SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Mt. Pleasant's Fight

The folks in Mt. Pleasant are organizing to let town council know there desires for scoccer space.

From MPSC:

A Recreation Committee Meeting has been scheduled to address the needs of soccer in Mount Pleasant. The meeting will be held October 1st at Town Hall, 6:30 pm.

Did you know that there are only 7 full size soccer fields in Mount Pleasant?

*The number of participants that will be served by those 7 fields in 2008 are 5,365*. Baseball/Softball participation for the year is less than 2,500 players, yet they have access to 20 fields.

The lack of field space is affecting Mount Pleasant soccer on every level. No training for Micro soccer, multiple teams sharing the same field and reduced practice times are all a result of the limited space.

The Town's current plan is to create a multipurpose field in Carolina Park composed of 4 baseball fields on which soccer can be played in the outfield. Mount Pleasant needs to create a single purpose, well equipped and lighted soccer training facility.

Take a moment to read the *attached information* regarding participation numbers, current facilities, issues and a proposed solution.

Remember to mark your calendar -- *October 1st at Town Hall 6:30 pm*. Be sure to encourage maximum attendance. It all starts with you.

Good for them! Long overdue IMO.

I wish them well.

Soccer vs. traditional american sports.....should be a good match-up.

I hope the pro-soccer folks include the data on the 2 tournaments the club hosts and all the money that brings into the city. I doubt any of the other sports add that kind of cash to the city coffers. These types of discussions tend to be emotional....present facts, focus on the money side...that's one thing politicians pay attention to and it's very hard to argue against...

There may be a gender equity argument in this as well. Plenty of fields for the boys to play football and baseball, but the current field space does not match the needs for the number of girls playing soccer. It may be a stretch, but worth a look.

There needs to be a standing room only crowd for this meeting!! Parents whose kids play micro and can't have full practices and games need to be there...parents who are frustrated that the Town of Mt P won't let kids play on the fields when it rains need to be there...parents who live in Mt. P but have kids playing elsewhere need to be there and explain why you made that decision. For the past two years, there has been an average of 360 soccer players per field in Mt. P That average is 60 players for baseball and football...not even close to being equitable. And now they want to build more baseball fields that don't get used so soccer can be played in the outfield. Soccer Watcher and Fireant are right on....I bet the Town Council has no idea about the money MPSC brings in...not to mention the estimated $100,000 economic impact (hotels rooms & meals out) to the Town on Tournament weekends and the Title IX angle can not be overlooked. Some things to keep in mind... Gary Santos a Mt. P native has no clue about soccer..if it ain't football or baseball he won't talk about it. Paul Gawrych, also a native played on the first Wando H.S. team and has completly abandoned soccer since. Billy Swails is a big suppoter of soccer and has grandchildren that play. Many on council still reference "HungryNeck" as the traveling teams which hasn't been the case for almost 15 years. Town Council needs to realize soccer is here to stay. Come out and support MPSC!

First, let me say good luck to Mt. Pleasant with their fight!

I have been trying to find the information refered to on the MPSC sight...can someone point me to the right page.

Quote:

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Take a moment to read the *attached information* regarding participation numbers, current facilities, issues and a proposed solution.

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5365 players??? that is a huge club for SC.

Does anyone else find it interesting that there is now such an interest in new fields and more involvement now that MPSC has gotten rid of the old regime?
Could more fields and more space have helped build better teams earlier?
Or was there too much apathy before?

The area has grown alot..There is a lack of fields over the whole tri county..Better teams? I don't think space has anything to do with quality other than those in charge are real quick to close the fields due to rain and we have had our share of 6PM showers lately. Apathy? That will be determined by how many show for the meeting.

Deja vu all over again. As a former MPSC Board member (7+ years ago), the Town Council and Town Administration is very pro baseball. They got in trouble once for funsing a Dixie Youth team strip to their World Series while not funding soccer championship teams.

The numbers include Micro, Rec and select programs. This year is very tight with soccer space. Past years there had been plenty of room, field space was not the reason for nonperforming teams. Stand still training was a big reason.
Watch out when lacrosse hits, another sport competing for the same fields.

Apathy will kill this movement fast.

Please show your support and attend the October 1st meeting. There absolutely needs to be an over flow crowd there, as an indicator to the Rec Committee and Town Council that there is support in the community.

What many in Mt. P don't realize is that the Town, through the Rec department controls MPSC. We have been told on many occasions that MPSC functions as a booster club and will be told when and where they can spend money. The DOC and other coaches are paid by MPSC, not the Town, eventhough the Town considers them part time employees. A few years ago, MPSC wanted to hire a nationally known soccer person to be DOC. When the Rec Dept director found out he lectured the MPSC board; reminding them that "no soccer coach" is going to make more money than the head of the Rec Dept. (Keep in mind that this person was to be paid for from MPSC resources, not Town funds) Soccer brings in infinitely more revenue to the Town both in fees and economic impact than any of the other sports could ever dream of, yet they benefit very little from this support. Why would a town the size of Mt P consider building new baseball fields when it doesn't use the fields it has?? New facilities do not neccessarily mean better performance but they will go a long way to advancing the club. The fact that the Rec Comm of Town Council has agreed to meet with MPSC is huge. When they realize that the Rec Dept staff has been less than forthcoming in providing accurate information about the satisfaction of MPSC parents, hopefully things will begin to change. Even if you don't wish to speak come out for the meeting. A large crowd will speak volumes!!

I know MPSC is lining up the speakers and petitions have been circulating. I'll be there.

Large # of soccer parents = large # of registered voters.

A politician's #1 job is to get re-elected. A not so subtle hint to the board that the Mt. P soccer voting bloc is a large one and can/will influence future elections....

In Case you did not get the info before the Town forced the Club to take it down from thier own website.

The Soccer Community has failed to keep up with fields that are on par with our participation. Its participants need to speak up to their town.

FACILITIES INVENTORY

Fall Soccer Fields
1 Trident Our original Hungryneck soccer field
5 Patriot’s Point Lighted
*TMP proposing expansion of bathrooms and storage, no shelter.
1 Park West Multipurpose Lighted
1/2 Park West 9 Track-Lighted. Monday and Wednesday use only. (55 x 80 small)
1/2 Cario half-Lighted. Monday, Wednesday, weekends 2-6:00
1/2 Long Point-Monday and Wednesday use only *Usage conditional to HOA of Long Point Development
1/2 James B Edwards
9/23/08 football just notified soccer they do not need this unlighted field
Total 7 Lighted Fields, 2 Half size fields
4295 Youth Participants in 2007 Fall & Spring Seasons
$ 163,210.00 in Registration fees paid to TMP in 2007

Baseball/ Soft ball
4 R.L. Jones Center(4 Lighted fields/1 lighted batting tunnel)
*TMP relocating batting tunnels and adding 2 new shelters
(This facility is annexed to a school with an ample overhang for shelter and parent pick-up in inclement weather and is directly next to a recreation department building for child pick-up)
3 Sloan (3 Lighted fields and batting tunnel) * TMP adding a shelter
4 Park West(4 Lighted Fields) * TMP adding track and batting cage
1 Whipple road(1 Lighted baseball field)
1 Cario(1 Lighted Field)
1 Whitesides(1 Lighted field)
3 Duffy(3 Lighted fields/ lighted batting tunnel)
*TMP adding shelters
1 James B Edwards *Usage conditional to Chas County Schools
2 Speights Street/Reid Field
1 Wando South(1 Lighted field/batting tunnel) *TMP upgrading lighting
Total 18 Lighted, 3 Unlighted Fields
2314 Youth Participants in 2007 Fall & Spring Seasons
$ 87,932.00 in Registration fees paid to TMP in 2007

Football
1 R.L. Jones Center(1 Lighted field)
1 Park West Football(1 Lighted field)
1 Park West 9 Track(1 Lighted) Tuesday, Thursday, weekends
*Permanent football goal post in place
1 James B Edwards 9/23/08 football just notified soccer they do not need this unlighted field
1 Town Hall(1 Lighted field)
1 Moultrie Middle School (1 Lighted field)
1 Laing Middle School
1 Old Wando-Santos asking soccer to fund $5,000. for lights though Football is using field
1/2 Long Point-Thursday and weekends
1/2 Whipple (Lighted field)
1/2 Cario half-(50 x 75 lighted field) Tuesday, Thursday, weekends till 2:00
1 Cario FB-(1 Lighted field)
1 Whitesides-(1 Lighted field)
Total 8-1/2 Lighted, 3-1/2 Unlighted
1048 Youth Participants in 2007
$ 39,824.00 in Registration fees paid to TMP in 2007


Adult and Youth Soccer Participation Numbers Program
5,365 Soccer registrations totaling $ 203,870.00 in 2008

Present situation:
Currently Mount Pleasant Soccer field usage is maxed out. Teams are practicing 4 to a field Monday thru Thursday. Training for Micro soccer has been reduced to games only due to overcrowding at fields. This further hurts the development of soccer and the MTP player base.

Select teams are limited to two sessions of 1 hour and 15 minute training with no field change over times. The lack of changeover time creates an impossible transition situation. We have 13 year olds scheduled for training at 7:30 to 9:00pm. Other clubs in our region train their players three times a week for 1- 1/2 to 2 hours outside of game days. Currently, player to space/field ratio is a detriment to the Mount Pleasant soccer players training and future development.


Dedicated facilities not only allow for better training and scheduling scenarios but also for better field maintenance. Dedication limits the year round usage of the venue and allows the field to “recover” in off months.

Soccer is a dual sex sport from Micro soccer to adult league. Female participation in soccer far out numbers the female participation numbers in softball, football and baseball. Equality in field count is not being given to programs supporting females.

Our ability to compete with other regions clubs is hurt by the lack of facilities. Currently, Greenville is expanding their facilities to include a 16 field complex in addition to their existing 6 field MESA complex. Richland County has passed a 50 million dollar recreation bill for improvements and new facilities on top of their current 11 and 5 field sites.. Rock Hill has built Manchester Meadows a Premier Soccer Park.

The Soccer Community has failed to keep up with fields that are on par with our participation. Its participants need to speak up to their town.

Mount Pleasant Grassroots Soccer

Primary Goal: To create a well equipped and lighted rectangular field training facility to maximize development potential of all Town of Mount Pleasant soccer participants.

What we need:
• Field Complex with 16 lighted 100 x 80 fields This facility could meet multiple rectangular field sports needs without compromising its effectiveness for the sport of soccer.(For example: Football and Lacrosse)
• Kicking walls incorporated as part of storage areas
• 4 synthetic turf small sided game fields which could serve as 2 of the 16 fields request
• Minimum of 6 restrooms stalls for women and 4 for men per 6 playing fields.
• Concession Stand shell with storage area.
• Soccer specific equipment storage area.
• Second story meeting room/field overview area with roll up doors as part of the concession stand building
• Walking trails and other amenities that facilitate general public enjoyment.
• Maintenance of Patriot’s Point Complex as the secondary soccer facility with the addition of 10 more restroom stalls and a 20 x 50 covered shelter with second story meeting/field viewing room.
• Maintenance of Old Wando practice field and Trident academy soccer fields as soccer specific fields.

Community Climate:
• We believe Mt. Pleasant residents are aware that our land availability is a diminishing resource and that if land and recreation facilities are not procured and developed in the next 5 years the opportunity to have a high quality recreation program with adequate field space for program growth will be limited.
• We believe MTP residents would support a bond to create and update MTP recreation facilities for ALL sports.
• Upon completion of a new complex, we are willing to promote a win/win scenario of giving up usage of Park West, Cario and Long Point fields to help address the recognized needs of other sports.
• We believe MTP residents also want their volunteer parent organizations to have input into the creation and design of these facilities with the recreation department.
• The Mayor just announced a committee to review and give comments to the
Towns comprehensive plan. We would like a similar committee, with members appointed by Town Council to review the Recreation Needs Assessment. We encourage all Booster Clubs to petition the formation and participation of its members on this proposed committee.
• We believe the soccer community of Mount Pleasant is in need of additional fields in one location.
• We believe the creation of such a facility could allow us to increase participation in our fundraising events and provide additional ATAX revenue to create and maintain such a facility.

Recreation Committee Meeting is scheduled for Oct 1st at Town Hall, 6:30 PM.

Please be sure to encourage the maximum attendance.
It all starts with you.

Thanks for posting this info. Well done!

Excellant write up.
I am going to send it to all of the Council members.

The Town forces the Club to take something off their website? Huh?

This just exemplifies the screwed up situation of Mt. Pleasant soccer that will always exist, regardless of fields, unless the club privatizes and consolidates. Ask Town Council or the Soccer Club about the relationship with one another and every answer will vary. It's a complete joke down there and a fight that will never be won or end.

A worthwhile fight for MPSC. Best of Luck!

If MPSC is censored from putting stuff on their own private website (yes, MPSC is a private club seperate from the Rec. Dept.) then after they got denied more fields they will be buried in the hierarchy for bringing this issue to light in such a strong manner. It's a Good 'Ol Boy Democracy in Mt. Pleasant that loves its baseball and football.

When I think of how much money I have spent at various soccer venues over the past few years, it should be a no brainer for communities to build soccer fields. Yet the message doesn't seem to get out. It's time to start thinking about some sort of centralized public relations and lobbying effort to get the message out about the economic impact of soccer. I'm sure that SCYSA does some work on this front, but I'm talking about a stepped up effort. The politics of it are complicated, because inevitable debates will arise over whose fields are going to be funded. However, we can't deny the universal problem that state and local governments, in general, do not have a clue about the potential financial impact of club soccer on their communities.

How did the meeting go last night in Mt. Pleasant?

The meeting last night went well. The presentations by MPSC folks were very well done and very professional, although perhaps rushed a little bit as Gary Santos rudely interupted the speakers to remind them about their 3 minutes being up. Steve Ballentine made a great point about the decline in support for soccer in Mt P after Tom O'Rourke and Mayor Woods-Flowers left. Both Santos and Gawrych took offense to this by stating they have always been supporters of soccer. Santos and Gawrych have now both seen the light because parents are ticked off and now they realize how many voters there are out there who are upset. (For the record, you can get elected to Mt P Town Council with @ 4,000 votes) These guys are either deaf or blind if they say this is the first time they have heard about any of this. They have relied on a rec dept that has constantly told them everything is OK with soccer when for years it hasn't been. Thanks to Councilman Billy Swails, MPSC finally got this audience with elected officials that should have been paying attention ten years ago. All three councilmen asked the MPSC supporters to help if and when a bond refurendum needs to be considered. It's interesting to consider that baseball and football have been given everything they need, even to the point of excess capacity and now soccer needs to get a bond referendum passed to get up to speed. Would we need a referendum to build baseball fields at Carolina Park??

The turn out was good. A lot of kids there wearing MPSC shirts. Hopefully, something good will come of this.

To Homegrown.
Your inventory doe sno tshow the Carolina Park complex that has been approved for baseball, correct?
How many fields will that be?

wouldn't it be easier to convert the Park West baseball fields to soccer fulltime? Faster, less expensive.

I think the issue is over whether or not to build the baseball complex at Carolina Park versus getting that nixed and having a soccer complex built. So Carolina Park baseball wouldn't be included in the count.

Homegrown's post of 9/27 only includes the facilities inventory as it stands right now. If Gawrych and Santos were on top of things and looking out for soccers interests as they stated last Wednesday evening, they would have made Park West a soccer specific complex. Carolina Park needs to be soccer specific. We don't need any more baseball fields because the ones we have right now aren't being used to capacity. The town's "plan" calls for four new baseball fields with soccer played in the outfield areas. The propsal I saw didn't look like it included even one full size 100'x80' field. It had multiple fields overlapping each other in the outfield. Swimmer2 your idea about converting the Park West fields is an excellent idea and way too practical. Santos & Gawrych would never give up baseball fields even though that would still leave them with 14.

Does the Rec. Dept. submitt report to town council regarding participation numbers. The numbers for soccer were overwhelming for soccer, yet the council acted like this was the first time they were hearing this. Do anybody know what the Rec. Dept. has been reporting?

The Rec Department has historically reported very little about soccer. Three years ago when the MPSC found a DOC, the head of the Rec Dept (recently retired) told MPSC that there would never be a "soccer coach" paid more than him. Apparently the Rec Committee of council claims they never heard about this. A review of the minutes of the Rec Committee of Council shows a few mentions of soccer issues over the past few years. Gary Santos will always report on the success of a baseball, football or basketball team but has no idea that there were over 40 MPSC teams last year that were Champions or Finalists in tournamnets around the Southeast. The Rec Dept staff also tried to dictate what information the MPSC presentors showed to the Rec Committee after they made MPSC take information off the website. Many times the MPSC board has made presentations about concerns it has to the Rec Dept, and many times the Rec Dept never brought these concerns to the Rec Committee of Council. How can Paul Gawrych claim he doesn't know about soccer issues when Ralph Lundy is a neighbor?

Interesting minutes from the June 2, 2008 Rec. Committee meeting.

6) Soccer Club coaches compensation
Mr. Burdette said the soccer coaches, even though paid by the Soccer Club, are part time employees of the Town of Mount Pleasant. They are regulated by the Town’s system regarding the pay scales. Mr. Burdette said the issue has come up that the Soccer Club wants to pay the coaches more that the Town’s scale will allow. Mr. Burdette said one option is that they would no longer be employees of the Town and become employees of the Soccer Club.

Mr. Swails said the issue is that the Soccer Club wanted to increase the salary of two (2) employees and they were told that could not happen because they were employees of the Town.

Mr. Summerford explained that the Town has a hierarchy of employees and interact with the Booster Club in terms of how they go about hiring the soccer staff. He said it was concluded that they needed a director of coaching who would work under the soccer coordinator. Mr. Summerford said he has expressed to the Soccer Club many times that the Town staff runs the program. He said the Booster Club’s job is to promote soccer and raise funds to offset those things they do not get in the budget process. He said this union was formed in 1998 and the Town staff does the operation, makes the decisions, and controls the finances. Mr. Summerford said staff intends to live within the pay scale. He said there was recently a change of Booster Club presidents and he again explained to them how it works.

Mr. Swails said he has read the agreement with Hungryneck Soccer but has not read the agreement with Mt. Pleasant Soccer. He said he read some of the bylaws and did not see anything in the bylaws saying that they control it. Mr. Burdette said it is now Mt. Pleasant Soccer Club and Hungryneck is one of the elements of the program, the travel league. There was discussion on the contract at this point. Mr. Summerford said they are employees of the Town.

Mr. Burdette said they have three (3) options: 1. leave it like it is; 2. cut ties with the soccer club and they can rent the fields; 3. the Town does the registration and regulates the games, etc. and hires the coaches. Mr. Burdette said it would be a good idea to take a look at all the booster clubs and what their purposes are; and make sure they treat all clubs the same.

Mr. Summerford said they encourage the development and creation of these booster clubs because they help the Recreation Department. He said the Department enables the clubs to make money and then they give it back to the program. Mr. Burdette said they are a support organization just like the Booster Club at Wando High School. Mr. Burdette suggested that they set aside time this summer and look at all the booster clubs. He said the idea is good, they raise money to support the kids and help with travel but there has to be rules.

Mr. Swails said he did not have a problem to just leave it like it is. He said if you receive a couple of comments you do not change the world. He said he was happy with Mr. Summerford’s explanation. Mr. Swails agreed that it is working and they do not need to look at the whole thing or “throw the baby out with the bath water”.

Mr. Gawrych said if they deviate from what they have it may come apart. He said they should hold fast to the government run option. Mr. Summerford said the major concern initially of Hungryneck Soccer supporters was that we would severely dilute the elite, travel teams and cause them to lose the status that so many had worked so hard to attain.

Mr. Santos also agreed that it should remain the same.

One item that Gary Santos slammed the soccer parents was that there was this public meeting on the recration master plan and nobody showed up to comment. They had the public meeting on July 31st. I'm pretty sure many people were getting in their summer vacations before school started. Here are some comments from their August meeting.

7. Recreation Master Plan

Mr. Gawrych brought up the Master Plan for Recreation Meeting that took place on July 31, 2008. Mr. Santos noted that it was not well attended by the public, but our staff was there and they were very well prepared. The staff will give an overview of the plan at Council Meeting. Mr. Burdette commented that it is a great plan if we can execute it.

MPSC made a proposal to hire a DOC about three years ago and Ted Summerford quashed the idea. It's all about power and status. The proposal would not have cost the Town a penny, the MPSC had funds in the bank. The fact that Burdette refers to "Hungryneck" as the travel teams shows just how out of touch that guy is. MPSC has consistently been a donor for the rest of Mt P Rec programs. MPSC would love to run the Premier teams and hire a DOC and still work with the Town to run the micro and rec soccer program, but closed minds have won out. Maybe somebody can ask Gawrych, Santos and Swails..."Why do we need a referendum for soccer fields when baseball fields were already budgeted"? "Why can't MPSC hire a DOC and run the elite program if it doesn't cost the Town any taxpayer funds"?

Obviously not much. The numbers are through the roof from what was said at the night time Recreation meeting that a lot of people went to.

From a recent town Rec. Committee Meeting:

8. Discussion about the possible of separation of the Mount Pleasant Soccer Club and our Recreation Department
Mr. Swails said this was a bad choice of words, he certainly does not want to see any possibility of separation. He then asked where they were with the agreement they were working on.

Mr. Burdette reported there was a facilitative meeting between several members of the (soccer booster) club and several Town staff. He said they got that final report back and it does recommend looking at the possibility of elite (travel) soccer being run exclusively by the club; and everything from developmental soccer down to micro soccer being run by the Town. He said they have not gone any further with it. Mr. Burdette said he talked with Kevin Carter (president of the booster club) about that notion and they both agreed that even if that was to be considered, fields are the issue.

Mr. Burdette said there needs to be a lot of discussion between the booster club and Town Council. He said it certainly can be done and there are elements on both sides that would say that would make sense. Mr. Swails said he is just the opposite. He said he does not like the word developmental in recreation because he does not think we should develop kids, they should develop themselves. Mr. Swails said his point is that they have been talking about this but have not done anything about it. He said it was supposed to be done by May.

Mr. Burdette said he does not know how to solve this except for Town Council and the Board. He said we (staff) is a distance apart as to what they think the booster club role ought to be in the day to day activities of the Recreation Department; and the Board feels differently. He said they will get the facilitative report to this Committee right away. Mr. Burdette said one thing to consider is letting the Booster Club deal with the elite soccer aspects of soccer in Mt. Pleasant and the Town of Mt. Pleasant deal with everything else.

Mr. Mike Bosch, 1698 Wm Hapton Way, Mt. Pleasant, was present to represent the soccer booster club since Mr. Carter was out of town. He said they want to continue the merger agreement discussion that has been doing on for several month. He said they had a meeting with the facilitator and have that response back. He said they do need to get this fixed by May 1, 2009 to come up with a solution as to what they want to do. He said the ultimate goal is to have a merger agreement that facilitates what the Recreation Department wants to do and what the soccer club wants to do to get it. He said things have gone significantly better with the new staff in the Recreation Department. He said some of the frustration and tensions have eased quite a bit which is due to Mark (Hladek, soccer coordinator) being on board. He said this is the prime opportunity to complete that merger agreement and come up with a solution that works. Mr. Santos recognized Mark Hladek. He said he was glad to hear things have gotten better. Mr. Bosch said they need to finish review of the merger agreement and clarify responsibilities.

Mr. Burdette said it is hard for staff do a negotiation unless they know what the club is willing to accept. Mr. Santos said they could put together a draft to bring to this Committee with staff’s recommendation. Mr. Burdette said one key question is if they want to talk about any separation of responsibilities in terms of levels of soccer. He said if they say no, then that is where they start negotiations; but if there is any interest by the board to separate the elite soccer from the other parts of soccer, that would become very important.

Mr. Santos said he is hearing from them that they do not want to do that. Mr. Burdette said he has not heard that. Mr. Bosch said the soccer board wants clarification of the merger agreement. He said if there can be a working relationship then fine; and if they need to go in another direction then they need to look at that. He said, but, this is prime opportunity, for the first time in months they are talking to each other, and he attributes a lot of that to Mark, so let’s take the time now to set a deadline of May 1st and try to hammer this thing out and get some results.

Mr. Santos agreed and said he is happy they are heading down the right path Mr. Burdette said they (soccer club) need to tell us (Town) what they want and then proceed.
Mr. Gawrych said he knew the intent was to hammer out the agreement and he was glad things are going better. He said to help us get to May they need to see the report He said it is not what this Committee or Council wants it is what the people want. Mr. Gawrych asked Mr. Bosch where it was left after meeting with the facilitator. Mr. Bosch said he was not in the meeting but he understands the facilitator took discussions and put together a rough draft, which took a long time. He said the facilitator was going to make recommendations as to what steps both parties should take. He said this has been up in the air for 2 months.
Mr. Burdette asked the Club if they could sit down and determine what they are looking for. He said it would be best to hear from them what they would like to see in the agreement and then respond to that. Mr. Santos agreed and asked that staff meet with them and bring it back to this Committee.

Mr. Swails asked Coach Lundy what he would do. Mr. Lundy said he thought the original agreement was wonderful. He said the resources of the Town of Mt. Pleasant and the soccer population together are the very best. He said he is extremely happy that the process has started working with total cooperation recently. He said, again, they have two (2) documents they need to examine; the original agreement and the recommendations from the facilitator. He said he can tell them as he looks at it that the original agreement gives every kid a chance; a 5 year old who wants to pick flowers on the field, or a 15 year old who has aspirations of playing college soccer. He said if they can work together the original agreement is brilliant. He said he would love to see that work with mutual respect from the Recreation Department and the soccer community.

Mr. Burdette said one of the issues that needs to be talked about is use of fields during tournaments, and the requirements of those fields; and what is the priority of the Town. Is it going to be supporting of the tournament or is it going to be in conflict with other fields requirements? He said what is expected of the Town in providing fields for tournaments is the question. He said if Council says to set aside a certain number of fields for tournaments then staff will know what to do and they will do it. Mr. Burdette said when they have a baseball tournament scheduled at the same time they have a soccer tournament, then they have issues, that is one example. There are not enough fields to go around for everybody’s needs on every day. Mr. Burdette said trying to address the fields (like at Boone Hall) is part of the solution.
Mr. Swails asked how far in advance do they know a tournament is planned. Mr. Ayoub answered about six (6) months and baseball is about the same, although some baseball is locked into a particular weekend every year. He said they have a conflict in the fall which they got confirmation on last November.

Mr. Swails said his understanding is that most of the baseball tournaments do not coincide with the soccer tournaments. Mr. Ayoub answered they do have some in fall and spring. Mr. Burdette said another issue is inclement weather when they have a soccer tournament. He said this is down to communication and discussion. Mr. Burdette said if they are in the position to have to call the tournament because of inclement weather, because of possible damage to the fields, because they are trying to protect the playing surface for the rest of the season for multiple sports, he understands the soccer club is faced with 140 teams who have to go back home. He said that is an issue. Mr. Swails said Mr. Burdette was making a mountain out of a mole hill. He said they have already discussed that and all they have to do is use common sense on the field.

Mr. Swails asked if they could go back to the original agreement, get it worked out by May 1, and get things working well? Mr. Burdette said he would ask them what changes they want in the original agreement.
Mr. Bosch said talking about tournaments and when they are announced, they have been talking with Mr. Ayoub since December to try to clarify dates on their fall tournament. He said as a frame of reference they are looking at 9-10 months ahead of time, and hope they can get an answer on October pretty quickly. He said they need to know what they can do for the fall. He said they have been waiting patiently on some answers.

Mr. Santos said one of the things in the fall is they have football going on also. He said they don’t know the numbers until registration. Mr. Burdette said the Children’s Day Festival is in the fall also. Mr. Gawrych asked Mr. Swails if he just wanted a discussion of where they are now. Mr. Swails said he agreed with Mr. Lundy that this is meshed well together, and they just had a couple of hiccups, and said lets get it back on the road. Mr. Gawrych said, for the record, that this item on the agenda is incorrect, they are not here to discuss the separation of soccer (club) from Mt. Pleasant (Recreation Department). He then asked Mr. Bosch what they could do to help them by May 1.
Mr. Bosch answered that they need to clarify responsibilities and accountabilities. He said field issues and the ability for the soccer club to set the mission and goals of the club within context of the Town of Mt. Pleasant so they can do their job and get ready for the summer and fall seasons.

Mr. Gawrych said it is coming down to who is controlling things. He asked if the soccer club wants to be able to have the responsibility to make those decisions, is that what they are seeking? Mr. Bosch answered yes and said they would like to be able to do it with the Town and come up with a solution that allows the soccer club to grow and in turn grow Mt. Pleasant and the Recreation Department and the reputation of the Recreation Department.

Mr. Gawrych said where they are heading is obviously a change of policy. He said they have made changes in baseball and basketball and they have an incredibly well run government recreation program. Mr. Gawrych said he has not heard from Recreation staff. Mr. Ayoub said if you go back to the original agreement, it is specific in saying that the Mt. Pleasant Recreation, the Town of Mt. Pleasant, runs the program. He said that is what the original agreement is. Mr. Ayoub said this draft has come back and suggested that the soccer club run the elite program and Mt. Pleasant Recreation Department and the Town run everything else, from developmental on down. Mr. Gawrych asked Mr. Bosch if he agreed with that and Mr. Bosch answered that he had not seen the draft. Mr. Burdette said that Kevin Carter acknowledged that.

Mr. Santos said he liked the comments made by Coach Lundy and he liked the original agreement. He said he felt they could hash this out and not have to change it.
Mr. Gawrych said he wanted them to feel like they are getting somewhere instead of just making comments.
Mr. Lundy said he had not heard a problem this morning. He said we are blessed because they are talking about taking care of 2400 of our kids. He said they are talking about tournaments that bring 145 teams to our Town and he bets Sticky Fingers and Hampton Inn do not see that as a problem. He said we have a great opportunity here and just have to work together. He said he is encouraged by recent developments of cooperation. He said Mr. Burdette’s points are the areas they have to work together and solve. Mr. Lundy said leaders solve problems for the good of the kids and this is a great opportunity to keep building and developing programs for our kids.

Mr. Gawrych asked Mr. Ayoub, based on the rough draft where the elite is controlled by the soccer club, where he was with that on responding to this Committee, and if he was prepared to respond to that now? Mr. Ayoub answered that he always likes to get input from staff. He said they are flexible; and one concern is making sure both programs go in the same direction. What the Town offers needs to coincide with what is offered at a higher level. We can work either way and will take what is handed to us.
Mr. Burdette said no doubt elite soccer needs to be handled differently. He said the question is how will they write an agreement that allows some level of oversight by the soccer booster club and what level of oversight will be allowed to the staff? He said they are talking about what level of oversight the soccer club will have as a result of the agreement, overall, and particularly what will be the respective roles of the Town and the soccer club over elite soccer, and how do they resource that need. He said that means fields.

Mr. Gawrych said he is not hearing complaints from the baseball world. Mr. Burdette said numbers makes a difference. Mr. Ayoub explained that in baseball the booster club’s mission is simply to provide funds and support the program, that is all they want to do; they have no interest in controlling the teams. He said that has changed over the years with soccer. Mr. Ayoub said the Recreation Department has been at blame to allow some of the things to occur in the past couple of years that fed that desire, so to speak. He said one of the things that staff would like to see, and their concern, is that when you have parent groups running sports is the inconsistency that follows those sports. He said that changes as parents leave then they have inconsistency occur. He said we feel we are consistent in how we operate programs and that is our strong point.

Mr. Gawrych again asked about the baseball and Mr. Ayoub answered that numbers do play a big part because of fewer teams. Mr. Ayoub said the numbers in soccer do require more hands on with the number of staff. Mr. Gawrych asked Mr. Lundy to help with the concern of kids getting axed when they have a special program. Mr. Lundy said first of all, the people he is lucky enough to share this booster club with have no intention of axing any kid. He said the number one priority is to have kids play ball. He said it makes very good sense to have the soccer program in one room when people make decisions. He said right now 9 year olds are on the coaches minds every day. He said the involvement is not just elite soccer or the older age group, micro soccer is important for their development in all ways, sportsmanship, attitudes, growth and development. He said they cannot say elite is the focus of their professional staff.
Mr. Gawrych said he understands everyone here is committed to our children.

Mr. Lundy said what he just gave them was insight into what the soccer community looks at. He said originally there was an advisory committee and it was eliminated by the Recreation Department. He said that the advisory committee was supposed to be people who are not in the parent cycle. He mentioned Dr. Bill Conway and Steve Ballentine, and said that advisory committee was to advise the Recreation Department on continuous policies that are great for our children. He said he heard Mr. Ayoub was looking into an advisory committee. He said they have a win-win here and all they have to do is work together. He said Mr. Burdette’s points are absolutely valid. He said the tournaments are wonderful now, it means he does not have to drive to Atlanta or Greenville and it means the Hampton Inn and Sticky Fingers are very happy with them.
Mr. Gawrych asked Mr. Burdette if there was anything in the rough draft about the advisory committee being put back in. Mr. Burdette said they talked about communication a great deal and that was a key and the advisory committee is part of that. He said Mr. Ayoub did not want to reappoint the advisory committee until they see the changes in the agreement. Mr. Gawrych asked that staff and the soccer board get together with a final draft. He said they need to pin down a date. Mr. Santos said he could call a special Recreation Committee meeting for any time. He directed Mr. Ayoub to sit down and hash this out and get it over with. He said he wanted to pick up on the positive going on. Mr. Burdette said if the (soccer club) can set a meeting for later this week, staff could also meet. Mr. Lundy suggested next Monday since Mr. Carter was out of town this week, Mr. Burdette agreed. Mr. Santos said he was happy to hear they are moving in a positive direction.

Maybe someone can clear this up for me, but isn't Coach Lundy technically affiliated with Bridge? I seem to remember hearing his name associated with BFA teams.

Is he also involved with MPSC or is he just answering questions as a CofC entity or just from his Soccer Academy or what?

I belive his daughter plays in the academy program at MPSC, that may be the connection.

Coach Lundy was very involved initially with Bridge FA, both player training and assisting the organizers in discussions with Mt P. His involvement lessened over time, and in the end the Lundy's made a family decision similar to mine. I believe at that point, he pretty much stepped down from any involvement with Bridge, approximately 2 years ago. He and I didn't necessarily always totally agree, but, there was enough mutual respect between us that we could disagree, yet both still work together. That continues today, and, we often talk of what it could have been. To me, it's no surprise that he's still involved in trying to assist and improve the opportunities for the kids in Mt. P, even without being involved with Bridge.

bear, you just can't let go, can you? i'm sure there are many people who ask a lot of "what ifs" in regards to the bridge, but the FACT of the matter is that you WALKED AWAY from your involvement (or, could i say commitment?) with it years ago. anything you feel the bridge "could have been" is only a fantasy on your part. nobody knows for sure what might have happened with you still involved. for all anyone knows (including yourself) there might not even BE a bridge right now if you had continued being a part of it.

i realize someone asked the question about lundy's involvement with the bridge, and that question was answered.

but now, for some reason, you feel the need to speak for coach lundy (and i didn't even know he had a spokesperson).

you said, in part: "he's still involved in trying to assist and improve the opportunities for the kids in Mt. P, even without being involved with Bridge." what?!?!

based on that statement, one would be led to believe that if a person IS involved with the bridge, then they should also be involved in assisting the kids of mt pleasant. can you explain the logic behind that one? (i'm sure you'll throw in a "you're right, bridge doesn't care about the kids of mt pleasant)

i can see the next thread titled "how are the mosquitoes on james island these days?" and your post being something like, "years ago, when i was involved with the bridge, the mosquito problem was almost totally under control, not only on james island, but most of the state. since then, things have spiraled out of control, the bridge has gone downhill, and malaria has run rampant on the island. if i was still involved with the bridge, there would be a cure for cancer by now."

maybe it's time to finally get past this and move on...

I guess that since I post opinions that bother you, I should just stop. Somehow I knew when I saw that you had posted in this discussion, it was some kind of leave Bridge alone statement with a personal attack.

Okay, let me expand a little bit more about what I wrote, because you apparently aren't able to see past any of it because you are so busy trying to protect Bridge, for at least a couple more years anyway.

My interpretation of the discussion notes, and then the question after it could have lead to a discussion concerning credibility. Was the simple question answered, yes, but at least in my mind and opinion, the bigger lingering question remained. So yes, I wrote a response. Obviously, you didn't like it....

In response to some of your more direct questions/statements:

Yes I walked away from my involvement with Bridge. Yes, it was an extremely difficult decision for me personally. No, it wasn't a difficult decision at all with respect to my family. Now you mention committment. Good one. My family made a choice, and yours obviously has too. I'm happy that I had a choice to be able to make. I feel for those that don't feel they have a choice.

Do I know what Bridge would be like today if I remained involved, no, but, I would have been striving for some kind of goals. I really think, if you put aside your personal attacks at me, you would agree that if I wasn't involved in the beginning, Bridge would not have gotten started when it did. Not saying it wouldn't have gotten there, but it surely wouldn't have happened the year it did.

In the original concept of Bridge, yes, if you're involved with Bridge, then you're in fact working for the players throughout the low country. That has changed. People don't like to forget too quickly in the low country. There was a question that was posted to a comment that made reference to a program from U9 to U18 being different than the initial U13 to U18 and others trying to draw it back to the initial set up.

Since it apparently steps on your toes when I post, I'll guess I'll have to stop.

all that, and you still managed to not answer my ONE question.

Bear, I wouldn't stop. Your opinions are appreciated....you are not the only one who seems to upset Bellig'. I have not been on this site long but do appreciate EVERYONES view and experiences, even if they don't agree with mine.

I do find it funny that you are being attacked for not answering a question; it always appears that any questions asked on here, mainly about the Bridge, are never answered and the person inquiring is then attacked for stirring up the pot and apparently alluring something is wrong. I can't help but think that this defensive response allures something is wrong.

belligerent,

time to give it up and move on

onthefence, still can't find a job, huh? for the most part, with the "unanswered" questions you're referring to, the poster (for example, you) has been directed to one of a number of contacts, but they (you) typically refuse to contact them. now, if you (or, heck, even me) have a question, and someone tells you where you can go to get that question answered, but then you refuse to go there and ask someone who can actually answer it...that kinda tells me you never really wanted an answer in the first place. so, did you ever contact tripp miller or rob strickland to get answers to your questions? when i have questions, i try and go to the person (or persons) who can answer them. in this case, i had questions that only bear could answer.

speaking of which, bear, please don't stop on my account - you're not bothering me and certainly not stepping on my toes. you question posters all the time for clarity, correctness, possible hidden agendas, etc - that's all i'm doing here. i'm not sure why you believe i'm attacking you personally - i'm only responding to statements i take exception to. and for the record, if i have not before, i give you full credit for your part in starting the bridge. i'm not sure exactly how it all came about (and i don't want to take away credit from the originator) but i do recognize the effort you put forth to get it started (although i'm sure there is much work you did that i am not aware of - and i don't claim to know everything you did, or even a fraction of it), and I, personally, greatly appreciate that effort. not sure where we (my child) would be right now if it weren't for the bridge.

onthefence, also for the record, i do not find bear at all alluring (bear, no offense, but i had to throw that out there, lest someone think differently)

Actually, I'm glad you don't. I was wondering about that one myself. I've been called many things, but, alluring was a new one.

Check your PM.

Back to Mt Pleasant's fight....Didn't the Town get involved with questionning the cost of maintaining the soccer fields this past fall? As a result, didn't MPSC request SCYSA to move games off their fields that did not involve MPSC teams or did not involve out of town teams to pacify the Town? Weren't local clubs asked to move their games to their own fields? Is that MPSC's agreement (only games with MPSC or two out of town teams) with SCYSA this year?