The term
"paradigm shift" has found uses in many contexts,
representing the notion of a major change in a certain
thought-pattern — a radical change in personal beliefs, complex
systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or
organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing.
WEST MICHIGAN
SOCCER
The landscape of youth soccer in West Michigan has
changed over the last 17 years. That shouldn't be too
surprising. Most things do change over time. Change
comes to us all eventually.
The question I have raised is simple.
Are we really making progress in West Michigan or is
it just an illusion?
GVSA - LAKESHORE
Players in GVSA that lived on the lakeshore have had
problems finding a suitable club that could provide them with
the right mix of training, support and competition. Part of
the problem is a real estate term: location, location, location.
If you live along the lakeshore, you have a unique problem. It is
tough to get anywhere else without a lot of driving time and you can
only drive in one direction.
Holland, Grand Haven or Muskegon to the either side
of Grand Rapids is a solid 35-45 minutes and easily another 20
minutes during the winter. If your child was not able to find
what they needed in Grand Rapids, there was always Detroit,
occasionally Kalamazoo or Lansing. Those destinations were
reserved for only the most elite and committed players, the rest
were forced into accepting what was being offered in Grand Rapids.
The Clubs along the lakeshore didn't always help as
they were typically a loose association of individual team run by
the coach and the manager than a club that ran the teams.
Those same clubs were also typically extensions of the recreational
programs in their area that play in a recreational league based on
the lakeshore; Great Lakes Co-Ed Soccer League (
http://www.glcsoccer.org ).
Making the jump from recreation costs to select costs and then to
premier and MRL is difficult. The clubs didn't help matters by
keeping these costs low by using parent coaching which can normally
only take you so far.
In addition, many of these clubs, for years, did not
really understand how the system worked and up until 5 years ago,
didn't know that any club could sponsor teams into the State Premier
program. This all changed when a coach of a Muskegon Lakers
boys team found out that he could get his U13 team sponsored into
Premier at U14. He had been told he couldn't do it by the
Muskegon Lakers BOD. This sent shockwaves through the system
and forced all the clubs to begin looking into how the system
actually worked and then make changes to how they ran their clubs.
(DISCLOSURE: I was the individual who educated the Laker coach
and set him up with 3 clubs to chose from who would sponsor his team
into premier. He interviewed all three and decided on Vardar
West.)
Much damage can be laid at the feet of those who
started the West Michigan Fire Jrs program that eventually absorbed
GVSA founding club member, Lakeshore Soccer Club but it also
accelerated the growth of a more professional and business like
attitude towards youth soccer. It made everyone look inside at
themselves and work harder. It forced GVP to look to a
"merger" with GRASA. It helped Alliance focus its mission.
It caused PASS to experiment with a WOLVES/HAWKS affiliation.
However, it eventually brought together GVSA Clubs
in Grand Haven, Fruitport, Mona Shores and Muskegon in a attempt to
offer locally something as a group that they could not offer as
individuals.
LAKESHORE PREMIER
There is strength and security in numbers but it
takes a combination of strong individuals from the different clubs
coming together at the same time who also possess the ability to
look outside of their personal (and sometimes petty) ambitions to
bring something into existence that will benefit children not their
own.
One such entity is Lakeshore Premier. After
years of internal and external battling with nothing to show for it,
a small group decided to do something constructive, They set
up an organized and thoughtful program to provide the training,
coaching and opportunities along the lakeshore that in previous
years was only available to parents and players by committing their
families to driving to Grand Rapids or further.
It hasn't been easy because while the club
management is behind the idea, there is always a renegade coach or
two that is so involved with living through their child and
satisfying their own ego, setbacks occur.
The intent behind the Lakeshore Premier program is
to provide a locally based, locally run opportunity at a reasonable
cost.
After a 3 short years, here is where they are today:
POSTED on
http://michiganyouthsoccer.lefora.com by lakeshorepremiersc
"...They compiled a 33-11-10 W/L/D record for their respective
leagues/divisions.
U12B - 5th place GVSA U13 Elite (Junior State Cup
Semi-Finalist)
U13B - 2nd Place MSPSL Premier 2
U13G - 2nd Place MSPSL Classic 2
U14B - 2nd Place MSPSL Premier 2
U14G - 1st Place MSPSL Classic 2
U16B - 2nd Place MSPSL Classic 1
And this comes after our U16G took 1st place last fall in the
MSPSL Premier 2.
So, it would appear that all our Premier teams
are set to be promoted next fall. We're excited at the prospect of
having at least 3 teams in Premier 1 in just our third year.
As for tryouts, we experienced a 25% jump in the number of
registrants and formed teams at the following age groups for the
2012-13 season.
U12 Boys
U13 Boys & Girls
U14 Boys & Girls
U15 Boys & Girls
U17 Boys & Girls
The casual, outside observer might not understand the magnitude
of the accomplishment but if you understand that while some of the
ELITE players who had made early moves to Grand Rapids clubs are
starting to recognize the opportunity in their backyard and come
back, there are still many at the older ages still playing
elsewhere.
As time goes on, if they can keep it going and they keep forming
teams at younger ages, fewer and fewer players will make the trip to
Grand rapids until they are forced to by their ability. I say
this because as players develop, it becomes clear that some need to
move on and they should be encouraged to do so by those in charge.
Holland / Zeeland Area
The arrival of , the growth of and the eventual implosion of the
West Michigan Fire Jrs. set back the growth of soccer in Holland /
Zeeland area by 10 years. The clubs in the area today are
picking up the pieces of the implosion and it will be years before
anything resembling clarity appears.
The chief beneficiary of the implosion is United Soccer Athletes
(USA). The club had started many years ago but was drifting
along acting as a poor second choice for anyone in the area.
That is all changed. If you have a child who wants to play
soccer and you want good quality coaching at a very reasonable
price, the USA can supply it. If you are a player who has
higher aspirations then you must look outside the are for it.
Today the club has 40 or so teams playing in GVSA.
This vacuum has many clubs trying to figure out how to get into
the area. This will all take time to work itself out and in
the meantime, the clock is ticking.