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by Brian O′Keefe posted 05/08/2008

THANK YOU for Supporting Field Development!

Hopkinton Youth Soccer would like to thank all those who supported the development of fields at Fruit Street during Town Meeting.  We are now one step closer to achieving our goal of creating a sustainable, long-term field strategy for our program.

Please check our website in the coming weeks for more information on this exciting opportunity.  A lot of work remains and will will be looking for volunteers of all types to help ensure this project is a success.  If you would like to join the group who will be working on this, please email Brian O'Keefe at .

 
 
 
 
HEADLINES  Subscribe to Hopkinton Youth Soccer Association
 
  HYSA night at the RI Stingrays set for May 17th, 2008

by Brian O′Keefe posted 05/07/2008

Join Hopkinton Youth Soccer Players and Coaches for this One-of-a-Kind Soccer Experience! 
 
The PDL Rhode Island Stingrays are inviting HYSA to their May 17th soccer game against the PDL New Hampshire Phantoms at Pierce Memorial Stadium in East Providence. Kickoff is 7:00pm.
 
Before the game, the Stingray will offer a soccer clinic to all HYSA players in attendance, free of charge in the stadium. The clinic will start at 5:15 and last until 6:15, after which Stingray/Phantoms players will start their warm-up. Following the clinic, refreshments can be purchased at the concession stand prior to the game.
 
After the game, all kids (and parents) are invited unto the field for player autographs and a chat with the player and/or coaching staff.
 
All HYSA players get in for free at this special event. They would need to bring their own soccer ball. Cost for each accompanying adult is $8.00, which needs to be paid at the gate. 
 
The RI Stingrays is playing in the 4th division/tier of the US soccer league, called the Premier Development League. Teams in the PDL are normally comprised of the top college players in the country as a stepping stone in their further development into the pro ranks. The Rhode Island Stingrays have been members of the USL since 1995.
 
Head Coach, Mario Pereira explains that part of his goal as coach is to move players into the professional game. The Stingrays have a history of preparing players for the next level and recently, the Stingrays had three of their former players selected in the 2008 MLS draft. 
 
Mario is very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to HYSA. In his own words, he feels that the missing ingredient to youth soccer development is an exposure to the game at a higher level. It makes the players better understand the dynamics of the game and ties in all the technical and tactical elements of the game that the national Youth Soccer Associations are trying to teach their players. 
  
For sign-up, please email me at: or 508-435-3077 and state names/number of adults/children attending. The required sign-up is for planning purposes.  Please sign up by 5/13/2008. 

More info on the Stingrays can also be found on:
 
Directions to Pierce Memorial Field:
From 495 South
– I-495 south to I-95 south. Take I-195 East in Providence to Warren Avenue (Exit 5). - Take left at stop sign. - Go 1/4 mile and take a right onto Lyon Avenue. - Go 1/2 mile and Pierce Field and the Stingrays are on your right. Approximate driving time from Hopkinton is 50 minutes.
 
 
 
  Free Soccer Clinics Spring 2008

by posted 05/07/2008


 
 
 
  3rd Grade Evaluations

by Brian O′Keefe posted 05/07/2008

Dear Parents,
As part of the assignment process for the 4th grade fall travel teams, Hopkinton Youth Soccer will be conducting evaluations of 3rd graders at the end of May.  Please note that the evaluations are not try-outs as every child that is registered in the fall will be placed on a team. The 3rd grade evaluations will be combined with coaches’ ratings in determining team assignment.
This year, Mass Youth Soccer will be conducting the evaluations and we ask that players attend a minimum of two sessions.  
The evaluations are scheduled at Emerald Hills on May 27th, May 28th and May 29th according to the following schedule:
May 27:  4:30 pm - 5:45 pm boys                6:15 pm - 7:30 pm girls
May 28:  4:30 pm - 5:45 pm girls                6:15 pm - 7:30 pm boys
May 29:  4:30 pm  - 5:45 pm boys                6:15 pm - 7:30 pm girls
LOGISTICS
  • As parking is tight at the field please try to carpool with the parents of other players.
  • Please be sure your child brings a water bottle and a size 4 ball properly inflated ball.
  • Please be sure your child is wearing cleats and shin guards and leaves all jewelry at home.
  • In the event of rain, please check the website. The scrolling bar at the top of the home page will have a message regarding cancellation.
If you have any questions or your child cannot attend the evaluations, please contact me at:
Thanks and we look forward to seeing your child at the evaluations.
John Giordano
Director of Coach and Player Development
 
 
 
  IMPORTANT NOTE regarding Town Meeting & Field Development

by posted 05/02/2008

 

NOTE: The following message is a bit long, but is VERY important. The message solicits your support of several articles that will be presented at Town Meeting that, if passed, will help lead to new fields for youth sports programs in general and Hopkinton Youth Soccer in particular. It is important to note that this year’s proposal does NOT result in tax increases to the town.
 
Please take the time to review the information below prior to Town Meeting on May 5th and follow the guidance outlined in the “What can I do to help?” section. Thank you.
 
++++++++
 
Dear Parents –
 
The past two months have been a very busy time for our program. In addition to the normal preparation that went in to successfully kicking off our spring season, Hopkinton Youth Soccer has been actively working to improve the experience of both our players and parents through several new and important projects. 
 
Some of these improvements have been more visible than others – visitors to the Emerald Hills fields have hopefully seen the value of the fencing that we recently installed, and this weekend, more than 100 preschool-age children will take the field as part of our inaugural “Kick Start” program. Both of these programs were originally suggested by parents just like you, but neither addresses the one area of greatest need for our program: access to more, higher-quality fields.
 
Why do we need fields?
 
The need for better fields in Hopkinton is well established. Our children frequently play on open space that has equal parts dirt, grass, and weeds, and oftentimes gravel and mulch, leading to higher risk of injury. One of our players recently broke her arm when she fell on an uneven part of a field during practice. Additionally, we simply do not have enough field space to support the needs of our program, as evidenced by the fact that we are sometimes unable to host games home games for our teen players due to a lack of enough large fields in the town. Many of you also recognize this need as “improving the quality and quantity of fields” was voted the most important goal for our program (by a 2:1 ratio over any other objective) in last fall’s parent survey.
 
What is being presented at Town Meeting?
 
Over the past few months, a core group of volunteers has been working with Hopkinton’s Parks and Recreation Committee, Community Preservation Committee (CPC), and others within Town Hall to reach agreement on a realistic field development strategy for the Fruit Street property. Thanks in large part to these efforts and the cooperation, patience, and compromise shown by all involved, the chance to develop fields at Fruit Street has once again become very real.
 
At Town Meeting next week, Hopkinton residents will vote on two articles – Town Warrant Article #39 (allocation of funding) and Special Town Warrant Article #3 (approval to negotiate a lease) – that will create incentives for development of athletic fields at Fruit Street.
 
As was the case in prior years, we are asking for you to attend Town Meeting and express your support for these articles given that they are likely to provide the most direct path toward a long-term, sustainable field strategy at Fruit Street.
 
Why is this year different than prior years?
 
Long tenured parents in our program will recall that the town previously purchased land at Fruit Street with the intent of building active recreation fields (among other things) on the site. The funding needed to develop fields at Fruit Street has been presented and passed at Town Meeting in prior years, only to have those measures fail at the general election.
 
This may have some of you wondering what is different about this year’s proposal. The short answer is … Everything.
 
Unlike prior years, where residents were asked to cover the expense associated with field development, this year’s proposal creates incentives for a public-private partnership to develop fields. This cooperation will both reduce the overall cost of the project to the town and distribute the cost to those residents who stand to benefit the most from the proposed fields. As a result, there will be NO impact on property taxes to residents in town.
 
Additionally, the provisions for funding will only need to pass Town Meeting and will NOT be sent to the ballot on May 18 if they pass. Stated more simply, if both articles pass next week, we will be able to formally begin planning for the development of fields at Fruit Street in hopes of having at least one field online by the Fall 2009 season.
 
How will the fields be funded?
 
The project will be jointly funded through a $1 million grant from the CPC and a minimum $500,000 commitment from Hopkinton Youth Soccer (alone or in conjunction with other parties or youth sports organizations).
 
Obviously, this will represent a significant investment for HYSA. Raising enough money to cover our anticipated commitment will require a carefully crafted financing strategy that may include some combination of existing capital, individual / corporate fundraising, field rental income, player registration fee increases, and traditional financing (e.g., loans). Registration fee increases will be set aside specifically for field development. 
 
What will HYSA get in exchange for its commitment?
 
Although a formal use agreement is still being negotiated with Parks and Recreation, it is our expectation that HYSA’s investment will provide access to high-quality fields at peak times (i.e., practices and games) during our spring and fall seasons. We also expect that our commitment will be prorated across a to-be-determined period of time such that our ultimate cost per hour is reasonable and no worse that that being charged other users of the fields.
 
Will other youth sports programs have access to the fields?
 
Our current negotiations with Hopkinton Parks and Recreation include provisions that give other in-town youth, school, and adult athletic programs access to the fields. As noted above, these programs will be asked to pay user fees (pro-rated or otherwise) that are no less than the pro-rated hourly cost that HYSA will be paying.
 
What type of fields will be developed?
 
It is our sincere hope and preference that this arrangement will lead to the development of synthetic fields similar to those in neighboring towns (i.e., Marshall Street in Holliston, The 9-11 Field in Southborogh, etc.). However, it is important to understand that a final design for the complex has NOT been finalized at this point given that it does not make sense to create the design until the proposed articles pass Town Meeting. Once more information regarding the final design is known, it will be shared publicly with the community for review and feedback.
 
Do other options for field development exist?
 
Perhaps. Our board has reviewed the proposed rezoning plan for Legacy Farms and we see great potential for field development at Legacy Farms should the Host Community Agreement / rezoning plan be approved at Town Meeting. What is uncertain to us is whether similar opportunities will exist if the rezoning plan is not approved. We encourage you to consider this benefit when evaluating your support of the Legacy Farms proposal (article #27), which will likely be presented at the beginning of Tuesday’s session.
 
What can I do to Help?
 
The answer to this question is simple: We need all of our parents to attend Town Meeting and vote in favor of Town Warrant Article #39 and Special Town Meeting Article #3. As a reminder, all registered voters can attend Town Meeting. Baby-sitting will be available (see below).
 
As previously noted, Special Town Meeting Article #3 will be discussed promptly at the start of Tuesday’s session (7 p.m. sharp!). The discussion related to Legacy Farms is also scheduled for that evening, so we encourage you to stay for that decision as well.
 
The timing of article #39 will be somewhat dependent on how long the discussion related to Legacy continues, but it seems reasonable to assume that it will either be addressed late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Both articles are equally important so please make every effort to be present for the voting of both articles. Simply put, if only one of the two articles passes, it may not be possible to move forward with the project.
 
Will childcare be available again this year during Town Meeting?
 
Yes. HYSA is partnering with the HPTA to provide childcare during Town Meeting. Please contact Jean Bertschmann at to sign up.
 
Is there anything else I should know?
 
Please look for and read additional communications on this topic over the next few days and help raise support for these articles with neighbors and friends.
 
Unfortunately, I have a long-standing commitment that will prevent me from attending Town Meeting next week, but many other board members plan to be in attendance and Arnon Friedmann (In-town Director) and John Giordano (Director of Player and Coach Development) have graciously agreed to represent HYSA during the presentation of the articles.
 
In the meanwhile, I welcome any questions, comments, or concern you might have. Please send them to me at .
 
Thank you in advance for your support of this important initiative.
 
Regards,
 
Brian O’Keefe
President – Hopkinton Youth Soccer
 
 
 
  >> Open Positions as of March 2008 <<

by Ramon Venegas posted 03/03/2008

>> Open Positions as of March 2008 <<
 
 
Fund Raising Director
While this position is not a formal board position, it will work closely with the board to coordinate and oversee fund raising efforts and will be expected to provide periodic updates to the board.  The position also has responsibility for developing goodwill with business partners and vendors, and the New England Revolution.
 
Technology Director
This position is also not a formal board position.  The technology director will work to advise the board on how to maximize available technology resources like the Hopkinton Youth Soccer website.  Other technologies for consideration may include wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, etc.  Experience with such technologies is not required and those interested in learning more about Internet technologies (including responsible teenagers) are encouraged to apply.
 
Communications Director
We hope to greatly improve the quality and frequency of our communications in 2008.  This position is a non-board position that will work with all areas of the board to draft / publish communications targeted at both parents and the community at large, including articles for local newspapers, our home page, and a more general newsletter.
 
Field Equipment Assistant(s)
Fields obviously play a central role in our program, but it may also be easy to overlook the amount of preparation that goes into setting up fields for each season.  Goals need to be inventoried / moved and checked for sand-bags throughout the season.  Ideally, we would like to recruit several individuals to assist with this effort, with a priority given to residents near our distributed fields (i.e., Emerald Hills, Daniel Shays, Pyne, and/or Elmwood) who can monitor the status of the fields and equipment.
 
Project Coordinators
Hopkinton Youth Soccer sponsors several projects throughout the year that would benefit from an assigned coordinator.  Each project (i.e., photo night, trophies, etc.) has defined goals and commitments that can be managed according to the coordinators schedule.
 
Site / Event Volunteer
Throughout the season, there are events that would benefit from a few volunteers to help with day-of activities like registration, items sales, or providing information.  Examples of events include the Poly Arts Festival, jamborees, HYSA Night at the Hillers, etc.  The commitment would only be for a 1-2 hours at most.  Volunteers will be placed on a list and contacted as opportunities arise.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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