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| juanhaldino
March 26, 2009
8:02:55 AM
Entry #: 3101082
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Gentlemen,
Over the last few weeks, as the weather (some days) turns from bitter winter cold to spring warmth, as some young men's fancy turns to love, we turn to futbol, footie, football, soccer, calcio. Or at least more and more folks do, as the hardcore City members train year around as long as the pitch is playable and the lights are on.
With the spring, and partly due to our success and growing renown as a bunch of footie and beer loving lads, more and more folks show up looking for a kick around. Evidence of this was phenomenon was at hand last night on the Grand Street pitch, as the few on the sidelines just before 8 quickly become nearly 30 by 8:15. Great if we're at Lincoln where we there is often enough room in between baseball games to split up into various games, not so great at Grand Street.
Facing growing discontent amongst club members but ever so mindful of our history (the good and the bad) of inclusion, we have come to a crossroads.
There are 23 dues paying members in the club this year. With a handful of exceptions, most club members can be counted on to appear at each and every training (even if some show up an hour late). As we are a dues paying club, and it is our dues and long standing history that secure us our training and game day pitches, our dues that have paid for our balls, cones, pinnies and beers on occasion, it is our members who should be ensured at all times of time on the training pitch without being asked to sit down by others or have fear of injury.
A handful of non-members were on hand last night, including at least three who have worn the JCFC jersey at some point over the last 10 years. Many others came because they found our site and emailed asking to come. Some came with others, and some come knowing a lit football pitch means there is sure to be a kick around. All who came early enough agreed to sign liability waivers in case of injury. All came to play. Unfortunately, too many came and the game nearly got out of hand. We salvaged the training session and finished strong without major injury.
Going forward, in an attempt to manage and diffuse the situation, we will do a better job of letting people on to the pitch to train with us. We will do this by keeping a list of folks we have invited to play due to a joint interest in joining the club, or past history with the club. We will ask that anyone bringing mates advise the managers of their intent before 5pm on Wednesdays. And most importantly we will make it clear to those showing up, that non-club members may not get any playing time that evening unless the managers determine that there is indeed room for them to play, and we will be sure to point out that the session is 8-10coming late is sometimes not avoidable, but leaving early is frowned upon, injuries being the exception.
Lastly, we ask that all involved, members and non-members be patient as we work through this situation. We are a victim of our success and must thread in a way that ensures fairness for all. After all, everyone just wants to play and go for a beer after wards.
Juan Hidalgo
Jersey City Football Club
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