultimate growth of futsal in our area. When we organized this club and set its direction you were a part of this materialization as what we had envisioned and worked arduously toward, to have a standard that is ours, recognized: and so each of you understands more clearly, development as an objective is all we have ever sought: development of the complete player through this sport, football, and in the more significant realm as human beings. Through it all, we have been and remain committed to the development of this sport, this club, and equally, your development in futsal and football. It is not new to us nor is it an afterthought. We have been waiting for many to finally come through the door only to find us still here.
From the beginning, in our perspective, it made sense to us to enter futsal, the game of skill, and use it as the tool of development for players, and since USFF offered league play, a STATE CUP TOURNAMENT, a REGIONAL TOURNAMENT (perhaps the best futsal tournament anywhere through the Northeast Region One Mid-Atlantic Tournament), and, then a NATIONAL TOURNAMENT it seemed that it was time well spent and was at that time the longest continuous season. Understand, the Classic Leagues use to end by mid November and not begin again until the middle of March when the Barbarian FC began!
Even though it has been difficult to communicate our ideas about further development within USFF, and some of the fall off on the highest level of play, we will continue to strive to get our point across: if for no other reason than it remains clear to us that in all things patience is tantamount to moving any objective forward; and no matter how long it takes, things still happen suddenly. If we were unaware of anything else let there be no doubt, they occur with or without you.
While we have been sought out to help make this transition, and do so willingly we gain a greater benefit than if we were only set to do what we do for ourselves: serving others (the greater good) rather than just our own benefit and most assuredly for all of our members, as well as all who have remained committed to the sport within our area. At the end of the day, if in fact we can benefit everyone but be not mistaken for very few of our shortsighted visionaries have the willingness to accept or understand how to move things forward for the many, still serving only the few or themselves. So, the struggles of what should be common sense and courtesy remain as the stumbling blocks we lay before one another when perseverance has to be recognized for what it brings to the table and even more so the benefit to the common good. It does not benefit anyone to be self centered or espouse, ‘I told you so’ for even the best laid plans…often go astray.
While USFF is making inroads and strides with the various State Organizations and is the only futsal organization on the national level with affiliation to both US SOCCER and US YOUTH SOCCER, USYF offers quite a few opportunities to its members which we hope will continue to benefit our club’s families and its players. USYF’s growth since inception has outpaced USFF two-fold; through its approach, branding, organization of product development through its commitment to its FUTSAL ID PROGRAM, which to many including this writer is successful, they continue to garner our respect and will continue as part of our program for as long as we are making decisions with respect to the direction this club travels. We will make an honest attempt to prepare as many interested members as possible for the planned USYF ID Camp headed here over the Thanksgiving Break. At this point in time, we will more than likely not participate any longer in league play in Ohio but intend to have teams entered into league play at COOL SPRINGS, under USYF and as alluded to earlier under USFF/PA WEST at MSC (Monroeville Sports Center) and possibly at CTS (Court Time Sports), uncertain what League they will sponsor because I just learned that USYF will also run leagues, there. The major point in all this; things are evolving. Soon it may all be back to where it all began.
It has always been our effort to put as many players into league play as possible, to further their development, and we have done so at our peril. We will continue to do our best to get people in this club into match play. However, it is our intention to be even more selective about who will represent this club in any tournaments of significance and those who wish to garner playing time in league play or tournaments need to demonstrate through their effort in attendance at all Barbarian FC events, the proper training ethic, the proper discipline of the team dynamic in match play, and the overall discipline that meets our standard. Too many parents and players feel a sense of entitlement, or some equation, that having been here longer than someone else means they should move into a more significant role than what they have demonstrated in the time that they have been here. We do hope that everyone does exhibit a certain level of experience if you have been here for any length of time and even if you wish to remain here.
By now, those who have been here should understand that we are patient when it comes to the development of players, and teams. We have realized through our participation with literally hundreds of players that not everyone develops at the same pace or time. What we fervently believe and have stated in the past, individually you are entitled to be treated the same as everyone else; with common courtesy, common sense, and respect. It is our everyday approach to all we meet. If you have difficulty in decisions we make in maintaining our standard there are quite a few avenues by which to bring it to our attention including but not limited to the FORUMS, email, or conversation about your situation, which are all viable. It is not beneficial or prudent to ever attempt to discuss someone else’s (family, parent, or player) other than your own with me, or immediately after a match, or in between training sessions. Other than that, we are always willing to take time to engage all in conversation. One thing to understand now, I prefer writing over conversing for the sake of record keeping, and, the discernment of any information is usually tendered to all simultaneously via the NEWSLETTER, FYI, or EMAIL , and in emergency situations, TEXT MSG.
We are still in the process of getting facilities. Weekday training session begin at 7:00 PM and go until 9:00 PM. We will try to keep from having any of you in too many of these weekday sessions but numbers dictate much of what we do and want to have the majority train or play at least twice weekly. Sundays will continue to be our extended training day where the start time and end time amount to six hours straight. We hope to expand our SNS format to include other days/dates. At present, possible training days will be Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays (SNS, hopefully) and of course Sundays. We will begin training the Middle School and Elementary age students at the start of October phasing in the High School players by the end of October. This has been our usual beginning and with leagues scheduled to begin November 5 (tentatively) we must be prepared to begin.
Keep in mind that we remain committed in our effort to develop complete players but more significantly is your commitment. It cannot be a one sided affair. Those who have been here know our level of commitment to our members and hope that there will always be one of mutual respect. We are not interested in players who disrespect training, and who show up desiring to play on “game day”. If you intend to return you must notify us via email and your financial deposit is required before September 21. We are in the process of amending the HANDBOOK with the necessary changes for a more comprehensive and extensive writ to meet the demands we will be under for our level of involvement in the various entities with which we will participate. If you are aware of anyone else who may be interested who will deliver the level of commitment we deliver please have them contact us now. It may be too late to become involved by the time October comes around.
Training Fees for the 2016-2017 season are set and required as stated with no increase to you.
SINGLE PLAYER FAMILY:
ON OR BEFORE 9/21 $225.00 DEPOSIT: ON OR BEFORE 11/20 $300.00 INSTALLMENT: ON OR BEFORE 1/20/2016 $175.00 FINAL INSTALLMENT
2 PLAYER FAMILY:
ON OR BEFORE 9/21 $250.00 DEPOSIT: ON OR BEFORE 10/10 $250.00 INSTALLMENT: ON OR BEFORE 11/20 $250.00 INSTALLMENT: ON OR BEFORE 1/20/2017 $250.00 INSTALLMENT: ON OR BEFORE 2/20/2017 $250.00 INSTALLMENT
The fees and schedule of payment are for training sessions only. All tournament fees, league fees, uniforms, and other charges will be assessed as we proceed through the course of the year. Anyone who requires assistance beyond the schedule please contact me asap so that we can make arrangements.
We look forward to seeing you all soon and wish you a very strong and sustained start to this school year.
As usual, I will see you on the pitch!