Coaches Blog: Happy Holidays!
/
It has been an incredible year and all of us at San Diego Soccer Club want to thank our parents, our coaches and most importantly our players for hanging in there with us for this past year. THANK YOU.
Where to start?
In March 2020 Covid-19 was identified as a 'pandemic' and from then until now we have had a rollercoaster of events that no one could have predicted or could have been totally prepared for. Schools closed, many businesses closed, empty shelves in our stores as many items are gobbled up, restaurants closed, lockdowns, and civil unrest. The terms Covid Testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and treatment have all become a part of our everyday language. Prior to March not many of us had ever heard of Zoom before but now can’t imagine (well maybe could imagine) life without it. There have been many changes to our lives and all of this in an election year! We came, we saw, we survived! This year has tested us all, 2021 and a return to the “old days” can’t come soon enough!
There are so many people that deserve personal thank yous and acknowledgements for persevering through difficult circumstances and going above and beyond their roles in San Diego Soccer Club. The nomination process to acknowledge those people is now open via this nomination form for our annual Terri Moran Above and Beyond Award and we encourage you to submit one for these special people.
To Our Board of Directors and Administrative team. You have provided the platform for us to continue to provide meaningful practices for our players both on and off the field. The support for our coaches, families and players has been phenomenal. Your ability to adjust and address needs quickly and support for our coaches was first class --- ranging from the purchase of Zoom subscriptions and the RISE app, instituting protocols, to buying thermometers, to securing additional field space for the distanced training all while continuing to provide guidance was truly admirable. Most people in our club don’t realize the hundreds of hours, thoughtful guidance and dedication you provide in a volunteer capacity.
To Our Coaches. You are the heartbeat of this club and we all owe you an enormous debt for continuing to be there everyday for our players and adjusting accordingly as we pivoted from the 'toilet roll challenge', individual skills, Zoom training to social distancing practices to game-like environments. You all made the time spent with our players invaluable and you deserve our immense gratitude for being there for ALL of our players.
To Our Families. God Bless you all. You entrusted us with your kids during the most challenging of times while dealing with an unknown entity and the seriousness of the disease was not to be felt for months after the initial announcement. Your support for our club has been unmatched within our community and we will continue to provide the best we can going forward into 2021.
To Our Future. It's still a worrying time as the experts tell us there will be more grief before we get to grips with Covid but........we are hopeful. Vaccines are being delivered this week. Every day we become closer to the end of this pandemic. We will never, ever give up! We are resilient, we are San Diego Soccer Club. We will succeed.
Our plan is to take a deep breath, enjoy the holidays and the New Year and then get back after it. We are making plans for the 2021/22 season. We are forming teams, planning tryouts --- real and virtual. We will be scheduling meetings. We will be practicing. We will be expecting our players to continue to adapt and thrive. And we will all be out on the field cheering our players.
Our mantra ---- 'no excuses'! We need to be ready when the fields are open for competition.We need to be ready for league play when it is permitted. We need to continue to be innovative and find 'best practices' for our coaches and players.
Over the past 9 months we as Directors of Coaching and our Board of Directors have received various questions and emails from parents regarding what is included in the offerings of SDSC and how that potentially differed from years prior? This isn’t what we expected is often the statement or question.
As a Director, coach, prior soccer parent and now soccer grandparent, Brian Quinn thought about this and here is his starting ‘11’ for gratitude during this time based on his current and past experiences in regards to the competitive soccer experience:
To see kids coming home exhausted but happy.
When your kids had 5 hours of virtual school and are tired but sprint out the door to go to practice.
To learn how to focus, stay disciplined and stay dedicated to their team.
To learn how to deal with disappointment when their team loses or they do not get the team they wanted but go back the next week to compete again.
To achieve goals through hard work and effort.
For the sense of achievement when a player who started juggling to 5 without bouncing and in 3 months time has now reached 157 ‘juggles’.
So kids develop respect for others on their team and their coaches.
To be on the field and not in front of the X-box.
To develop life long friendships through soccer.
The memories that my kids have given me that are priceless.
To provide players the chance to mentor others in the future.
We could go on but the opportunities and values that soccer provides will serve your child in the future.
Have a wonderful holiday and do not hesitate to reach out to any of us during this time for advice or guidance.......because we will be there for you.
SDSC Directors of Coaching
