Hello From Your Executive Director
Hello GSA Competitive Parents! After months of work and progress behind the scenes, we are extremely excited to update you on some of the changes and improvements that are on the way!
My first year as your Executive Director was a whirlwind, to say the least. The Covid-19 pandemic and the chaos it caused with all our programming, budgeting, and facility management was quite consuming. My time spent since getting things settled in that regard has focused on a massive reorganization project determined to solidify the foundational stability and operational effectiveness of the entire Club. Countless hours have been spent with our Board of Directors and Senior Staff reshaping our staffing structure, redefining roles and responsibilities, improving our programming, and revising all of our budgeting. We are even in the process of giving our website a facelift, where we hope to improve our communication and access to information.
We hope to go live with this new website on January 1st, but I wanted to share some highlights of some new developments via email first. We are very proud of everything the Club has accomplished behind the scenes this past season and a quarter, and are excited about the improvements yet to come! If you have any questions or feedback at all, please do not hesitate to email me at ExecutiveDirector@gainesvillesoccer.org
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GSA's New Parent Advisory Committee
As we continue to work in an attempt to improve our Club, we want to create a platform where our parents can help guide us in our efforts. With this goal in mind, we have decided to create a GSA Parent Advisory Committee (PAC). Our PAC will consist of a Committee Chair (Tracy Block, a current member of our Executive Board) and four competitive parents. This committee will review complaints and suggestions sent in by parents, and plan for ways to use this feedback to add to our planning and efforts.
We are now seeking volunteers who would like to possibly be included in our PAC, which we hope to have up and running by the end of the year. If you would like to be considered as a committee member, please email us at: PAC@gainesvillesoccer.org
Once our committee is set, we will send out a follow-up email asking for parents to submit ideas and suggestions.
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GSA's New Discipline Committee
The Gainesville Soccer Alliance is dedicated to the physical, personal and emotional development of all our players. As such, we understand the role all adults play in regard to modeling proper behavior on the sidelines. In an attempt to improve things in this regard, the Club will begin to enforce the following discipline procedures starting immediately.
The Club will establish a Discipline Committee to deal with all behavior issues concerning coaches, administrators, players and parents. This committee will consist of three members: the GSA Executive Director, the GSA Operations Director and the GSA Competitive Director. This committee will meet as needed to discuss all related issues, making sure to gather all relative information while considering all points of view. After discussion, the committee will vote to determine the appropriate course of action, according to the protocol outlined below.
GSA Three-Strike Discipline Protocols
First Strike / Warning
Second Strike / Probation
Third Strike / Termination or Expulsion
Our GSA competitive coaching staff has been made aware of our new discipline committee and protocols. This information was included in their contracts (revised last week), as well as clearly defined responsibilities and expectations.
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GSA Competitive Budget
As I mentioned, we've made great strides revising all of our Club budgeting. As a point of clarification, I've created a pie chart as an overview to illustrate the breakdown of what expenses our Competitive Program fees cover. It's important to note that, unlike many other Clubs, we do not seek to make money at GSA, nor do our staff members profit from overages. If we find ourselves with excess funds in June at the end of a season, we invest in new goals or other equipment that benefit the entire Club.
Everything listed as a Club Fee below is a whole-club expense (such as the Jonesville Park development bank loan, facility management, administrative staffing, etc.). Everything listed as a Team Fee is a team-specific expense (such as coaching salaries and travel reimbursement, league expenses, tournament expenses, team equipment, etc.).
You can download a pdf of the pie chart by clicking on the image.
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GSA's Referee Outreach Program
As some of you may have noticed, our area is currently facing a concerning shortage of qualified referees. Many of our recreational and competitive games have had to operate without full referee crews, and a few times games have even had to be rescheduled because coverage couldn't be found at all!
The Club is committed to improving our referee situation, and needs YOUR HELP to do so! If we have any older GSA players or parents who are interested in being a referee, WE WILL PAY FOR YOUR CERTIFICATION! This is a limited-time offer that will run on a first-come, first-serve basis...so don't delay if you're interested.
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GSA's Banner Sponsorship Program
Did you know that GSA has a banner sponsorship program that not only earns extra funds for the Club, but also SAVES YOU MONEY?
Businesses can hang a banner on our main fence at Jonesville Park for $600/year. With the thousands of visitors the facility hosts every year, this is easily one of the best advertising deals around. To make things even better, for every new banner that one of our parents brings in, they will receive a $200 GSA credit! This credit can be used on registration fees, volunteer opt-out fees, and even GSA-run camps.
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Message From Our Executive Director |
In the 25 years I’ve been working for GSA, I have never been more excited about the strength of our club and the direction it’s heading. A great deal of work has gone into a reorganization project that promises to breathe new life, heightened professionalism, and invigorated passion into our proud organization. I’m confident that now more than ever we will earn the reputation as the Home of Soccer Excellence in Gainesville!
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Alan Womack
GSA Executive Director
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Together we discover. Together we teach.
Together we care for our patients and our communities.
Together we create unstoppable momentum.
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