on the idea of an indoor team

So, me by my lonesome, trying to fill the aircraftcarrier sized shoes of responsibility that being an ambitious soccer coach entails, has run into a failure on my part: an indoor team. I'd written before about me wanting to totally change the culture of the soccer program @ this school. In my tour of city soccer programs, I've run across many ways of getting the teams involved. My nieces played @ a Catholic school- a good program. Their kids play off season on specially coached teams - the year round they do. To have a good program, the kids just gotta play. And I want to do something w/ this program. So - lotta work, and it's me and only me w/ the pick trying to start a foundation. And it's hard.

We, in the city, generally have to really be creative for the kids. The last two schools I coached @ they had the system in place - nothing high tech, just generally the kids playing on a basketball court. It was fun - I've written before about the best non track in high school shape I've been in was playing a full shifts -v- 17yr old Mexican kids going toe to toe. It was 3-3, first goal wins, 3m w/ no score teams switch. i had many glorious afternoons, and I pine for that feeling of long lost team membership to-getherness when the moon strikes sometimes. I loved my days there. And the last school I was @ - same thing. We had the kids going almost full time in the 2weeks before xmas. We never got every kid there, but it was a joy to have dedicated kids believing in us and making it to practice day after day.

But this school - it's befit of all available gyms. Until our season is upon us, we have nothing available to play in. I have been trying to get stuff done outdoors while the weather holds - we have a funtime scrimmage to-morrow during parent-teacher conference night, and which I've bribed them w/ pizza afterwards- but w/out a solid place to play day after day - well, maybe twice a week @ this point - it's hard to carry consistency and get these girls in shape.

And I have to admit what I feel is a grand failure on my part. Without that open basketball gym @ my school or any of the near parks - our hope was to get the girls started on an indoor team playing @ one of the indoor arenas that are blossoming all over the place. But that takes lotsa cash which the girls would have to come up w/ themselves. A team @ Chitown Soccer would cost each girl somewhere like $100 for 2 1/2 m, and then another $100 for the second 2 1/2 m. The girls @ Nequa Valley, New Trier, and Marist H.S. - I'm sure it's easy enough for the parents to cover. But not so w/ my girls. they work, come from real working class families, and some are, well, poor. W/out an open gym, havoc is across my team for a suitable pace to play. There is no way i can dictate that "You have to Play!!", as it would be impossible for many to afford it. So, I publicized it, talked to lots of people to try and get the best fit, went back and forth - and finally admitted to myself that there will not be an indoor team for us -this year.

I'd been totally open to the girls when we had our first meeting w/ me as Ahab - "This is my first time running it all, and I will make mistakes and not do everything right." I will say that I feel I let the girls down - or @ least their expectations a bit - by not producing an indoor team.

It's not going supersmooth right now - but @ least we are way ahead of where we were last year. I want each of my girls have it all - and I want to make it alla vailable to them - but again, every other school i worked @ had it all in place already when i coached there. here- i gotta set it ALL UP.

Again - as i've told the girls, I will not get it all right @ the beginning. But I've also told them that when it comes time for their daughters to be @ my school and on my team - and I have told them this - THEN it will be all inplace. It's a long road. the single step and all that...

Exciting. Scarey. and, yes, I'll get it done.