Hello Everyone,

Once again it’s time for Soccer. A lot has happened since last season so I’ll start with getting everyone up to speed with what’s happened up to now.

Elections

Our Registrar, Eric Coates, decided to step down after several years on the board. As the most senior member of the board he was extremely helpful getting us newbies up to speed. His attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile will truly be missed. Fortunately we were able to recruit Mindi Major to fill the Registrars position. All registration questions should be directed to registrar@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com.

Laura Behnke decided to go back to school so we recruited Lori Deja to fill the Treasurers position. Laura did a fantastic job keeping our books in order and cracking the whip anytime I forgot to give her receipts. Good luck with school Laura and welcome to Lori. If you have any questions about payments please contact Lori at Treasurer@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com.

If you see any of our outgoing board member or newly added members make sure you thank them.

Concessions

Our first season utilizing the new concession stand was a success. We were able to make a profit of $1612.00 in the five weeks we were open. This was in large part due to you the patrons and to my wife Evelyn Clement who put the whole think together, kept it stocked and worked most of the shifts. Jenny Hammond was also a key contributor as the volunteer scheduler and she also worked a great deal of the shifts. Thank you very much ladies for all the hard work.

As much as I wish I could get both of them to do it again this upcoming season it’s too much to ask. Evelyn has agreed to continue managing the concessions however we are going enlist a crew of shift managers who will be responsible for opening and closing the stand during their shift. Those volunteers will be trained prior to the start of the season so they will know what’s expected of them.

If you can dedicate one night a week for 5 – 7 weeks depending on when we officially open please check that option during registration. I can’t begin to emphasize the importance of filling these positions. The league has not raised registration fees for several seasons, the funds that come from concessions are key to keeping our fees down. If these positions are not filled we will be forced to shut down operations and raise registration fees next season.

Facilities

As you are all aware there are a couple issues with our current facilities. The first being the concession stand being put on Mars or at least it seems that way for anyone that has had to walk there. Second being the pond everyone has to wade through to get from the parking lot to the soccer fields during the spring. Third several of our goals are in bad shape to the point of needing to be replaced and finally there is the state of the fields.

In order to take care of the first two issues and prepare the facility to host tournaments I have put together a plan (see image) for changes to the facility. The Board unanimously approved the concept and has also received support from the president of the SWM travel league. Preliminary discussions have begun with the township to determine the budget the township is willing to allocate.

With Stevensville sitting between Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis we are in a position where we could be hosting an annual regional tournament that would not only benefit the facility but also benefit our local hotels and restaurants and our community.

With the townships approval the first phase will be to move the parking over by the concession stand. The township had already planned to create an entrance off of Cleveland Ave. to a little parking lot by the grove of trees. We would like to extend the drive and put parking lots on either side of the concession stand.

Once the parking has been moved it will allow us to proceed with fixing the flood zone to make it more suitable for more fields.

This effort will take time and money if we are to accomplish these upgrades. If you are willing to help in any capacity please let us know.

As I mentioned earlier we have several goals that need to be replaced. You will be happy to know that we are getting quotes and plan to have new goals on a lot of the fields by the start of the season. I’d like to thanks Jorge Garza for working so hard on this.

Finally we hope to enlist the help of one of the local landscaping companies to help us get the much needed field repairs done. We’ve began discussions with one of them and with any luck our fields will be in a better state this spring.

Spring Registration

Registration begins Monday February 6^th thru March 9^th. There will be a late registration period from March 10^th thru the 17^th. Once again there will be a $50 late registration fee. This tactic helped us go from roughly 100 late registrations to just a handful allowing the Board more time for team formation.

As we have previously mentioned we will be keeping the same teams as last season. Any lost members will be filled with new registrants. Our spring season is usually larger so we should have plenty players to fill in the holes. If any of our coaches do not plan to coach again this season please let our Head of Coaches, Mark Smith, know via email (headofcoaches@lakeshoreyouthsoccer.com) as soon as you can so that we can find a replacement.

For parents wishing to register their 3 year olds for the U5 league they must be 4 by April 1st or they will have to wait until the Fall. Please do not request a waiver we have already loosened the restrictions from the Michigan Youth Soccer Associations recommendations.

Uniforms

We are trying something new this season with uniforms. In an effort to keep our fees down and be green we are asking everyone to use your uniform from last season. The Board understands that some may have damaged uniforms or your child may have out grown it. If this is the case you will still be able to receive a new uniform. Please pay attention to the uniform options during registration. If you do not select the option for a new uniform it will be assumed that you do not need one. In either case we ask that you provide your child’s jersey number during registration so that we do not duplicate numbers. New players will not be presented with this option.

Pictures, Games, and Practices

In order to ease the mayhem that usually exists on the first day of the season between pictures and games we will have pictures on Saturday, April 28^th and the first day of games on the Monday, April 30^th. Pictures will take place at the middle school.

For those new to the league practices generally begin two weeks before games. Practices schedules are at the discretion of the coaches. Games are played Monday thru Thursdays and Saturday mornings. The schedule will not be published until a week or two before games are to start.

Erin Beran has been scheduling our games for the last couple seasons. She has done and incredible job and I’m looking forward to working with her again.

Training Day

Last season we did for the first time a league training day. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback and plan to host another one this spring.

Closing Comments

As you all can see the Board has been pretty busy and we have a lot of plans in place. How successful we will be depends on our members and the community. We hope to have a great season and hope you will support us with the changes we have made.

I’d like to thank all of our volunteers whether it’s ordering uniforms, awards, coaching, working concessions, or serving on the board. Your work it crucial to our success.

Thanks you,

Chad Clement
LYSL President