Dear Membership,
As most of you are aware we have gold teams for
U11 to U14
boys and girls from U11 to U13. This is now the
fourth
year of play for the gold teams for boys and the
second for girls. Experience has shown a number of problems
with the existing system. Some of the more obvious problems
are as follows:
1. Reduction in the number of players for silver teams
2. Reduction in the average quality of player left on
the silver teams and no role models
3. Reduction in the available experienced coaches for
silver teams as their children often make the gold teams
4. Limited gold competition. With the exception of one
age category each team plays only 3 other gold teams in
the season.
The Okanagan Mission Youth Soccer Association has spent
considerable time debating this issue and has come up with a
number of options. Because of the significant impact any
decision will have on players in these age categories we
have decided to ask for your input.
As a member of COYSA we can push for change but cannot
unilaterally impose change. Based on limited feedback from
our membership we feel that the Mission club wants a change
to the current system. If this survey supports this
assumption we intend to take the results to the COYSA
meeting later this month to push for change. We are not
aware of any of the other clubs having surveyed their
membership on this matter.
The OMYSA Executive is firmly in favour of exploring
different options to alleviate the above noted problems.
Some favour having a Select C and others would be happy
to see silver teams. Your input is very important in
this critical decision. We all want what is best for the
children. The OMYSA wants to make sure that we represent
your views which is why it is very important for you to
respond to this survey. The deadline for responding is
May 23, 2001. The results of this survey and the final
decision of the OMYSA Executive will be posted on our
web site as soon as the information is available. This
should be sometime in June 2001.
We have tried to be as objective as possible in presenting
the advantages and disadvantages of each option. No doubt
many of you could add your own to the list. We want to
ensure that whatever decision is make is done so in the best
interest of the whole club and not just the silver or gold
players.
The options we would like you to consider are as follows:
Option 1 - Status quo
There would be no change from the current tiering system
(gold and silver). If the status quo is the more popular
choice of our membership we would make one important change
to the current system. The gold tryouts would be done in the
fall to eliminate the administrative nightmare caused by
holding them in the spring.
Advantages:
1. We would continue to provide a higher level of
coaching and play for some of our children
Disadvantages:
1. Reduction in the number of players for silver teams
2. Reduction in the average quality of player for silver
teams / no role models
3. Reduction in available experienced coaches for silver
teams
4. Limited competition for gold team players
Option 2 - Abandon the gold teams and leave
a single league inclusive of gold and silver players
Advantages:
1. Would eliminate disadvantages noted in Option 1 above
Disadvantages:
1. Would not provide a higher level of coaching and play
for some of our children which some believe we need
Option 3 - Consider a Select C system
This system would create a new level of select play which
would have development as a focus. Both Select C
players and coaches would be required to participate in the
divisional (silver teams) play. The Select C players would
be full members of the silver teams and the Select C coach
would also coach a silver team. Practices would be limited
to once a week in addition to their normal silver team
practice. Competition would be on a tournament basis only.
Both Select C practices and exhibition / tournaments would
be strictly controlled to ensure the players do not "burn
out". We would anticipate the formation of 1 or 2 Select C
teams at each age category. As this would be a COYSA
district wide competition we would only expect a small
number of our players from each age category to make the
team. Finally, we would reserve practice and play times for
the Select C teams to ensure there was no conflict with
their regular practices and games.
Advantages:
1. Would provide a higher level of coaching and play for
all
of our players
2. Would not take players or coaches away from the
silver teams
3. Would allow Select C players/coaches to bring skills
back to the rest of their silver teams - role model
enhanced
4. More competition for Select C (as compared to current
gold teams) players as they would also play on silver
teams
Disadvantages:
1. Additional (although limited) commitment required in
addition to playing on a silver team
2. The Select C team would not develop as much of a
"team spirit" due to limited practices and tournaments.
They would however develop this team spirit through play
on the silver team.
Your response need be only 1, 2 or 3 and the level in which
your child is currently playing. Please ensure your response
conforms to the following example to ensure it is counted. A
sample response for a family with 2 children in soccer
between U10 and U15 would be:
Option 1 - Girls U12 Gold, Boys U14 Silver
Of course please feel free to add any comments to your
response. Any comments must be added below the
requested response so we can easily tabulate the results.
Due to the large number of surveys sent out we may not be
able to respond to individual questions. We will, however,
provide a summary of the survey and major concerns on our
web site as noted above.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
OMYSA Executive.
