Soccer Forum

Posted on behalf of Mike Rankin
 
Hi Everybody;

I assume that, by now, everybody's got uniforms, equipment, a practice slot, and a game schedule; and the soccer season is well under way. I was driving some boys home after practice the other night and, out of the blue, gazing out the window, one of them said, "... I love soccer season..." - and immediately, four other heads nodded in agreement. It was a good moment.

I love soccer season too - it's been eight or nine years now, and every year it gets more and more rewarding. However, this whole recent issue with begging, borrowing, and pleading with the Town for turf field practice times is still sticking in my craw a little bit - it almost feels like, even though we have literally hundreds of local athletes in our Association, and even though our collective Saturday home games must bring thousands of dollars to the local economy (at least to the Tim Horton's) from visiting teams every season - I still get the sense that we don't have a lot of 'clout' - that we don't get a lot of recognition or respect, or even a basic understanding of how much 'Good' we provide to the youth in our community, every year. That may not be the case in actuality; but as I say, it's how I feel.

Now, honestly, I think this is basically our own fault - in my opinion, we've never really been very good at tooting our own horn over the years. Or tooting soccer's horn in general. I think we can change that. I think we need some marketing.

I think we need a show of force.

I was talking to Willow about this a couple of weeks ago - what would it look like if every soccer player in our Association demonstrated their love of the game, all at the same time? What would three hundred blue-jerseyed athletes look like if they were all marching together? I think it would look like the Olympic Parade of Nations - it would be a sea of blue. It would be a show of force.

The Festival of Lights Parade is in eight weeks, on Thursday, November 24th. It's a perfect opportunity for us to show off our Giant Blue Army of bright-eyed, apple-cheeked, smiling young athletes.

My idea for the parade (and of course, this is merely a first draft, open to discussion and amendment) was this:

The Pony players ride on a float wearing their Tim Horton's jerseys, waving paper-plate soccer balls on bamboo sticks. We've got speakers facing back off the float, playing the latest hit dance singles (I don't pretend to know what they are). Hundreds - literally hundreds of soccer players with blue jerseys and blue toques are walking beside and behind the float, waving flashlights in their hands and dancing to the tunes. We could even have some people carrying giant lit-up beach-ball sized soccer balls on long poles (like the Lantern Festival in Victoria). It would be a block-long Blue Disco Party!

My other thought was, we could have entire soccer teams "embedded" in the crowd, and when our float went by, they could put on their blue toques, turn on their flashlights, and join us in the party. Flash mob the Light-Up Parade!

I've started a list of the things we'd need, and I know that somebody on this distribution list can get one or two of them (or knows someone who can):

A float (naturally). Someone with a truck to tow it. Speakers, some christmas lights, and a generator. Fresh chart-topping music. Some Mid-Isle signs. I have a disco mirror ball that hardly ever gets used any more. Paper-plate soccer balls on bamboo sticks. A bunch of cheap flashlights for those that forget to bring their own. Three hundred blue toques (maybe from a corporate sponsor). Some enormous soccer-ball-looking beach balls, or home-made soccer ball lanterns, on some extension poles. And the participation of every soccer team in our Association.

The rest is just coordination, communication, and enthusiasm. And a couple of work Parties.

So, I'm throwing it out there to the Association Executives and all the Coaches - am I out in left field, or does this sound like something we want to do? I'll gladlly help coordinate, if you guys think it's worthwhile. We've got eight weeks to bring it all together, so we could do something really, really cool.

I've got 20 players to donate to the cause, plus the aforementioned disco mirror ball.

Just thought I'd kick-start the discussion. Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Mike Rankin