Playing in St. Vincent: Game 4

On our final game on March 2nd, the team was very tired with a few players requesting that we forfeit the game. That was out of the question so the game went on as scheduled. This game was played in Campden Park, just outside of the capital Kingstown. From the start of the game one could see that we were going through the motions. The first half ended with a score of 0-1. Things got worst in the second half when a call that ended in a penalty for the home team that was questionable at best and outside of box at worst. That was followed by an own goal late in the half. A fourth goal was scored when one of our defender got a bad bounce, which saw one of their little but speedy forward scoping it up and finishing with a well placed shot on gaol. The game ended in a 0-4 score.

We went home with our heads high to a deliciously cooked meal by my mom, that everyone enjoyed. We then had a get together at the house where Dana, Rich, Cesar, Zoe, Matt, and Jordan stayed. There gifts were presented to Sherry and myself, to my sisters, mother, Isula, and others that helped us here on the island. I thanked the team for participating in the games and for coming on the trip. I hope a lot was learned by the players that can be used to improve their game, especially the speed of play.

I must give a big thank you to Mike Italia who got the team ready before every game and conducted a number of practices. This was a great help to me as it allowed me to attend to other matters. Thanks Mike! Thanks to all the parents who accompanied the kids on this wonderful trip and made it a success. I hope this is just the beginning for most of you in playing soccer internationally.

Owia Salt Pond

On another of our memorable adventures the team went to the Owia Salt pond on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island on Friday 29th Feb. This was a very winding drive and as we got closer the driving became slower as we had to maneuver in and around pot holes, oncoming traffic and road repair crews. The pond is absolutely spectacular. It is shield from the brute force of the ocean by a ring of rocks and gets its water when the waves crash over the rocks. This day of our visit was such a day as waves after waves keep crashing over the rocks into the pond. This was fun, but became challenging as the waves became so big that they will sweep us into the rocks on the shore side of the pond, resulting in scratches and scrapes to almost all those who dared to venture. Unfortunately I was unable to get any pictures on my camera since I did not have a memory card, and I forgot to get some from others before they left. I do have video footage, which I might enter at another date.

On leaving the Salt Pond we were stuck for quite sometime on a very steep hill where road crews were pouring concrete. The car I was driving refused to make it up the hill twice due to the human load. The workers got a laugh as my passengers unloaded and have to walk/run up the hill. We will all remember and laugh about that episode for some time to come. The guys in the other van did not have to suffer the same fate as they were in a more powerful vehicle. We all got home safety and had dinner again.

Our next game will be on Bequia on Saturday March 1st. We lost that, well played game by both teams, 0-2.

Boat Cruise Down the Leeward Coast of St. Vincent

On Wed, Feb 27th the team, along with Prov sister Monique went on a boat cruise down the leeward (Caribbean sea) coast of St. Vincent. The water was a bit choppy, which made for an interested and fun boat ride. About 15 to 20 miles down we anchored at a beach known for it snorkeling and snorkeled for about an hour. We then head out to Wallilabou beach and the set of first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies, where we had lunch at a restaurant there. People got to explore the set and take pictures. Some of the boys and Rich Moore even climbed the gallows from which Captain Jack Sparrow escaped a hanging in the first movie.

After lunch we headed back up the coast and anchored in a another beautiful beach (Mount Wind), where we swam and snorkeled for another hour. There were lots of beautiful fishes and different sea creatures to see here. After everyone was satisfied we again loaded up the boat and continue on our journey home for fresh showers and dinner, and to refresh ourselves for our second game in Layou; a game that ended in a 2-2 tie.

Playing in St. Vincent: Game 3

We played our best game so far on the island of Bequia (located 9 miles south of St. Vincent) after a wonderful but bumpy boat ride. The game started at 2:30 pm on what turned out to be a very hot afternoon after a morning with a number of showers. The Bequia team was big and fast (the best team thus far), but we were able to play with them and had some scoring opportunities of our own. However, they were able to convert on two of their opportunities, one in either halves of the game. The guys were happy after this game as they played very well.

Before the game we had a opportunity to walked around the capital of the island visiting shops and restaurants along the beach, and swimming. We then catch the ferry at 4:30pm, right after the game for another great, bumpy ride back to St. Vincent. A great time was had by all!

Playing in St. Vincent: Game 2

Hi All, we had our second game today, which ended in another tie (2-2). We continue to impress despite the heat and the physical nature of play. Our two goals today came from penalties as well as one of theirs. This team was not as fast as the first, but we had to devise a way to get things going in the second half. We achieved that goal by replacing Zoe with Colin in goal. Zoe matched up well with their two big players that were causing us some trouble. That made our guys more aggressive and more productive. Everyone stepped up their play to the point of getting a good portion of the local crowd cheering for us. We continue to be congratulated by the local coaches and other officials!

Goals were scored by Galen and Zoe.

ps. I forgot the mentioned in last night's post that the team gathered last night (wed) to watch the local news cast where we were featured on the sports segment. That was great!

Stay tuned!

Update from Prov in St Vincent!!!!

Prov posted this as a comment to another post. What a GREAT start to the trip!!! I look forward to more reports.
ns


Playing Soccer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines:

All members of the team and chaperons made it safely to St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) and are enjoying the warm weather, the cool ocean breeze, the village, the town scenes, and playing soccer in the heat.

We had our first of four games on Tuesday, Feb 26th, which ended in a 1-1 tie. It was a very well played game by both teams. They were more physical and faster than us, but our organization and determination carried us thru. Zoe was awesome in goal in place of Colin who did a great job out on the field. We saw some beautiful free kicks from our team that either hit the cross bar, or just barely flew wide or over. Our goal was scored by Dom from a penalty.

To our surprise, the game was being filmed by the local TV station. I was then interviewed at the end of the game by same TV crew. We will be featured on the nightly news sports segment on Wed night. We also got to meet the national men's team coach who was there scouting the local talent for the island's u17 team. We were later told that all our games were planned for that purpose, so we expect the reminding games to be just as competitive or even more so. needless to say, there are lots of great soccer to come and hopefully, I will be able to get some pictures up here pretty soon. Cao!

Fundraising Update

1. REMINDER - Next potluck / meeting is Sunday, January 27th at the Providences' house.

2. PUBLICITY - I heard back from the Brattleboro Reformer sports reporter today and they're going through a transition (she's stepping up to editor). She indicated she is still interested in doing a story on the team / trip and likely will contact me in a few days. I only sent the press release to the Rutland Herald today so stay tuned on them (and other media outlets).

3. SPONSORSHIPS - As noted in my last message, Jonathan was successful in soliciting a $500 contribution. I asked Angie for any tips. She indicated that the owners of the company are the family of a good friend of Jon's father, and so particularly appreciated Jonathan's pitch. Please consider this another reminder to think of companies that are run by people you know or are known by people you know.

Jordan and I spent time on his sponsorship approach this past weekend. We came up with the following five potential sponsors: xxx xxx xxx xxx and xxx. Jordan didn't feel comfortable calling them out of the blue so he looked up their addresses and composed/customized a short cover letter to send with the group letter and brochure. We only mailed them yesterday so he'll wait until early next week to follow up with a phone call. He didn't give me the go-ahead to send everyone a copy of his cover letter but if any of your sons want a copy, he should feel free to email Jordan directly. ;-)

4. EVENTS - Dana has emailed info on the February Gallery Walk. I am still waiting for word back from NMH about the concessions so please continue to hold those dates. I also am still in discussions re the Feb 16th dance/party so stay tuned on that as well.

5. RAFFLE - Please continue to sell those tickets!

Anything else people should know???? Please feel free to share.

Composite of a Youth Soccer Team

I finally got around to summarizing the responses to the questions the players were asked in December or whenever. Here's a composite based on those responses:

When recently asked which personal accomplishment they are most proud, more than one Brattleboro Storm player cited the team’s advancement to Division 1 in the Pioneer Valley Youth Soccer League in Spring 2007. The team has been playing together in Division 2 for a long time so it’s easy to understand this personal identification. Other players mentioned they were most proud of excellent grades or music as well as a variety of soccer-related awards and achievements. One is very proud of his 1923 consecutive soccer juggles. Many also excel at other sports including basketball, baseball, tennis, hockey, Frisbee, downhill skiing, and snowboarding. One recently was cited on the front page of the Brattleboro Reformer for his work on the student-produced Guilford newspaper. Another devotes lots of time to learning magic and card tricks

The Brattleboro Storm players going on the trip have been playing soccer a minimum of five years – not bad considering they’re only 12-14 years old! They have been named Most Valuable Players, Best Offensive Players, Best All Around Player, Most Goals, Most Assists, Best Goal, Best Assist, and Captain and three have played on Vermont’s developmental team.

Fundraising Update!

Hi -

Lots of good progress to report!

First - reminder that the next trip fundraising meeting was scheduled at the last one. I am pretty sure it is Friday, Jan 4th at 6 p.m. at Yuri's house in Guilford. Ursula or Yuri will send directions prior. And if this isn't the correct date or time, I trust others will jump in with the accurate info.

Next - Here's my recollected summary of the discussion at the December meeting & developments since:

1. We're going to distribute the funds raised through group fundraising efforts (events, business sponsorships, etc) by allocating evenly to the players going on the trip and Prov (once we have reached the $100 per player/Prov that is going to the Providences for group meals & homestays). If anyone feels he or she is doing more than his or her fair share of fundraising, it will be his or her own responsibility to back off and let others step up. Let's try to keep any and all negativity out. ;-)

2. Each family was asked to think of five businesses (family doctor, dentist, lawyer, electrician, plumber, etc.) to contact about sponsorship. Since the meeting, Merrill Lynch (courtesy of Philip's dad, John) has generously copied the beautiful brochure that Galen produced for players & parents to use to raise money from businesses. Yuri apparently has begun drafting a cover letter and is going to get together with 1-2 other players to finalize. All the players will sign at the January meeting. If anyone would like copies of the brochure before the meeting, please email John Ogorzalek (email on this message) to make arrangements. There's a short list of companies that we're going to approach more systematically (I don't have it handy). All business sponsorship funds should be made out to the BYSA which has agreed to serve as the fiscal agent. These funds will be allocated as described above - evenly across the players going and Prov.

3. The three players raising the most in the way of business sponsorships can earn cash prizes. The player who solicits the most gets $75, second most $50, and third most $25.

4. We acknowledged that family and friends might be willing to support an individual kid's trip but not the whole teams. That's AOK! I'm hoping to have CDs with the presentation that Matt put together so that players can send this out electronically (rather than use the brochure for this purpose). These contributions will be handled between the donor and the families and not involve the BYSA.

5. Sherry has been working on the on-the-ground budget given info re day trips provided at the December meeting. It looks like the total costs per player/chaperone for homestay, meals, and local transportation to this and that will be about $150.

6. Sell raffle tickets!!! Sherry sent out tickets yesterday. The drawing is January 20th. Emphasize the non-BYSA prizes to friends and neighbors.

7. Dana has new ideas and is willing to spearhead Gallery Walk efforts in January and February. Stay tuned.

8. Nancy is looking into the cost/availability of SIT's dining hall for a Caribbean- or roots-themed dance/party in late January. Stay tuned.

9. Nancy will finalize press release to distribute right after the first of the year to coincide with business sponsorship outreach efforts.


What am I forgetting????

Happy New Year!!!!

Nancy

Successful Gallery Walk - Another $153 Raised!

From volunteer organizer Dana:


Yes, Galen and his helpers! The brochure is absolutely great! Thank you to those who helped at Gallery Walk, but especially to the starters Zoe, Matt, Justin with the Palm tree (that worked very well), to Ursula and Nancy, but mostly to the finishers, Sherry and Prov (and as I understand Matt, Zoe, et al) who lasted in that cold damp far longer than I did. I know that $153 won't go a long way but it was inspiration to do January and February gallery walk with a few new ideas added, which I think can bring in some higher results. We can talk as time goes along. I also want to thank the bakers and cup people. Woody was incredible as always. We had quite a crowd in front of his store at times. One of the most exciting parts of Friday's fundraiser was the number of players taking part. At one point I think almost the whole team was there. It makes a difference to keep the players active in these efforts. Thanks guys.. The trip is very expensive for all, especially those with more than a player going, but there is a lot of motivation in this group and I think we will find ways to pull together funds. Those who are thinking of going should get involved with our efforts, and those not involved yet, can certainly share their thoughts on different (more effective) ways. Anyhow, we are looking forward to our potluck on Friday. What time do you want us to descend upon your home?????? Dana, Rich and Cesar

Kudos to Galen for Brochure plus...

Huge THANKS to Galen for the excellent job he did with the brochure we all can use for trip fundraising purposes!!! Quite professional-looking, I say!

I'm attaching the JPEG version he sent to me last night. If anyone can turn this into a two-sided 8-1/2x11 brochure in PDF, that would be great! If others besides Angie are in a position to contribute printing services (making 25-50 color copies), please let me know and as soon as we get a PDF, we can forward for printing/copying.

Thanks also to Jimmy for taking photos and Ursula for providing copyedits to the brochure but the lion's share of the credit goes to Galen for his efforts!

Enjoy the weather! See some of you this afternoon!

Nancy

PS - Matt and Galen also have produced a terrific digital promotional piece to which we just have to add info about making checks payable to the Club and contact info. Stay tuned for that! We'll also be providing a list of companies/organizations we are targeting for large contributions. Otherwise, area individuals and businesses will be fair game for players to approach for sponsorships. At the Providences' potluck next Friday, we can discuss the cash incentives ($75, $50, and $25 for players), allocation of funds raised beyond the first $1500 we are directing toward group meals/homestays, and January presentations to Rotary clubs / other organizations we are scheduling.

Trip Fundraising Update

Hi -

Thanks to everyone for time spent on the trip fundraising front in the last few weeks!


I know of the efforts of all these people:

* Justin, Sawyer, and Julian for working on the tabletop display for use at events and presentations
* Matt and Galen for working on a digital presentation for use seeking sponsors
* Galen for working on a print brochure for the same purpose
* Prov and all the people who made the soccer tourney such a success (think refs, concession, and schlepping all the stuff, etc). Over $300. HOORAY!
* Prov, Sherry, Ursula and others for moving on the raffle
* Dana for taking initiative to look into Gallery Walk promo
* Liz or Jim for looking into the availability of the NMH basketball concession

Sorry if I missed your efforts! Who and what else should be on the list?

Sponsorships

Once the materials are finalized, players and parents will have the tools they need to approach prospective sponsors. We should talk about the issues of duplication and allocation of funds raised.

Prov - have you confirmed that the Club can serve as fiscal agent (assuming they're a 501(c)(3) organization) so that people will know to whom to write checks? Matt and Galen - please let us know what you need to complete the promotional materials. Where is the tabletop display at this point?

Is anyone a member of any of the Rotary Clubs? Any fraternal or other organization with an upcoming op for a presentation or exhibit? What players are willing and available to go with 2-3 other players to make a presentation at a meeting or company? Etc.

Storm Chore Busters

Ursula - Did you get a sense from players and/or parents how many people foresee being available to help bust chores? What is needed at this point?

Raffle

What is needed at this point?

Other Initiatives

Many other ideas were generated at various meetings and games. A family dinner/dance? Table outside the co-op? A service auction? Soccer merchandise in time for the holidays? Ping pong tournament?

What do you need to move your idea forward? Come prepared to ask others to help make it happen!

Allocation of Funds Raised

While working the concession stand at the tourney, I learned that some of the mothers have excellent experience in group fundraising for projects like this and already have worked through some of the tricky issues related to the allocation of funds raised. For example, what is a fair way to recognize the contributions of a kid who goes well beyond the call of duty to solicit sponsorships or shows up and helps at every opportunity? How do you take into account the kid who already has a lot of fundraising responsibility on his shoulders for a previously scheduled class trip? How do we want to handle earmarks? Etc. Maybe this could be talked about at the Providences as well?

Just some thoughts and questions...let others know your thoughts and plans!!

Nancy

Tourney Raised $307 For Trip! Players Had Fun! ;-)

Well, THAT was short and sweet! Prov had the idea, made a flyer, sent out some emails, and they came!

Four teams and some parents braved cold temperatures to make the Storm tourney a fun and successful affair. My understanding is that a younger team ran circles around the "old" guard to prevail in the end and that there was some AMAZING soccer out there.

And $307 more in the trip kitty is definitely not too shabby! Huge kudos to Prov and all the parents who made the tourney and concession work rather smoothly!