On July 9th, Seattle's Soccer Landscape Could Change Forever
An Open Letter to All ECFC Members (Parents and Players), Present and Past:
As the parent of a U16 player – one who has been with ECFC since his U11 days – I am not at all happy about the prospect of July 9th. Quite honestly, I am very, very nervous. I don’t pretend to understand the need or the urgency to discard an organization that, for thirty years now, was and still is the backbone of quality youth soccer in Seattle. Please allow me to share with you a vignette from my family.
Over the past five years, we have amassed a small collection of “has been” uniforms: older, Diadora jerseys with the various numbers my son has been assigned; enough t-shirts to start our own car wash, the “green line” before blue became the new green; etc., etc. The most loved in this assortment of leftovers would have to be my son’s old warm-up jacket. Already having seen better days before he upgraded, his sister (my non-soccer playing daughter) adopted the jacket and made it her own. Like Linus and his blanket, she was constantly seen in the jacket – despite the fact that several fingers could easily fit through a hole in between the wrist cuff and the material at the sleeve, the embroidery was frayed, and she got lots of grief for wearing something that ratty. (I tried, to no avail, to offer her several other choices.) Stubborn as she is, she wore the jacket with pride: her big brother played for Emerald City and that meant something in our family. The jacket was a badge of honor and achievement.
Our family is still extremely proud to be a part of the ECFC family. Which is not to say that our experience has been 100% infallible throughout the whole five years: we have had our disagreements with coaches about which position my son should be playing; we thought there were too many, or too few, practices at certain times of the year; we thought we should have won when we lost – and we looked to criticize rather than being self-reflective. But we have also witnessed great leaders arise from the ranks of parent volunteers; we’ve seen the implementation of long-term strategy in the hiring of key personnel; we’ve watched older-level players graduate with success not in spite of ECFC but because of ECFC. Let’s be realistic; even the best relationships, be it a marriage, a friendship or another member of the family will have their ups and downs. No one sees eye-to-eye absolutely all of the time. But if I sit down to write my list of “pros” and “cons” in regards to ECFC, the pros easily outnumber the cons. The weathering of the difficult times has strengthened my relationship while giving me new appreciation and respect for the ties that bind. We – and I’m speaking here for both the parental side and the player point of view – have been enriched by this process, not belittled by it. |
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So now we are faced with a critical juncture – unlike any seen before – in the organization’s history. On July 9th, should the SYSA Commissioners vote to approve the Seattle United proposal, ECFC will effectively be dismembered in a very literal sense of the word. Our U11 – U14 teams will be forced to leave us, and the U15 – U18 teams will be left to fade away. (Yes, I do realize that they will be invited to join Seattle United, but the dynamics of reputation, loyalty, viability and player self-efficacy are likely to be factors in this decision making process, since players at this age are maturing into young adults and rightly have a say in their future.) The Seattle United folks promise the same sort of infrastructure currently in place at ECFC: team managers, parent reps, volunteer coordinators, etc. Of course the governance will be dramatically different for its inaugural year (appointed rather than elected), and the entire operation will be much, much larger as the overarching goal of Seattle United is to provide a seamless soccer experience, melding premier, select and recreational under one large umbrella. However, their own summary states that they will “continue to offer premier teams along the Emerald City model." * Likewise, Seattle United promises that “[t]his organization will focus on developing great players though exceptional coaches, collaborative, coordinated programs, and an organizational emphasis on professionalism and inclusiveness.” ** Quietly tucked under ECFC’s Mission Statement is this not-to-be-overlooked fact: “What started out as a small venture has grown into a club with 30 teams, over 500 players, and many state championships under its belt.” *** Are we willing to sacrifice this for a leap into the untested field of Seattle United? If I cut the unsightly sleeve off of the beloved warm-up jacket, does it improve the jacket?
ECFC is our organization, created by members thirty years ago. It is YOUR organization: “We rely on our membership to run our club – a true volunteer based organization.” **** Time is of the essence here; it seems as though we are in the 89th minute of the match and much is at stake. Having said this, I cannot promise you that the SYSA Commissioners are listening. According to the SYSA website, “SYSA's SEATTLE UNITED project to unify all select soccer play in one club is nearing completion.” ***** Nonetheless, your voice deserves to be heard. I urge to contact your neighborhood commissioner and/or any of the other members of the SYSA leadership and let them know that you value the ECFC organization. Let’s fight to save ECFC from being discarded on July 9th.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Suleiman
VP of Membership
* ** *** **** ***** |
http://www.sysa.org/doclib/Executive%20Summary%205-11-09.pdf ibid http://www.emeraldcityfc.org/mission.html ibid |
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