JULY 29, 2008

HELLO RADFORD SOCCER PEOPLE!

My name is Tim Cundiff and I have been elected President of the Radford Soccer Club for the 2008-2009 year. I want to introduce myself and give you a little history of my involvement with the RSC.

Several years ago a few parents got together and decided we wanted our “girls” to have some athletic opportunities in high school. We had heard about “travel soccer” stuff and thought, maybe we could get a team together and play in tournaments. With this one great idea and two months time, we had two girls’ teams, found out we had to form a “club” and play in “league” play in order to play in tournaments and the rest is history. Those 9 & 10 yr old girls went on to become High School State Champions, and the Radford boys, not to be outdone, quickly formed teams and have since won two High School State Championships. I am very proud to say I have been a part of that process from the beginning. Our kids got there because of their determination, drive and desire to exceed expectations. And the kids succeeded behind strong volunteers united to do whatever was necessary to make it all work. I feel very strongly that the volunteer efforts are still the basis behind our Club and its continued success. I intend to keep that philosophy moving forward.

The Radford Soccer Club has achieved its success by using volunteers; taking advantage of every opportunity to cut costs/realize savings, keep the operation simple, and take advantage of the opportunities available. The Club fielded teams with kids from all skill levels and were told we wouldn’t be very competitive and teams wouldn’t want to travel here to play us. The club has too many BRCL Division Championships to list. The Club started a tournament when we were told it couldn’t happen and still we were very successful. Partnering with cooperative surrounding organizations the club was able to provide fields at no additional cost, when we were told that Radford couldn’t support enough fields to have a strong club. We need to keep moving forward with this drive to make things happen.

Outgoing President Juergen Gerlach summarized the Clubs accomplishments over the past year at our Annual Meeting on July 24th. Let me summarize: 3 or 4 of our Fall 07 Teams won division championships and/or placed well in some big tournaments, the club hired an Executive Director, Gene Harris, to keep the Club organized, this was followed with the development of by a formal Club webpage, www.radfordsoccer.com, and a Club phone number, 540-239-1168. The club adopted a standard Club uniform and club logo to aide in club recognition. A vendor, RunAbout Sports, was selected and the process of buying uniforms simplified. It has been a pleasure watching Juergen work and I look forward to his continued support on the Board.

As our Club has grown, so have our overhead and operational expenses. Our Tournament was such a big success in its first seasons that another local club now hosts a tournament and this is putting a strain on our tournament base. This is an issue the Club will address this season. This decline in tournament participation has lead to a budget that needs fixed expenses covered. To this end, the Board at the annual meeting implemented a participation fee for each child playing soccer. The cost of $40 per child, per season for the 2008-2009 year was established. This fee will be established each season based on the Clubs’ anticipated annual budget. The Board further agreed to keep Gene Harris as Executive Director for another season. In the past the Clubs’ expenses have been covered by a portion of the tournament profit. With fields and dates available for the tournament becoming more difficult to plan for, the Board of Directors realizes the Club cannot rely on tournament revenue to fund operations. The intent, as always, is to keep fees as low as possible but be fiscally responsible.

The Club is growing, tournament or not, and we need to poise ourselves to accommodate that growth. The City of Radford has made efforts to establish a soccer complex at the former DG’s Driving Range . The City is hoping the Club can add funds to this project as we would be the direct benefactors. The Board has discussed this and we hope to develop a strategy to address this and our tournament issues in the coming months.

As you can see, the Club has come a long way and still has some distance to go. But we can get there with everyone’s participation. The kids will benefit the most and may never know how much time, sweat, and effort has been put into the behind-the-scenes stuff to enable them to run around for a couple of hours each weekend having fun and making us proud. But, isn’t that what being a parent is all about?

The RSC has a few new Board Members this year. You can find the complete Board of Directors listed on the club webpage along with each Member’s contact information. Don’t hesitate to voice your opinions. If you ever have an item to discuss you are welcome to email me and we will be glad to hear your concerns at the next Board Meeting. We will be working hard this year for the benefit of the Club as a whole. I hope this season will be one of our most successful ever. Please do not hesitate to call if you ever have any concerns. Finally – please, please, please call if you have any time to volunteer for your team and/or the Club.

Tim Cundiff

RSC President