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July 31, 2008
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| Inaugural AYSES Club Wide Banquet - Huge Hit!!! |
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The Inaugural AYSES Club Wide Banquet was a huge hit and success whose purpose was a fundraiser for the new AYSES Soccer Complex.
Contrary to what was advertised, Led Zeppelin did not show, the President and First Lady did not show, the entire cast of Riverdance did not show - no one from Riverdance showed. However, the AYSES soccer family did show and it was great fun mingling with all the AYSES fans - fans of great soccer, fantastic group of people who form the AYSES family. April Hill did a great job as MC. You rock, April!
The AYSES 91 Boys Gold were honored. Coach Sammy spoke about each player as a slideshow of that player was shown (great job on the slideshow John Bosma, 91 team manager). It was a great time for Coach, player and family to see this honor. This writer has a son Coach Sammy coaches - Coach Sammy, wonderful job(!!) - it was great!
At the end, there was a surprise member of the team who was honored, John Bosma. He was presented with AYSES apparel and was honored by all. John Bosma is a great man who loves his boys and a guy who alone destroys the "curve" (thanks for that Mac),
Two factions, player and parent, honored Coach Sammy. Travis Bally, 91 player, spoke of the what the AYSES have done for him by parlaying that AYSES experience toward a soccer scholarship at the University of Louisville. Travis has the distinction of being the first AYSES to be awarded a soccer scholarship upon graduating high school. Travis spoke of Coach Sammy teaching him great technical skills and, at one point in Travis’ presentation, stated, "I owe it all to that man" turning and pointing to Coach Sammy. It was a great tribute by Travis to Coach Sammy - the student recognizes and honors the teacher! What is so ironic is this part of the program was to be a tribute to Travis who turned the tables by recognizing the work of Coach Sammy. Travis is a fine, young man who honors his family, his team, Coach, and club by his behavior both on and off the field. He will be greatly missed. However, he will remain on the 91’s roster and will compete with the team in the 2009 Dallas Cup.
John Royer, a 92 and 94 parent, spoke of the impact Coach Sammy is having upon his sons and as a parent who needs coaching from time to time. :-) John mentioned the things that are heartfelt by all who know Coach Sammy.
Overall, Coach Sammy has done and is doing a wonderful job as measured by any metric. Coach Sammy is keen to teach AYSES style soccer and teach and model character to the players. Well done, Coach!
Coach Sammy presented a slideshow of the progress of the AYSES Soccer Complex. The progress is incredible! It will be a first class soccer complex friendly to families and, most of all, a world-class training center. The AYSES present nomadic existence will be ending soon - the light at the end of the tunnel is at hand.
The night had to end with the raffle, silent auction, and awarding of gifts. At the table I sat, an unnamed fellow was extremely aggressive in wanting to win at all costs. Tom Lucas, 91 parent, ripped off the chair’s sticker and attempted to present it as the winning sticker (memo to Coach Sammy and Alice: to preclude the presentation of a lawsuit for damaged equipment, I would suggest having April strongly inform the parents that the chairs and tables are not to be dismantled). The winning raffle number was owned by Angie Van Woesik, 91 parent. Subsequently, Angie proclaimed she was going to give all the winnings to the AYSES, those at his table resuscitated Angie’s husband, Ron. :-)
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| 91 AYSES Gold Boys - Semi-finalist at The Score Showcase (formerly Score at the Shore) |
The 91 AYSES Gold Boys returned home Tuesday, July 29 after competing in The Score Showcase at Greensboro (formerly Score at the Shore) college showcase tournament held in Greensboro, North Carolina. For the U17/18 bracket there were 48 teams from all across the United States and Canada.
Congrats to the 91 team, Coach Sammy, and John Bosma for advancing to the semi-finals, playing hard but falling to the eventual champion, 91 Norcross Fury Gold. In the end, the 91s are one of the top 4 teams in this college showcase tournament. The 91s played typical AYSES control and attack game.
Following is a quote from John Bosma’s end of tournament closing summary email sent to the 91 parents: "As you have hopefully heard from the players via phone call, this has been an outstanding tournament for the players. The AYSES played classic AYSES soccer, won several games, and successfully showcased their skills and abilities to a large number of (college) scouts.
ALL 16 players had a successful tournament and showed their soccer abilities. Not ONE player had a bad tournament."
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| AYSES Soccer Complex - Progressing As Planned |
Plans for the construction of AYSES Soccer Complex are proceeding as planned.
The complex will be built in phases. Phase I of the complex which is located on the west side of the property and consists of the six fields, club house, lake, parking and fun area among other things, will be built in two phases. The first part of phase I will be completed by in the fall. The phase will include the construction of six irrigated soccer fields, well, lake, parking and lights. The lights will be ready before November 2008 just when they will be needed.
The remainder of phase I will be completed by September 2009 and will include everything in phase I that will not have been built. This will include the club house, picnic area and fun area. Right after completion of phase I, construction of phase II and then III will begin.
Having our own soccer complex is a huge step! It will be the club’s home, as opposed to, our nomadic existence of today. The AYSES Soccer Complex will embody everything compromising the AYSES family: the club, teams, players, and parents. This is a proud time to be an AYSES.
We will keep updating you on the progress of the facility via email and the AYSES website.
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| Fundraising For AYSES Soccer Complex |
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As you all know, building a soccer facility of the caliber of AYSES Soccer Complex is very expensive. Every help we can get will go a long way in offsetting the cost of bringing the project to life. More importantly your contribution will help build something that will help many youths leave a healthy life for many years to come.
Listed below are the ways you can contribute to the project:
- Financial contribution of any amount: There will be three levels of recognition for financial contribution. If you contribute $100.00 and below, you will be recognized as a Silver Level contributor. If you contribute between $100.00 and $1,000, you will be recognized as a Gold Level contributor, and if you contribute $1,000.00 and above, you will be recognized as a Platinum Level contributor. All contributors will have their names displayed prominently in the AYSES Club House based on their level of contribution. This will be a permanent feature of the facility, and you can some day share with your grandchildren that you helped make AYSES Soccer Complex a reality.
- Contributing a tree: Trees will be an important feature of the AYSES Soccer Complex. The plan is to have every soccer field surrounded by trees. We believe that having trees contribute positively to the environment, provide shade and gives the complex the look and feel of more than just a soccer facility. We will therefore be taking contributions in the form of trees. These trees will be positioned in different locations within the facility depending on the type of tree you contribute. The tree will be named after you, your family or whoever you wish. You will engrave that name on the tree. That tree will be there for many years to come, and will be there as a testimony to your contribution to the facility.
- Buy a Brick: You can contribute $100.00 towards the purchase of a brick that will be used to build the Club House. You will be recognized as a Bronze Level contributor, and your name will be displayed in the Club House as such.
- Provide expertise: We could use all the expertise we can get. If you can provide your service in any way, shape of form, we will very much appreciate it. Some of the AYSES parents have done so much to get us to this point by providing services that would have cost thousands of dollars. You may be an architect, landscape expert, or a builder. We need you. We will recognize you accordingly.
- Business Sponsorship: If you own a business, you can contribute or purchase advertisement. Please call for more information.
You can mail your contribution to (make check payable to AYSES):
AYSES
6905 Arcola Drive
Plano, Texas75074
Call (214) 734 - 3393 or (214) 454 - 5953.
Do not forget the Cell Phone Fundraiser efffort that can help earn your team twenty percent of the total moneys collected from all teams. All your team has to do is collect enough phones to fetch the most money in order to win the prize. You still have two solid weeks left, so let’s get going.
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