I am writing this letter to update you on the recent changes to the league, specifically to the Board of Directors.  This past month has been somewhat tumultuous for the Board of Directors and, for a variety of reasons, ultimately led to the resignation of our former President, along with a few other board members.   Subsequently, at a recent meeting, I was elected by the Board to take his place as President for the remainder of this year.  For those of you who do not know me, I have been on the board since last year and am myself an avid soccer player and assistant coach.  It is my intention as well as the intention of the entire Board of Directors, to focus on the business of running this league and ensure a successful season for both our recreational and competitive programs.

There has been lots of talk in the community about the Board of Directors and what led to these changes.  Suffice to say that there were some significant disagreements among Board Members, and between Board Members and SVYSA Members, around the direction of the league for this coming year, specifically the Competitive/Select program.  It has been a very difficult time for the Board of Directors and I for one want to thank those who worked tirelessly to hold the board together over the past several weeks, particularly our Secretary, Steve Weisiger.  In the shuffle, it is important to acknowledge that SVYSA has lost some very valuable and long term contributors to the league.  It is my hope that in time, relationships can be repaired and we can all work together again.

In the meantime, we all have a lot of work to do and the Board of Directors really needs your help.  We have several volunteer positions open, which are vital to running our programs successfully.  No assistance is too small, so please take a minute to check out these openings at the Directors link on our website (www.sonomasoccer.org) and contact us if you are interested or want to find out more about a particular position.  Our volunteer coordinator, David Llodrá would be happy to talk with you about volunteering in any other capacity as well.

I do sincerely want to thank all of our very dedicated and hardworking volunteers who have continued to run registrations and try outs during this period of adjustment.  I personally have learned a lot from the events of the past several weeks and hope to be able to move forward with the Board of Directors in bringing about another great year for our members.   It is also my intention to solicit more feedback from our members so that the Board of Directors can better understand what works and what doesn’t work well for our members.  The Board of Directors serves our SVYSA membership and I encourage you all to feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with any one of us.  Please feel free to contact me at: president@sonomasoccer.org.

Our next regularly scheduled Board meeting is Tuesday, May 3, 7:00 pm at La Luz in Boyes Hot Springs.  These are open meetings and there is time set aside for public comment, so please feel free to come by to watch or bring your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks for your patience and your continued support of SVYSA and the wonderful sport of soccer.

Sincerely,

Colleen Paul
President
Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association
president@sonomasoccer.org