Dear CiTY Community,
We hope that our CiTY community is faring well and staying healthy. We are aware that our families are facing many types of challenges during this unprecedented time, and we continue to work behind-the-scenes to support our players and families however we can as a youth sports club and community organization.
We'd like to say a special thank you to all of our people on the front lines - doctors, nurses, medical personnel, store workers, and other essential personnel - working hard to get us through this challenging time. Several CiTY front liners have asked us to spread the word about how important and difference-making blood donation is right now. Anyone age 16 or over that is interested in making this tangible contribution to the fight against COVID-19 can get details and make an appointment by calling
the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767). The nearest location is by the Columbia Mall. Thank you for considering this, and a heartfelt thanks again to all our front line workers.
Despite the closures, social distancing, and quarantining that we have all been adhering to, it has been a very busy time at CiTY. Here is a summary of what's been happening and action items as we move forward as a club:
CiTY Coach Challenges
CiTY coaches have been making videos of soccer and other (handwashing!) challenges to our club membership - check
CiTY's Facebook page
to see videos that have already been posted. If your child accepts a challenge and makes a video that you would like posted on CiTY's page, send the video to
info@ellicottcitysc.org
.
Club/Coach Survey - U9-U18 Travel
CiTY encourages travel families to fill out the
Club and Coach Survey
for each child they have in CiTY's travel program. Providing feedback to the club helps us tremendously as we always strive to provide a positive environment that will enable your child to continue to develop on and off the field. The
survey
takes 2-4 minutes to complete and the window to complete the survey is now through April 8. Please make an effort to complete this simple yet effective form of feedback!
2020 CiTY Raffle - $10,000 CASH!
CiTY's annual clubwide raffle will be drawn on April 24, with a cash prize of $10,000 for one lucky winner! Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at
www.citysoccerraffle.com
. Share this link with family and friends or get extras for yourself to increase your chances of winning.
Given the circumstances of social distancing and quarantining due to COVID-19, this year's CiTY raffle ticket sales and drawing on April 24 will all be handled remotely. CiTY Administration will handwrite info on ticket stubs for each ticket sold online and enter them into the drawing.
For Travel and U8 Academy players only
- each Travel and U8 Academy player paid a $100 fundraising fee when they registered with CiTY last May/June.
This $100 paid for four raffle tickets ($25/each). We will automatically enter four tickets for each player into the raffle. If you do not wish to have your paid-for tickets entered for any reason, please send an email to
operations@ellicottcitysc.org
and your tickets will not be entered.
Stay tuned for details on how to watch the live drawing on April 24.
CiTY Travel Town Hall - Thank You
Thanks to all the travel families and coaches who attended CiTY's first virtual Town Hall this past Sunday. It was a productive forum and we hope you received answers and helpful information as you plan the rest of spring and look ahead to the coming year with CiTY.
A recording of CiTY's virtual Town Hall can be found
here
. We are encouraged to see that other clubs and organizations are putting measures in place similar to what CiTY announced last week and discussed at the
Town Hall
. These actions will help to ensure the viability and continuity of the youth soccer landscape as we move forward through this uncertain time. See Elite Tournaments'
statement
on Baltimore Mania and other canceled spring tournaments
here
.
CiTY Spring 2020 Rec Update
With uncertainty as to the timing of school, field, and social distancing laws now in effect, CiTY's Spring 2020 Rec program has been postponed until further notice. We will continue to keep our Rec families updated as we get information about when we may get back on the field this spring or summer. If you wish to have your Spring 2020 rec fee credited towards Fall 2020 Rec or Spring 2021 Rec, send an email to
operations@ellicottcitysc.org
.
Off-the-Field Resources for our CiTY Community
CiTY has worked with several individuals and businesses as part of the off-the-field development, which is one of CiTY's core philosophies. These experts continue to be a resource for CiTY families who are interested:
- Chris Williams - licensed mental health therapist available to address mental health concerns of CiTY players and families, via phone or video chat. williamssportscounseling@gmail.com, 443-756-3753
- www.changingthegameproject.com, founded by CiTY guest speaker, John O'Sullivan - Empowering Parents, Coaches and Youth Sports Organizations to Transform Youth Sports
- www.soccerparenting.com, founded by CiTY guest speaker, Skye Eddy Bruce - Inspiring Players by Empowering Parents
- Diamondback Article - story of CiTY guest speaker, Paul Bin's mental health struggles and support from UMD Coach Sasho Cirovsky
Thanks for supporting CiTY, and as always, feel free to reach out to CiTY Leadership with any questions or concerns.
