Clermont FC seems to have turned things around since their former leadership (if you could even call them leaders) stepped away. They have a new staff in charge and have done some "common sense" things especially with their In House program. They are running a clinic style program where a coach teaches a skill to all the kids and that is what they work on that night - not like the old days where it was a "free for all" and each coach was doing whatever they wanted and nobody was learning anything.
Their competitive program is on the mend as well, with them adding 5 new teams (up to 20 now). They still only have a couple that would be considered "strong" but it is a major step up from a year ago when nobody was allowed to express an opinion to HW for fear of being thrown out. I have a child in both programs and have been very happy with their presence out at the field and how open their staff is to answering questions about the direction. Not only that, but I've received about 10 emails recently regarding the start of the season - I don't think I received 10 emails total in all the years I have been with the club with the old mgmt. in charge. Major improvement in communication!!
They moved to a new (and more inexpensive) uniform for both programs and all the kids look more professional wearing the same colors and the coaches wearing a different color to stand out. Hopefully this will continue and bring in more of the kids that left (for good reasons). Not to mention, they have not raised the prices ($350/yr) and they are drawing in quality coaches from the area and the local High Schools.
They even have a mission statement on their website - which I've never seen before. It's very refreshing to see so many new teams in all the age groups. We have asked about Rush, Lake County, NTC, IPSA and Ridge and quite honestly with what we hope will be CFC's future, there is nothing about any of them that would make me want to leave to potentially spend more money for a "potential" college scholarship.
I realize coaching is important - but natural talent outweighs coaching any day and I can't see paying for a child's college now through a youth soccer coach when there's no guarantee after all the year's of training that college will be paid for.
It may be naive and close minded - but I'm willing to take my chances with a small town club that has finally opened it's arms to its members and wants to make a difference for both the kids and their families to have an enjoyable experience.
My feeling is that at their price point - if enough players stay together, the competitive teams will get stronger, gain back kids who left and build a very successful program that can compete with the mega clubs that cost $1500+ just to join.
What kills me is that my child's team plays in a lower division and we recently beat a team from a big club (we have friends on the team) - their price tag is well over $1300, ours is $350. Unfortunately, you can't get that through people's minds. Coaching is important, but you can't teach TALENT, why throw away your hard earned money.
People who left - I think you should reconsider CFC. It might save you a lot now for the same outcome later.
Their competitive program is on the mend as well, with them adding 5 new teams (up to 20 now). They still only have a couple that would be considered "strong" but it is a major step up from a year ago when nobody was allowed to express an opinion to HW for fear of being thrown out. I have a child in both programs and have been very happy with their presence out at the field and how open their staff is to answering questions about the direction. Not only that, but I've received about 10 emails recently regarding the start of the season - I don't think I received 10 emails total in all the years I have been with the club with the old mgmt. in charge. Major improvement in communication!!
They moved to a new (and more inexpensive) uniform for both programs and all the kids look more professional wearing the same colors and the coaches wearing a different color to stand out. Hopefully this will continue and bring in more of the kids that left (for good reasons). Not to mention, they have not raised the prices ($350/yr) and they are drawing in quality coaches from the area and the local High Schools.
They even have a mission statement on their website - which I've never seen before. It's very refreshing to see so many new teams in all the age groups. We have asked about Rush, Lake County, NTC, IPSA and Ridge and quite honestly with what we hope will be CFC's future, there is nothing about any of them that would make me want to leave to potentially spend more money for a "potential" college scholarship.
I realize coaching is important - but natural talent outweighs coaching any day and I can't see paying for a child's college now through a youth soccer coach when there's no guarantee after all the year's of training that college will be paid for.
It may be naive and close minded - but I'm willing to take my chances with a small town club that has finally opened it's arms to its members and wants to make a difference for both the kids and their families to have an enjoyable experience.
My feeling is that at their price point - if enough players stay together, the competitive teams will get stronger, gain back kids who left and build a very successful program that can compete with the mega clubs that cost $1500+ just to join.
What kills me is that my child's team plays in a lower division and we recently beat a team from a big club (we have friends on the team) - their price tag is well over $1300, ours is $350. Unfortunately, you can't get that through people's minds. Coaching is important, but you can't teach TALENT, why throw away your hard earned money.
People who left - I think you should reconsider CFC. It might save you a lot now for the same outcome later.
Comment