Birth of the Coastal Georgia Soccer League August-Sept., 2009

(Letter to brother Richard)

Unlike the previous nautical adventures I have written to you about, this adventure is on dry land and still unfolding.  You see, about five months ago I was in Selden Park, the site for Hispanic soccer games on Sundays for the past few years.  I teach tennis to some Mexican student/friends Sunday mornings in the park and I recalled the games were halted in mid-season.  I asked  my friends why.  They said drinking and fighting caused the police and park authorities to shut down the games.

I thought it a darn shame that these folks, here with so little, should lose the opportunity to  enjoy their national sport, especially when it was one recreational activity that had to be virtually free.  As director of LARC, whose mission was to aid Hispanics, it seemed natural for me to wade in and get to work putting the games back on track.

At LARC, I asked students who they knew that had been involved in soccer. One student, Candelario, told me his brother-in-law had been an assistant referee at the games last fall.  I met with this man, Valdemar, we agreed to work together to get things going once again.  
We found two other men with a similar interest.  One of them, Tito, had served as an assistant referee last fall, and the other, Ruben, had managed a Honduran team.

At the initial meeting, Ruben and Tito announced, emphatically, that we could not have an Uruguayan team in the new league as the Uruguayans were trouble causers and loved to fight.  (They also let slip that the Uruguayans happened to be the best players and invariably won --  I stored that information away.)  Ruben also said, with a sly grin, that there should be a decent pot of dinero for us commissioners to split at season’s end.
 

We met again the next Saturday.  Ruben brought his six month old daughter and three year old son, and Tito his four year old.  The children were a major distraction from the git-go.  In addition, both men announced they could not stay for long.  It was thus apparent to me that family obligations would likely prevent both of them from being of substantive assistance in running the nascent league.

I suggested we call ourselves Commissioners of an organization to be called the Coastal Georgia Soccer League and that we give ourselves titles that befitted the responsibilities we were willing to assume.  Valdemar thought that he and Tito, since they were referees, should be designated commissioners in charge of disciplinary matters.  Ruben said he wanted to be president.  I asked Ruben if he had any experience creating or running such an organization.  He admitted he had none.  I said that perhaps it made sense for me to take on the role of president, as I had some experience creating similar organizations.  Ruben quickly settled for vice president.  Little did I know that before long Ruben would decide to resign, and I would be not only president, but treasurer and secretary as well!

Valdemar was the only other man who seemed to have the time and sincere interest in creating a new organization.  He had played in a semi-professional league in Mexico for years until injured in a bus accident three years before.  He was working only part time, and his brother-in-law, Candelario, finished work at McDonalds at 1:00PM.  We agreed to meet in the afternoons.

We went to work with a passion.  The two men would arrive to meet with me about 3:00.  At 5:00 they would prepare a Mexican dinner.  We would work on as we ate, and then the two of them would continue working in my administrative office while I taught evening ESL classes.  When classes ended at 8:00, I would join the men to continue the league work.  

Let me tell you what we specifically did.  Valdemar had helped create a soccer league for his daughter to play in back in Mexico a decade before.  He therefore knew how many teams were required, how a game schedule could be laid out and team rankings reported, etc.  He set all this up in rough fashion.  I used Word and Excel to produce templates and finished materials.  I created an Access database to manage players, their scores and infractions.

And then there were The Rules!  The former soccer program was haphazardly organized and casually managed by a paid non-hispanic.  There were no written rules.  On top of that, the recreation and parks department never enforced its no-alcohol stricture, didn't even post warning signs.  Add to these sad facts a strong dash of hot latin temperament, and you had a sure recipe for disaster.  It was no wonder the soccer games had to be closed down by the police the prior year.

Valdemar, Candelario, and I worked hard to change things.   In addition to creating the administrative infrastructure described above, we wrote comprehensive rules.  There were 36 of them, covering things from no drinking by players and spectators, to team area policing and cleanup responsibilities, to even player decorum off the field.

The result was a very successful six month season:  Eight teams (after quite a battle, I found a way to include an Uruguayan team), 230 players, excellent competition, strong spectator attendance, even fabulous team trophies and medals for 80 players.  And no fighting!

I even got a Nissan dealer to pay us $1000 to sponsor the league.  We mounted a 20 foot long banner high on the abutting baseball field backstop.  Players, spectators, and even cars out on the highway, could see that our league was sponsored by GOLDEN ISLES NISSAN.

The league lives on.  Valdemar had to return to Mexico, and I left Brunswick, but Candelario Pina is now President of the Coastal Georgia Soccer League.  He somehow, all on his own, manages to administrate it, carrying out his many duties, and successfully enforces the rules. 

The two brothers-in-law from Mexico have certainly served their community well!