SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP MPSC developmental program

Does anyone know the reason why MPSC will no longer be in control of the development program? Why is the town taking over?

It appears the new Rec. Director is flexing his muscles. I don't know any of the details.

The developmental program has a lot of kids/teams. These teams volunteer/participate in the big pig tournament that MPSC hosts in the spring every year. This is the moneymaker for the club, the club has power because of their money, control the money/developmental, control the club.

It is my understanding as of this Spring, there will be no parent volunteer commitment required. Which may call into question if the Piggly Wiggly can be held.

Who made that decision? Did the club agree with this? I agree with Arsenal2 that you can't hold a tournament of that size without a huge number of volunteers.

Four volunteer hours per child were required at one tournament each year or there was a $100 volunteer opt out fee (to cover the hiring of someone to work the tournament). I think this was also a little money maker for the club. Is MPSC in danger of falling apart?

The head of the Rec. Department made the decision. I doubt the club agreed to this, as you said it's a huge money maker for MPSC. Seems there is some type of situation between the town and the club.

This could be bad, a power struggle of some sort, or good, a set up that puts the Mt. P club sort of where it was before the merger. Taking back the Dev program into the Rec Dept. may allow for MPSC to consider negotiations with Bridge and run as the more "elite" "club" in Mount Pleasant instead of as a whole sport off-shoot from the Rec. Dept.

Whichever it is though, it does leave the PigWig Shootout in limbo because I'm pretty sure there's no way they could pay or get enough volunteers from outside the organisation to put it on.

My understanding is the Rec. Director has allowed MPSC to continue and request/require parents of the devlopment teams to works as volunteers for this years Pig. The tourney is on this year, but there was some white knuckle moments.

Maybe, just maybe....Jeremy was doing a better job than people thought. To an "outsider" like me it looks like those who had "alternative motives" have won again.

I think most people knew that Jeremy was top notch. He was good at so many things - training, managing and coaching. He related well with all of the kids and most of their parents.

I was most impressed with his strides to get underprivledged kids involved with soccer (travel soccer not just rec.) He spent alot of time working on this and I believe MPSC was much better for it. Ya, MPSC's loss is Savanah's gain.

Heard someone else quit last week?

Comeon Mike...what's your point?

I heard the same thing Mike.
Soccer coordinator gave her two weeks.

I don't know the details, but I just got a phone call that one of the DOCs has quit the club. Anybody with any details?

Add to that now the Select DOC, Kian Brownlee. He just put in his resignation yesterday. He has stated that the one and only reason he is leaving is because the Town of Mt Pleasant does not think that soccer is important and they are trying to put up as many obsticles for MPSC to jump over because they own the fields and they know it.

Kian coached the boys 94 and 96 elite teams.

from everyone I know at MPSC Borwnlee will be a bigtime loss. What is the feeling down there?

Just sick! It is amazing that a town the size of Mt Pleasant does not realize how important soccer is. They actually still refer to it as a "communist sport!" It's is a shame that town officials don't realize the potential a club the size of Mt Pleasant has out there!

I am sorry but I find it hard to believe that kids in Mt P are doing anything but soccer. How does the town not get it. Why doesnt Lundy speak up? He is always on his soapbox about how club america or some small brazilian club does it. you would think he could/would help?

Believe me he has spoken his mind to them, but unfortunatly it just keeps falling on deaf ears.

I guess the only answer is to find a home that is not under town control..Should it come as a big surprise that football,basketball and baseball come before soccer? Hope everything works out..

That is not the only answer. MPSC parents have a lot of political clout. There are about the same number of participants in the MPSC soccer program, as there are number of votes for any one of the council members during an election.

Well, now would be the very best time for those parents to voice their concerns to the Recreation Committee and Town Council members. Every email & phone call is very much appreciated!

If they have alot of political clout..We would not be discussing this matter right now.

There was a huge turnout for the meetings regarding field expansion in favour of more soccer fields, but that doesn't seem to have helped either.

Hey, Kitten
I knew you would be prowlin the board..You have history with MPSC.In your opinion,what needs to happen

From my knowledge of the history of the club, we need to go back to what worked for us. Hungryneck International Soccer Club was very successful, in fact, most of the banners of state champs up on the fields are from original HNISA clubs. I think the Rec Dept. should go back to fielding their in house rec teams and the select/academy teams need to have their own private club that's completely dedicated to the players and not the town.

MPSC has had an awful revolving door history with DOCs back to Thorsten Path and during the initial merge. Some may not have been doing their jobs, but I suspect that most of them just got very frustrated very quickly with the way the town is dealing with them.

Obviously, there's some difficulty here when you consider the field factor. Renting the fields would cost an arm and a leg from Mt. Pleasant just to deter the formation of a private club and the fields HNISA used aren't enough to hold all the teams. Fields we used back then included Trident Academy, Long Point Homeowner's Association Field, etc.

If adequate field space can be found, it needs to be a coordinated effort between the coaches, players, and parents of MPSC AND of Bridge FA to unite in one single private club. I'd suggest mixing board members and coaches to half satisfy each side and choosing a third club name and colour set so as to not play favourites. Even just going back to the white, blue, and red of Hungryneck would work, but something that's not associated with either.

Obviously, to compete with CESA and on the regional stage, we have to unify the Lowcountry soccer scene in some way to make sure that the best players are competing WITH each other and not against each other and we need a club that fosters player AND team development at multiple levels. We can't afford to have DOCs or coaches with hidden agendas or vendettas; we need coaches interested in playing smart soccer and in fostering a love of the game in kids where they want to practice outside of practices and games, not where they're miserable and don't want to see a ball unless they have to be somewhere.

Unfortunately, unless the field issue is resolved and unless there is a solid grassroots effort amongst the parents and coaches and players of the Lowcountry in coming together to do what is best for the select and academy players, we will always have the issues with the Town and with egos between Bridge and MPSC. That's a lot of people to mobilize and a lot of work, but it only takes one raindrop to raise the level of the ocean. If the right person came along to galvanize the move and recruit people into the initiative, it could happen.

That's one smart girl..
Political side of it..The town of Mt.Pleasant is providing a service for those that want to play soccer..Anything else will have to be done privately among those that want more than a city service.

I have heard that the town does not own the Patriots field complex - the County does. Patriots fields and Trident would work for the if the rec & development etc. didn't play at Patriots...

AK listens much more than she speaks, and when she speaks, it's usually worth listening to.

If more people in leadership positions would do more listening and thinking and less talking just to be heard, perhaps threads like this wouldn't be necessary, hm?

Just one quote we were discussing in my class the other day that supports AK's position:

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

So let's see if I understand this correctly, all that the lowcountry needs to do from a grassroots level is to get over the egos, form a club with a new name and different color scheme, and figure out how to deal with fields in the Mount Pleasant area, let the town handle rec and this new club handle the select, mix the board members and coaches and the lowcountry can be united......Good Luck!

Hey now, I never said it would be easy.

Be a little bit easier though if that darn magic wand I ordered from Ollivander's ever came. I sent the holding deposit, the shipping, my social security number and my fingerprints to be matched to a wand and nothing! Methinks something is rotten in the state of Diagon Alley.

I was looking for any information on who actually owns PP, but all I could find was this quote from the CofC Athletics website:

"Patriots Point was completed in the fall of 2000 and was a collaborative effort between the College of Charleston, the Town of Mt. Pleasant, and the Patriots Point Development Authority"


Mike's post had me a little excited, but I can't find anything to the contrary of what's posted. Anyone else have any luck?

From what I remember from a few years ago, the Town has a long term operations and maintenance agreement which for the purposes of your question means they own them. CofC could be pushed off of the fields by the town.

The Town of Mt Pleasant owns it, lock, stock & barrel. From what i hear, they were also supposed to be building a shelter out there over the Christmas break, but that has not happened. That's par for the course.

That's what I thought.

Control of the PP Complex is overseen by the South Carolina Patriots Point Development Authority.

Patriots Point Development Authority
40 Patriots Point Rd, Mount Pleasant, SC
Tel: (843) 884-2727

From the 1998 Audit: Parcel Six will include a 35-acre athletic complex. The Authority entered into a lease in December 1996 with the College of Charleston for the complex which will consist of fields for baseball, softball, soccer , and nine tennis courts. Total rental payments to the Authority for this parcel are projected to be approximately $1.7 million through the year 2007. Of the three parcels (three, five, and six) under development, the rate of return on parcel six is the lowest .
REFERENCE: http://www.lac.sc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/A42A985C-1E74-4F4A-B607-AB4255628440/0/ppda_summary.pdf

The Patriots Point Development Authority is a State of South Carolina "enterprise agency" and is responsible for the operation of the naval and maritime museum. As an Enterprise Agency, the museum receives no appropriated funding from the state legislature . Primary sources of operating revenue are museum admissions, sales at the museum gift shop, educational programs such as the youth education and camping programs, and commissions from lease functions, on-site vending franchises and the Patriots Point Links. Additional income from landside leases has for some years been dedicated to a capital fund for maintenance of the historic museum ships and other capital projects at Patriots Point .

Overall governance of the Patriots Point Development Authority is vested in a Board of Directors appointed by the Governor of South Carolina with each member serving a term of four years. Selection of three members of the Board, including its chairman, is at the discretion of the governor. The two remaining appointed members are legislatively mandated, one to be appointed by joint recommendation of the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Speaker of the House and the other by joint recommendation of the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The Mayor of the Town of Mount Pleasant, as an ex-officio member, rounds out the Board as its sixth voting member. This Board meets regularly to approve strategic planning initiatives, revisions to development plans and contracts, long-term leases, etc.

The executive director, reporting to the Board of Directors and working closely with its chairman, is responsible for long-term planning and day-to-day management of the agency, including the museum and all of its ancillary services.

Here is the list of trustees:
http://www.patriotspoint.org/support/trustees/
Patriots Point Development Authority Members
Chairman: Mr. John B. Hagerty, Esquire
Vice Chairman: Mr. Wayne Adams
Member: Mr. Michael "Mike" Dixon
Member: Harry Gregorie
Member: Susan C. Marlowe
Ex-Officio Member: Mayor Harry M. Hallman, Jr.
Legal Counsel: Mr. William E. Craver, III, Esquire
Executive Director: Hugh Tant

College of Charleston is responsible for the Athletic Complex including security services such as patrolling which they do not do because of the distance to the college, Mt Pleasant police provides these services for them.

OK, MP Soccer Families, I don't see any town council representatives on the Patriots Point Development Authority except for the Mayor. Holding them accountable for the Mayor's influence over the execution of activities at PP doesn't float. The core of soccer is at PP in Mt P, therefore you can only hold ONE individual accountable and that's Mayor Hallman.

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT
100 Ann Edwards Lane
Post Office Box 745
Mount Pleasant, SC 29465
***
MOUNT PLEASANT TOWN COUNCIL
Mayor Harry M. Hallman, Jr.
PO Box 745 (office)
1275 West Vagabond Lane (home)
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Term: 9/2004-9/2008
884-8517 (office)
884-8662 (home)

Mr. Joseph Bustos, Jr.
649 King Street
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
856-0027 (Term: 9/2004 – 9/2008)

Mr. Nick A. Collins
327 Wild Horse Lane
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
884-1538 (Term: 09/06 – 9/2010)

Mr. Paul S. Gawrych
1791 Cherokee Rose Circle
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466
884-9581 (Term: 9/06 – 9/2010)

Mr. Billy Swails
1528 Carolina Jasmine Road
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
884-5149 (Term: 9/06 – 9/08)

Mr. Gary Santos
2798 Seastrand Drive
Mount Pleasant, SC 29466
884-4561 (Term: 9/2004 – 9/2008)

Mr. Kruger Smith
689 Pelzer Drive
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
884-2599 (Term: 9/2004 – 9/2008)

Ms. Thomasena Stokes-Marshall
813 Long Point Road
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
856-9732 (Term: 9/06 – 9/2010)

Mr. Kenneth T. Glasson, Jr.
2205 Hartfords Bluff Circle
Mount Pleasant, SC 29466
884-8517 (Term: 9/06 – 9/2010)

SUGGESTION:
1) Seperate MP Recreation Program from Club Program
2) Recreation Dept provides 'Academy' at PP and schedules activities there.
3) Club (U12-U18) leases Park West from town and schedules activities there.
4) DOC only manages 'Club Program' at PW
5) Rec Manager oversees 'Rec/Academy Program' at PP
6) Hire Brisson as DOC of Club, Brings in prestigious US Soccer Development Academy and gives them a home field.
(provides central development of Lowcountry soccer talent from MB to Savannah to Columbia). Keep calling it "Bridge" because that was the original intent. Avoids 'City' bias.

I'm non-biased but think this option makes the most sense at this time and for the foreseeable future.

What are we asking our elected officials for ???

Different groups want different things for soccer in Mt P.
Until there is a united voice for soccer in Mount Pleasant it will be easy for elected officials to dismiss soccer.
Adidaskitten nailed it when she said a dynamic individual who can unite parents, coaches, administration and players, needs to be found. A fractured and fragmented voice is the only thing heard by town officials now. The message must be united and organized in order to be effective. Again, a lot easier said than done.

In order to be separate and avoid the current problems, the MPSC needs to get the Patriots Fields, Trident and any other neighborhood/non Town Fields. The club needs to run academy and select, everything else goes to the Rec. Department. The MPSC needs to get a 10 year rental agreement for 4 weekends per year to use the town fields for Tournamnents and during the next 10 years the club needs to find a developer and get a plan to have additional fields to get total separation from the Town.

Another idea is to quietly get with the Bridge, DISA, James Island and develop a merger plan. I would think if approached in the correct way CESA would share their means/methods of how they merged, pulled off what they did etc.

You beat me to the suggestion box.

Another is to run two separate "Academys" one on each side of town so you don't have 9,10 and 11 year olds driving a half hour to 45 minutes to Patriot's in rush hour. There are plenty of kids who don't play in this club because parents cannot get them there at 5 o'clock. This way you have more kids, more teams which would lead to more players in the program.

All of these are such great ideas . We need a merger in this area for things to work .How are we to do this? The parents need to join together and control the plan. All of these clubs have things to bring to the table. We need to do this for the kids. If not , this area will become more and more diluted with players traveling elsewhere to play competitive soccer.

In addition to the Mayor, here's the following personnel that should be subject to direct scrutiny of MP-Soccer performance:
Ted Summerford: Director, Recreation Department
RECREATION SPECIALISTS R.L. Jones Center: Mark Hladek - Soccer
RECREATION COORDINATORS R.L Jones Center: Crystal Reed - Soccer
CONTACT INFORMATION:
RICHARD L. JONES CENTER
391 Egypt Road
Phone: 884-2528
MPRD Hotline: Hotline no longer in service.
Fax: 849-2778
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. (8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.); Friday (8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.); Saturday (10:00 a.m.-6:00p.m.); Sunday (CLOSED)
Office closes 30 min. prior to building closing.

Ted Summerford retired earlier last year and Ken Ayoub has taken his place as Director of the Rec Dept. Johnny Cribb is the Assistant Director.

Crystal Reed has resigned as well. From what I understand.

OK, so get Mayor Hallman's Information Technology person to update the Town of Mt Pleasant website to reflect the right points of contact for Soccer:

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
publicinfo@townofmountpleasant.com
Martine M. Wolfe-Miller, Public Information Officer
Phone (843) 884-8517, ext. 3402
Fax (843) 849-2060

SEE STAFF:
http://www.mtpleasantrec.com/index.cfm?section=15&page=6

Has there been any changes at MPSC? Someone said the DOC was leaving but he is still listed as DOC on their website..
How about the search for a director at SSC? Resumes were suppose to be in by the 24th of Jan. Just wandering what's going on in the lowcountry soccer scene.

Everyone got together and held hands and sang Kumbaya around the fire this weekend and decided to all join in one giant club called Charleston County Soccer Association. Their current goal is to beat CESA, but eventually, they want to take over the world.

=D

CCSA? Did you bring the marshmallows?

Seriously..Has anyone heard about DOC positions at MPSC or SSC?

I have heard zero about anything. Adult season is going on as planned, so there haven't been hiccups as far as passing any duties along.

I heard SSC is still in the process of finding a DOC. As for MPSC, the select DOC who resigned had a change of heart and decided to remain with the club in his role of DOC and coach.

My understanding is that some MPSC parents convinced the DOC not to leave.

That's good news for MPSC..I would not want to change leadership midseason..

It has been quiet.
Word is some MPSC Academy teams are trianing 5 days a week now.

The DOC's teams have optional 4th and 5th days of practice. I'm not sure about the academy teams. The academy practices 2 or 3 days during the week but they just offered an optional day of footwork practices.