The next season of soccer is gearing up for the Snoqualmie Valley Youth Soccer Association (SNVYSA), home to 2,800 players in 2007 (up 300+ from 2006).

We recently had our Annual General Meeting and election of officers. We were expecting a very spirited election. Someone Else expected to run against Everyone Else, but Everyone Else was too busy so Someone Else ended up running against Nobody Else. It turns out that Someone Else and Nobody Else knew each other well as they had squared off in a number of previous elections.

There is sure a lot of work to do to organize and run a soccer association. Some people complain about the game schedules, but they let Everyone Else prepare the schedules. They complain about the lack of fields, but they rely on Everyone Else to talk with King County, or the school districts, or the Parks Departments to build more fields or give youth top priority for field use. They complain about the officiating, or not having an official, but they paid their money and expect Everyone Else to step up.

Nobody Else’s campaign remains the same, “Let Someone Else do it.” We ask you, what is that going to accomplish? Nothing will get done! After all, Everyone Else already said they were too busy to help.

The SnVYSA Board Members who serve your children are a very dedicated group of people. Some of these members do not even have children of their own in the program. They work day in and day out – rarely receiving even a simple thank you – and cannot get everything accomplished that really needs to get accomplished. There are open positions that really need filling. These are Association Registrar (making sure the players, coach and team registration data sent to WSYSA is accurate, and overseeing our Risk Management program), Referee Coordinator (helping to provide training, support and game assignments to our in-house referees) and Field Coordinators (helping to maintain and repair our local soccer fields).

If we only had more parents participating in the organization, giving support to the hundreds of coaches and dozens of club and association members, then poor Everyone Else would have more time. If we are not careful, Nobody Else will run everything.

SnVYSA player registration for the Fall 2008 recreational season is now on-line via the internet at the web site http://snvysa.countmein.com until June 1st. SnVYSA clubs will no longer be holding in-person registration events.

During the on-line player registration process, you will be asked if you want to volunteer as a coach or assistant coach. You also can volunteer for other positions that are currently available by clicking on the Volunteer topic on the registration web site. (https://snvysa.countmein.com/VolunteerList.aspx/VolunteersOpportunities)

Help support youth soccer in your local community! To contact your local SnVYSA club representative for more information about volunteer opportunities, see http://www.snvysa.org/directors for a list of club representatives.