Joey Payeur
Those who love the “beautiful game” know it can be far from beautiful around these parts weather-wise even in late April and early May.
With that in mind, the board of directors for Fort Frances Youth Soccer has instituted a pair of significant changes to this season’s schedule in hopes of keeping Mother Nature at bay.
The first games for the 2011 campaign will hit the St. Francis Sports Fields on the week of May 16-19—a good two-three weeks later than in recent seasons.
Because of the later start, and due to positive responses given in a survey issued at last year’s pre-season registration sessions, FFYS will, for the first time, push the season past its usual late June conclusion and hold games up to the week of July 25-29.
“It’s something we talked about doing as a board for the last couple of seasons,” noted FFYS president Sarah Gould.
“It’s mostly because of the weather we get earlier in the season,” she explained. “We’re hoping it helps us avoid getting so many cancelled games as we have recently.
“We also got a lot of feedback from parents about the weather problems—enough of it that we thought it was feasible to extend the season.
“It’s worth a try,” Gould reasoned.
Teams in the six age divisions (Squirts and Divisions 1-5) will play twice a week through the end of June.
That schedule then will be reduced to one game a week in July, with teams that normally play on Mondays and Wednesdays competing only on Wednesdays in July.
Those that take to the field usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays will play only Tuesdays that same month.
That means all teams will have 18 games on their schedule this year as opposed to 16 up until this point.
“Most of the clubs in the province are going throughout the summer,” Gould noted. “It just gives us the chance to give the kids more games.
“This season will be a trial year for us,” she admitted. “We’ll see if we do lose some interest from players and their parents when we get into July.
“But we hope to alleviate that problem by going to just one game a week in July.”
Registration for the 2011 season will take place March 22-23 from 6-8 p.m. at the Memorial Sports Centre, with a late registration slated there on March 30 from 6-8 p.m.
Fees in all divisions have been raised $5 for this year. Those who sign up after March 23 will be charged a $20 late registration fee.
Last year, FFYS had a total of 520 players, with Gould hoping for an increase in participation this season.
“Our soccer program is growing,” she remarked. “We went from four to six teams in the Squirts division alone last year.”
With the increase in players, though, comes a heightened need for volunteers in all areas, including coaches and assistant coaches, as well as referees.
“We really encourage anyone who wants to coach or referee to come out to one of the registration sessions, even if they don’t have any children they are going to sign up for the season, so that we can know how many people are interested,” said Gould.
“Having enough qualified referees is an area where we are really struggling,” she stressed.
“We not only want to get young people to volunteer to referee, but also hopefully get their certification to they can referee in the older age divisions.”
That task has been handled in recent seasons by only two people, and one of those two is unable to fulfill that role this year due to medical issues.
Meanwhile, Gould tipped her hat to her fellow FFYS directors for their part in the season’s success.
“We have a real strong board this year and I feel really good with the team that’s in place that the transition will be smooth and we’ll have all our bases covered,” she lauded.
A new FFYS program aimed at recycling equipment also is coming into play this year.
FFYS is requesting anyone who has cleats or shin guards that are not being used anymore to bring them to one of the registration sessions for donation to the cause.
“Even if we get four or five pairs of cleats or shin guards, it’s still worth it,” said Gould.
A date for the season wind-up still is to be determined due to the board’s desire to not conflict with the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, which takes place July 17-23, or the August long weekend, which falls on July 30-Aug. 1 this year.
