The Administrator

Administrator Of The Year Awards

Happy Soccer Administrator’s Day!  Cue the fireworks and streamers.  Before we announce the winner(s) of our Administrator Of The Year awards (below), The Administrator would like to offer a few words from Blue Sombrero Cofounder Pete Santora.

“I was a force to be reckoned with.  There was no player that I couldn’t take down and no team that I couldn’t single handedly dribble through.  A goalkeeper looked more like a cone than a threat.  In a game heralded for its team play, I was a one man wrecking crew.  I was their atlas and I was just turning 5 years old. 

A lot changes from your fifth birthday.  I have been playing soccer for almost 30 years … Division I, A-League, Europe, old guy’s league.  From the players point of view the world revolves around us.  Everything that happens outside of practice and games is unimportant in the grand scheme of things because everyone is there to allow you to just think about the game and succeed.  Things change slightly for the coach, but the principle still applies.  “Give me the things that I need to succeed.  I have a team to organize and motivate.  WE have a big game coming up.”  Players and coaches don’t know anything about administration.

What makes May 9^th such an important day in the world of soccer is that without our club Administrators, we wouldn’t have soccer…period.  Coaches don’t fully grasp what Administrators go through.  They don’t understand the volume of paperwork, the volume of emails, the volume of phone calls, and the volume of organization that is needed to give the impression of a finely tuned machine. 

One day is such a small amount of time to say thank you to an unheralded group of people that give so much for other people to succeed. 

If someone hasn’t told you…YOU…Sandy Jenkins, Meg Munson, Ric Marion, Jane Olinger, Joe Zizik, David DeHoog and the thousand of Administrators around the country, you help build our kids futures. 

THANK YOU and Happy Administrator’s Day!”

Now To The Awards:
We had hundreds of essay entries for our Soccer Administrator’s Day contest.  We spent hours reading, rereading, and arguing over who deserves to be named Administrator Of The Year.  In the end we jut gave up and threw darts at our “Top Ten” list (just kidding).  In order to properly reward our top finalists we have decided to give prizes to our Winner (obviously) as well as our Co-runners Up and our Newcomer Of The Year.  Are you ready to meet the winners?

Newcomer Of The Year: 

• David C. DeHoog
• Lafreniere Soccer Club
• Nominated by Julio Paiz

Excerpt From David’s Entry Essay: 
David’s organizational skills have been invaluable to our club. He has saved the club thousands of dollars by reviewing contracts and implementing a better system of fiscal management. He has made sure the club maintains the proper documentation for all legal and financial matters. He has written several new club policies. David spends many "12 hour days" in the office working and then still continues to do so at home. He can also be found out at the fields on the weekends. Through his managerial and organizational skills, the unselfish volunteering of his time to cover areas that were not his responsibility, and self imposed high standards, David has given us an invaluable and much needed improvement to the administration of our club.

Co-runner Up:

• Jane Olinger
• Brentwood Soccer Club
• Nominated by Vicki Sanford and again by Bret Dye

Excerpt From Jane’s Entry Essay:
Under Jane's leadership Brentwood SC has tripled in size. She has served as Girls V.P., Registrar, President, and is now Ex Director. Always with her eye on the future Jane pushed to develop a great website, was the first local club to use online registration, and became involved with US Club Soccer. Jane was instrumental in the club's strategic plan, which included a new mission statement, core values, goal setting, and plans for the future. There is no soccer administrator who can hold a candle to Jane Olinger.

Co-runner Up:

• Vinnie Herczeg
• Parkland Area Soccer Club
• Nominated by Kris Campbell

Excerpt From Vinnie’s Entry Essay:
His vast knowledge of computer software and how it works has really moved our club into the current generation with all registrations being done online and using the various tools available to us for creating teams, reports, rosters, and information. Vinnie has spent countless hours working with Blue Sombrero to streamline different aspects of our website and system tools not only to help Parkland Area Soccer Club but for all groups that Blue Sombrero works with and support. Vinnie is a kind, warm, helpful, energetic soul and I could think of no one else who deserves to be recognized as "Administrator of the Year" more than he.

Administrator Of They Year: 

• Jim Kelly
• Franklin Township Soccer Club
• Nominated by Scott Ludwigsen

Excerpt From Jim Kelly’s Entry Essay:
Jim is an amazing soccer administrator and without him our Executive Board would need about five more people and that is why I nominate Jim as the Administrator of the Year! (Ironically, as I was proofing this nomination he just called me FROM LONDON to address an email I had sent him about an urgent matter for tomorrow - talk about dedication!)

Click Here to read more essays from across the country 

Congratulations to all our winners!  You are shining examples of how hard work and dedication can enhance the lives of our young athletes.  We encourage all our contestants to fully embrace Soccer Administrator’s Day… You deserve it!  Take a break, from the daily grind to reflect of the fruits of your labor.  Our sombreros are off in honor of your unending dedication to the development of youth soccer. 

~The Administrator and Team Blue Sombrero

The Origin of Soccer Administrator's Day

This year’s participation in a long overdue holiday, celebrating your hard work and effort, has already been a smashing success.   We thought during this year’s festivities you might want to take a minute and reflect in the commemoration’s roots. 

Soccer Administrator's Day was created as a celebration of the men and women whose continual and extreme hard work has driven the growth of youth soccer in our country.  It takes a lot of late nights and extra hours, and most people (even your coaching staff and parents) often go without realizing it.  On top of your daily lives, you still find time to fulfill your administrative duties to keep your clubs running. 

Thank you...
Thank you to those of you who are parents and still find the time to manage your lives as well as maintain your club duties.  Thank you to those of you who have full time jobs and somehow have the energy to come home after work and better your club.  Thank you to those of you who don’t have any real interest in sports, but are deeply connected in creating a worthwhile experience for your community’s family.  Lastly, thank you to those whose kids have already grown up, yet stick around because you realize the importance of the club to your community's youth. 

Soccer Administrator’s Day isn’t a historical holiday like Independence Day or MLK Day, and it might not compare to the hype of New Year’s Eve (yet), but Soccer Administrator's Day is genuine.  We know how important it is to recognize those of you who do so much for so little in return, so keep up the hard work; it is so worth it in the end.  If you have anything further to add to our holiday’s recognition post below, email us at Sam@bluesombrero.com or call 404-835-0305.

America’s Top Soccer Administrators

The Administrator is absolutely blown away.  Your response to Soccer Administrator’s Day has been nothing short of amazing.  We have been flooded with hundreds of essays and entries. From across the country, individuals have selflessly nominated other members of their club or organization for the Administrator Of The Year award.  In recognition of all our contestants, we would like to share a handful of quotes from various entries which we have received over the last month... enjoy!

1) “Jim is an amazing soccer administrator and without him, our Executive Board would need about five more people and that is why I nominate Jim as the Administrator of the Year!” Scott Ludwigsen about Jim Kelly (Franklin Township Soccer Club)

2) “Our club is strictly volunteer and the fact that he did this while managing so many other personal items shows how much heart and love he has for the youth of Hendersonville.” Thomas Sanchez about Erik Swinger (HSC)

3) “Shellie Ross always goes above and beyond at all times for whatever the club needs. She is always active with the Director of Coaching to streamline the registration process for a club of over 2000 players. ” Anonymous about Shellie Ross (Rockledge Soccer)

4) “She is the glue that holds the club together and is always there for everyone. I can't imagine what the club would be without her.” Vicki Sanford and again by Bret Dye about Jane Olinger (Brentwood Soccer Club)

5) “Vinnie has spent countless hours working with Blue Sombrero to streamline different aspects of your website and system tools not only to help Parkland Area Soccer Club but for all groups that you work with and support.” Kris about Vinnie Herczeg (Parkland Area Soccer Club)

6) “David Ray has been very instrumental in keeping our Club together. In the past two years we have had 6 resignations, and David has taken on the extra work load to make sure the club survived.” Rex Blackwell about David Ray (AASA)

7) “My mom helped my club with their soccer tournament last month; she did a lot of hard work to make sure that our team had fun. She just loves watching all the teams play soccer and have fun.” Wheeler Birsch about his mother Annette Birsch (Classics)

8) “Joe Sciame has devoted over 20 years of his life to Eastchester Soccer. Serving as coach, commissioner, registrar, club vice president and many other roles. Joe has been the backbone of this very successful club with over 90 teams and 1300 players …...... If anybody deserves a blue sombrero, it is Joe!!!” Steve Ulrich about Joe Sciame (EastChester Youth Soccer Association)

9) “…Through his managerial and organizational skills, the unselfish volunteering of his time to cover areas that were not his responsibility, and self imposed high standards, David has given us an invaluable and much needed improvement the administration of our club.” Julio Paiz about David C. DeHoog (Lafreniere Soccer Club)

10) “She is truly doing her work for the good of the club, and especially the good of the kids. She puts her heart and soul into the club, and deserves to be Administrator of the Year.” Beth Thompson about Mary Ellen Edwards (Spirit United Soccer Club)

Click Here to read our favorite essays for Administrator Of The Year

Thanks again to all our readers who took part in this competition.  Make sure you and the rest of your administrative staff take advantage of Soccer Administrator’s Day, and let us know you plan to celebrate!  Post a comment below, send an email to jon@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

Administrator Of The Year

 
Soccer Administrator’s Day is THIS FRIDAY (May 9^th)!  To show our appreciation for all your hard work, The Administrator has decided to hold a contest to help us find the Administrator Of The Year.  However, in order to locate a winner, we need your help!

Click on the link above and nominate yourself or a member of your club.  Hurry, you only have two more days!  The winner will receive:

- A $100.00 Amex gift card
- A spotlight article in The Administrator
- A Blue Sombrero Prize Pack (including a blue sombrero)
- And a whole lot more (Top Secret)!

Thanks to everyone who has already submitted a nomination, we have received a ton of awesome entries from across the country.  This is a testament to the administrators who put in long nights and late hours to ensure that all club members have a wonderful youth soccer experience. 

Good luck and get your nominations in today!
~The Administrator

Tryout Safety Tips

When you think about it, having injury free tryouts can sometimes seem like a miracle.  Picture the chaotic atmosphere... thousands of kids and adults, nervously running around the complex, getting ready for the intense event.  Fields that are littered with various nuisances (fences, bleachers, and goals) become potential risks for unaware parents and curious children.  In order to stay safe this season, we have a few reminders/tips to beef up security during tryouts.

Make Goal Safety A Safety Goal.  There have been 33 recorded deaths and 51 injuries in youth soccer due to faulty goal inspection (Anchored For Safety).  It might seem shocking that a seemingly immobile landmark would cause such dismay.  However, bodily harm can be caused from: goals falling onto people while moving them, goals falling from pulling down on the crossbars, goals falling as result of high winds, cuts or abrasions from sharp edges, and injury as a result of running into goal posts.  Proper protocol requires the referees working the game, inspect the goals before the game is even started.  It is essential your coaches follow semilar protocol in order to protect the players.  Furthermore, NO PLAYERS SHOULD MOVE GOALS... PERIOD.

It becomes our job as administrators to lower this risks by establishing written safety guidelines to educate coaches, inform league officers, and remind referees about safety standards within the organization. This can be done through your website on a safety section, or with downloadable word and pdf’s documents. 

20-20 Supervision.  Kids never fool around during tryouts... right.  Since that is about as far from reality as the Chubacabra, we need to take this into account while boosting our safety measures.  Additionally the club must always be aware of potential external threats as well.

Step one: encourage some of your more active parents to stay around during tryouts and help supervise (not just watch their child play).  In order to maintain your parents focus, don’t have them all gather in one area because they’ll end up talking to each other just like the kids.  Give your volunteers specific tasks like manning the water cooler, or monitoring the parking lot. 

Step two: It is a good idea to have some type of public security on hand.  If nothing else. the officer's presence alone will thwart any potential predator from venturing into the complex.

Step three, have the club medical kit on hand and trained supervisors available in case of emergency.   The last step is safeguarding the field.  Check out our earlier article Safeguard Your Facility for steps on how to best do this.

Don’t Forget a Towel. Make sure your kids are all safe to play by requiring acceptance of the medical waiver.  They can submit these electronically through the website during the tryout registration process.  Keep them safe by wearing the proper gear such as shin guards and rubber cleats. Also give the kids ample time to stretch in order to prevent personal injury. Let your kids know the importance of playing the game safely and how not to play through injury.

Have you any gems of safety wisdom to contribute?  If you do post below, email us at Sam@bluesombrero.com or call 404-835-0305.

May 9th Is Soccer Administrator's Day

      

That’s right folks, The Administrator is turning 2, but instead of throwing ourselves a party we’ve decided to reward you!  In honor of the men and women in the youth soccer trenches, we’ve decided to hold a little contest to help us find the Administrator Of The Year! 

Step 1:  Contact Us

• Click on the link above
• Enter your personal info
• Enter your nomination

…and tell us why you, or a member of your club, deserve to be named Administrator Of The Year!  Don’t worry; you will not be graded on your writing ability.  Feel free to send us pictures, links, videos, or anything else to help strengthen your case.

Step 2:  Read The Administrator
On Soccer Administrator's day (May 9^th) we will announce the winner! 

Step 3:  Celebrate!
So what do you get?

1. A spotlight article in The Administrator, broadcast to 30,000 weekly readers
2. A Blue Sombrero Prize Pack (including an authentic blue sombrero)
3. A $100.00 Amex Gift Card of your choice to be used at the Blue Sombrero Soccer Depot, or any other location
4. And a whole lot more (Top Secret)!

Don’t wait; get your nominations in today!  Feel free to submit as many members of your club as you want.  We look forward to reading your entries!

Thanks again for making The Administrator the leading resource for youth soccer management in the country, and as always… good luck this season!

~The Administrator

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Gary Johansson of Hockessin Soccer Club in Hockessin, DE.  Gary is the winner of our Fill Out a Survey… Win a Sombrero contest.  Entrants offered their opinions and suggestions regarding our nationwide newsletter in exchange for the opportunity to win a highly coveted Blue Sombrero.  Gary was randomly selected out of hundreds of hopefuls as the winner!  Keep checking in with The Administrator in the coming weeks for your next chance to enter and win. 

Additionally, special thanks go out to all our survey participants.  Through your ideas, critiques, and comments, our newsletter is able to offer helpful articles based on what matters most to you, the youth soccer admin.  From all of us at The Administrator, have a great season!

~The Administrator

HCM: The Silent Athlete Killer

We are bombarded by health scares and supposed panaceas so often that we tend to disregard the really important information.  HCM, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is an ailment that should be taken very seriously, especially in the community of youth sports.  While HCM is not required for most physicals, every year athletes from the youth ranks to professional die from this condition.  In fact, just last year Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Joe Kennedy and Olympic runner Ryan Shay lost their lives to HCM. 

Hypertrophic (literally means “to thicken”) cardiomyopathy (“abnormal heart muscle”) is basically the thickening of a particular heart muscle.  As this muscle thickens, it disrupts the heart’s electrical functions and causes an increase in blood pressure.  The combination of these two elements can cause arrhythmia and bring the heart to a dead stop.

Minor symptoms or warning signs include shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitation, light headedness, and blackouts.  Additionally, HCM tends to be genetic.  Doctors recommend those with family history to screen every 5 years for the remainder of their life after the age of 25. There is a fine line between an athletic heart and a HCM heart, so as an administrator it is your duty to inform your community. 

How does this apply to the club?

The symptoms are heightened during strenuous physical activity.  The risk of an “electrical short circuit” increases with the increase in physical stress.  Although sudden death from HCM is mostly associated with football and basketball, soccer players are still at risk.  According to Winston Gandy at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, the disease disproportionately affects African-Americans, which make up as much as 50 percent of reported cases. 

One of the reasons that this test isn’t universally mandated is the price, which can range up to $800 for results.  However, university hospitals are lowering the costs for the test down to as low as $50 thanks to physician donations.   Any player diagnosed with HCM can no longer participate in competitive sports due to the severity of the condition.

There are a few treatments for HCM, but no cure.  Beta-blockers can slow the heartbeat down, ease the contractive force and relieve shortness of breath.  Calcium channel blockers and anti-arrhythmic drugs can be helpful as well.  As medicine and technology progress, we can only hope there is a solution to this problem.  Through education of potential health risks, the youth soccer club is in a better position to protect itself as well as its athletes… and this is good club management.

Do you know of any other must get tests during a check up.  Let the rest of our readers know by posting a comment below, sending an email to Sam@bluesombrero.com, or calling 404-835-0305.

Safeguard Your Facility

When it comes to providing a safe and enjoyable experience for all your facility patrons, it is up to you and your administrative staff to master the art of accident anticipation (not disguise).  After all, the easiest way to prevent a potential serious injury on your facility’s premises is to eliminate the possibility altogether. 

Let’s investigate the four key steps to safeguarding your facility:

1.      Locate… potential hazards.  Unfortunately this task is more difficult then first assumed.  The best way to approach the situation is to divide the facility into subsections such as:

• Equipment:  This includes items like goals, nets, field spikes, net ties, flags, benches, lawn mowers, or even extra trash bags.  A simple approach to eliminating these risks is to stow all unnecessary equipment during facility usage, and consciously inspect all new and worn club equipment. 
• Facility:  Your facility encompasses the surrounding field area as well as concessions, fences, and electrical lines, lighting.  Furthermore restroom facilities should be continually monitored to eliminate any potential predator risks.
• Field:  Field risks revolve around the players on the pitch.  The club must make every effort to maintain a playable surface to not only facilitate the game but eliminate on-field injuries.
• Parking Lots: Parking lots must be marked with “park at your own risk” signs.  Additionally “Children At Play” signs should litter the entrance to the facility to immediately warn drivers.  Provide lighting for your parking lot especially if your parking lot is far from your lit fields to avoid car damage.

2.      Evaluate… potential outside risks including weather and the surrounding community.  If your club is located in “Tornado Alley”, make sure a documented evacuation or cover plan is readily posted. 

Additionally if your facility is located in a high-risk area of town, hire a local policeman to take a weekend day to catch some soccer action.  A police car parked at the entrance alone should be enough to deter any potential unwelcome guests within your facility.

3.      Initiate… a plan of action to correct any risky items immediately.  The first step is to make a priority list.  Top priority items should be addressed regardless of cost.  Secondary items may require a bit of cost analysis as well, based on your clubs available funds.

4.      Communicate… your staff’s efforts to the club members.  Parents will be pleased to know that the club is working hard to protect their children.  This is a great way to improve player retention.  Provide a facility link on your club’s home page that prompts visitors to not only catch up on your latest efforts, but also offer suggestions for future projects.  In the end both the club and the individual members stand to benefit from a safety-first administration.

The Administrator wants to know about the safety steps your club has taken to provide a facility free of risks.  Has your club ever had a scare which prompted your board to take additional action?  Post a comment below, send an email to Jon@bluesombrero.com, or call 404-835-0305.

Get Ready For A Great 2008

It's time to celebrate! New Years is here and The Administrator wants to help make 2008 the best year ever for your organization. Make a list of helpful article ideas and post them on The Administrator. We will turn your ideas into articles and give you a Blue Sombrero for your trouble... sound intriguing?

Submit your suggestions by January 15th for a chance to win an authentic Blue Sombrero.  The best idea wins, so start posting today.  Thanks and happy New Years!