2009 Plan

The 2009 Plan

Up-date on the 2009 Stingers Teams Plan

Dear Stingers Players and Families,

Below you'll find an up-date based on the information available as of the time I write this letter, which is February 24th, 2009. I hope that with some of this information you can continue the plans for the spring and summer, vacation, days off and lifeâ¦ around the soccer scheduleâ¦

The Stingers TEAMS:

The cooperative relationship with the Chaos Fusion U15 group managed by Stacy Hoff is developing nicely. Already 8 of the U15 Girls from the South have formally joined the Stingers and we are working on adding a few more with the purpose of having rosters with 16 -18 players on all of the Stingers teams. Considering the successful experience of the U15's, we are now on the verge of expanding the cooperation concept to include the U14 girls group managed by Tom Midkiff, again from the Charleston area. And again, our main consideration is for the best interest of ALL the players, hence we are not looking to cut any players but rather to place them on the team that will give them the best chance to develop and play meaningful soccer while playing significant game time.

The 4 Stingers [older] teams involved in the cooperative ventures shall be named:

Lady Stingers U14

Lady Stingers 15 Select

Lady Stingers 15 Elite

Lady Stingers U16

The numbers for the U16 team are a bit shorter, yet we have made progress since I last wrote to you, but this situation offers the younger players the chance to play up, get more playing time and be challenged, which in turn helps their development significantly as much as it helps the U16 team to be stronger. Also, we'll continue to have player movement between the 4 teams as the age eligibility permits and as it makes sense for the long term goal of sustained development and success for ALL the Stingers players. All of the above is possible through our Club's affiliation with US Club Soccer and is consistent with the most successful youth soccer systems around the world.

Besides these 4 teams already mentioned we have the younger ones who are growing in potential and numbers. As of now we have (about) 6-7 U12 girls and (about the same) 6-7 U12 boys. With these numbers alone we can field [only] ONE team (they play 8 v 8) that formally must be registered as a boys team, but I believe that if we ALL apply ourselves, 3-4 more girls can be found and same, 3-4 more boys could be found, which would allow the Stingers Soccer Club to field a U12 Girls team and a U12 Boys team. Lets ALL help and support the YOUNGER Stingers!

To address the need for a few more [younger] players and also to connect with the soccer communities in the counties our players come from, Dr. Donald Shipman has put together a nice article that shall be offered for publication to ALL the newspapers in the counties our players and their families reside.

And last but not least, these Stingers soccer teams will be coached by highly qualified coaches (Telma, Guillermo, Don Shipman, Florin and more, as needed) under the direct supervision of yours truly, Florin Marton.

Scheduling:

Each Stingers Team shall have its own, individual, carefully considered, tailor made tournament and games schedule, but as much as it makes sense we'll try to go to the same tournaments with as many teams as we can. The team managers shall have [at least] the major markers of the season no later than March 1, 2009.

Our U14 Lady Stingers and the Lady Stingers 15 Elite will play in the West Virginia Country Roads Soccer League, the Rivers Division (top division). The U15 Select and the U16's can play in the WVCRSL Mountains division.

The U14's and U15 Elite will play in the WV State Championships and in the [desired] eventuality that they should win, they'll play in the Regional Tournament. The U12's, U15 Select and the U16's will not play in the WV State Championships but alternative tournaments have been selected to make up for it, such as WV State Cup.

The first [outdoor] Tournament of the spring season should be the "Kick in the Bluegrass" on March 20-22, in Lexington, KY. Here we'll have the Lady Stingers 15 Elite play [most likely] in the U16 bracket, as the Kentucky U15 Champion is planning on doing the same. The Lady Stingers 15 Select will play in the U15 bracket while the Lady Stingers U14 will play U14.

The West Virginia Soccer Association has put out the WVCRSL Rivers division schedules which will get our U14 and 15 Elite matches on April 4-5, and again on April 18 for the U14's.

We are looking at the Marietta Tournament on May 2-3 for the U12's, U15 Select and U16's.

The next two firm weekends for the U14's and 15's Elite should be May 9-10 (possibly for other teams tooâ¦), for a tournament or DUAL FRIENDLIES (matches that we are trying to organize together with other clubs to avoid the tournament expense and thus reduce costâ¦), preceding the WV State Championship Tournament to be played the weekend of May 16-17.

Memorial Day Weekend is one of the most important soccer weekends of the year. It may be in the U15 Elite team's best interest to participate in a tournament on these dates, possibly in Erie, PA. The other teams may get to take this weekend offâ¦

May 30-31 for the U15 Select and U16's is the weekend for the WV State Cup, in Beckley.

June 6-7 is the weekend of the WV State Cup for u12's in Parkersburgâ¦

Assuming that our U14's and U15 Elite teams would win the State Championships in their respective age group, the Regional Tournament shall be held in Barboursville, WV on July 2 - 7, 2009. Between May 17 and July 2 there will be a need for at least one more tournament, or more likely two for all of our teamsâ¦

And last, and I know that many of our girls will say "definitely not least", (for those who wish to participateâ¦) as an end of the summer season tournament, USA Cup in Minnesota, July 21 - 25.

One more positive fact that "we know": we have fields available for practice and matches in Rivesville and in Jane Lew both the full field and the U12 fields while the quest for more fields is going on through the efforts of Scotty Reed and Randy Knight; thank you gentlemen! In Charleston/Winfield, through the efforts of the Hoff family we also have a couple of field options.

Budgeting & Spring/Summer Season Cost:

There shall be [some] difference between the cost associated with being on the U12, U14, U15 Select or Elite and/or U16 teams. These details are being worked on as we speak and I hope to have them ready for you by the end of February.

The total fees for the 2009 Spring/Summer Soccer Season shall be $700 per player for the U14 and the U15 Elite teams. The U15 Select fees should be about $100 - $150 less than the U15 Elite. The U12's fees shall be about $150 -$180 less than the U14's. The U16 team's fees need a little more time to be determined because here we are still looking for players and the cost per player, in the end, will be impacted by the total number of players on this team while knowing full well that for any given game there will be players brought up from the U15 teams. One way or another I expect the U16's fees to be comparable to the U15 Select's. For these fees to be kept at this level while being able to have a fully functional, comprehensive and challenging season, a concerted Fund Raising Effort is required from ALL the Stingers families.

In the past, a few players received [partial] scholarships but there have been a few other players who's dues WERE NOT PAID in full, even though financial assistance was not requested nor granted! It is imperative that payments be made on time, according to the plan and in full. Those who didn't pay the Fall 2008 fees shall not be accepted to play with the Stingers anymore and for the Spring/Summer 2009, those players who's payments will not be made on time and/or arrangements have not been made for payments, shall not be accepted at practice and games anymoreâ¦ I am sorry to have to resort to such extreme measures but I have no choice, in fairness to the vast majority of our players and their families who are diligent with their payments.

We know the cost for tournaments, team specific, and they are factored into the respective team's budget. Given the specifics of each age group, these fees are [somewhat] different but within similar cost range.

We also know that for these players to develop at the pace required to keep up with the best in the Region there is a need for three practices per week as soon as we start going outdoor and there is a need for ALL THE PLAYERS to participate in the two practices per week during the cold season: the Strengths & Agility and the Indoor Soccer! We shall start the outdoor season [formally] on March 16, weather permitting. The outdoor season should end with the Regional Tournament for some of the players, and with USA Cup for those who decide to participate in the USA Cup. The season budgeting DOES NOT include USA Cup.

In order to be able to register for the first tournament and the travel league an initial deposit of $200 from every player was received by February 7th. This deposit was applied towards the fees for the spring/summer season. Also, for those players who joined the Stingers after the Fall season an additional $50.00 fee shall be required in order to cover the yearly cost of registration with US Club Soccer and WVSA. (All players who played in the Fall of 2008 have paid the registration fees already). I shall address these players individually.

Hereby we put a payment plan in place, with dates and amounts that I hope would make the fees payment a little easier. Such I would like to ask from everybody to make a second payment of $200.00 by March 8th. The 2009 Spring/Summer fees balance, specific to each team, shall be paid in two more installments with deadlines at March 31 and April 30, 2009. The team budget, respectively, shall be available from each team manager by March 1, 2009. Also, as always in the past, for families with siblings playing for the Stingers Soccer Club, the second child's coaching fee (a part of the total seasonal fees) shall be discounted 50%.

To offer help with [some] fees, to be able to continue to offer [some] scholarships and to enable the growth of the West Virginia Stingers Soccer Club towards National prominence and also to lay down the financial foundation for project Venezuela, Mrs. Pam Urse and Mrs. Tina Reed have agreed to co-chair the Fundraising Committee. They have many great ideas, are working on a daring and comprehensive plan, but ALL the Stingers Soccer Club members support is indispensable!

What we NEED (among other thingsâ¦):

COMMITMENT from ALL and togethernessâ¦

Patience and understanding coupled with willingness to volunteer and help as needed. The team managers can use help (i.e. find and schedule some friendly games..), the field coordinator (Scotty Reed) can use some help and as soon as we go outdoor help will be needed to maintain the fields that we should practice and play onâ¦ And there will be as many as 4 - 5 different fieldsâ¦ Yes, of course, the Fundraising Effort will only be successful with a high level of participation from everybodyâ¦ And please rest assured that the list of projects and activities did not end hereâ¦

At the end of this [again, lengthy] letter I would like to Thank you ALL for your attention, patience, understanding and for your support, in all shapes and forms, from logistic to volunteerism, from financial to moral and psychological... This is a work in progressâ¦ I've been at this [job] for many years but this time around I have the strong hope and belief that, together, we'll be able put forth the BEST season of the Stingers Soccer Club yetâ¦

Yours truly,

Florin Marton