This year marks the Russell Soccer Club’s 25th anniversary… a good year to go for gold with the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA).
One of the most successful in Eastern Ontario, the club already owns a silver classification with the OSA indicating it’s one of the best managed in the province, said long-time volunteer Sue Buys who until recently served as the organization’s first paid administrator, a job now filled by Stephanie Tait Oriwol.
Buys said a detailed application for the OSA top ranking is now being filled out. All the ingredients are in place for a gold designation should the association see fit, she said.
As a good sign the 25th anniversary will be a banner year, the soccer club just completed its most successful pre-registration ever, with a record 900 players of all ages signing up last Friday evening and Saturday morning at the Russell Arena.
“Usually we get about 700 over the winter registration weekend,” Buys observed. “Hundreds of others sign up late after that and right into the season. The total last year was 1,400 which we expect to match and likely surpass this year.”
Russell Soccer club members come in all shapes and sizes, various ages, both genders and play on house and competitive teams. There are now some 10 busy soccer pitches in the village connected to the sports and youth centre and to the schools on the north edge of Russell Village. One full sized and two mini fields constructed last year won’t be playable until 2011, Buys said.
All of those players require plenty of volunteer help in coaching, assisting, managing, refereeing, convening, field maintenance and special events. Just to fully coach and assist, some 130 volunteers are required.
“We have a lot of them in place but we’re still short on coaches for the age 8-11 teams, both boys and girls,” Buys said. “We’ve never gone without because parents, although they may hold back at first, will step up to help out when there’s a shortage.”
While parents can be intimidated at the thought of coaching in a sport which they know very little about technically, there are training sessions and manuals along with the support of new Head Coach Linda Schweitzer.
“Once they get the hang of it, most parents enjoy the experience of coaching or assisting,” Buys said.
Among events being planned to celebrate the 25th are a 36-hour “soccer-a-thon” at the youth centre in which local organizations will be invited to put teams up against teams of all ages fielded by the soccer club. (T.V.D.)
