Player's Corner

Attention Parents - Annual Elections Are Here !

The annual elections for volunteers as board of directors, coaches and president will be here very soon. The club’s bylaws require that all applications be submitted to the current board of directors/ secretary by April 30th. This deadline date is approaching us in 14 days. If you can assist in the functions and operations of the club in any way, please complete an application, or speak with Kevin Jacob, Linda Southards or Chris Renfert and nominate yourself to assist in the operations for 2007-2008 calendar year.

I have heard that a few people feel that it is not necessary to be involved. Although I understand there are various reasons such as: some people do not have the time to participate, some people do not want to get involved, for fear of possible conflicts or they simply do not see the importance of being a volunteer. It should be clear to all parents, that it is necessary to have volunteers to manage the club’s functions. Kevin Jacob, president of the club, has carried the responsibility of maintaining the financials of the club, ordering equipment, ordering jerseys, arranging practice times, preparing an annual awards banquet and being the beacon for the management of the club for 8 years. Along with his supporting staff of volunteers as board members, coaches and team managers, each of them have been willing to commit some of their personal time to maintain and manage the club’s necessary functions. They have committed their time over the years, so that all players that wanted to play could have the opportunity to obtain a school letter, and have the pride of representing their school of Fort Zumwalt West within the Missouri Inline Hockey Association League. This has been the primary sport of choice for many of the children that have participated during the past 8 years. The alumni players and the current players have had this opportunity because Kevin Jacob and parents like Chris Renfert and Linda Southards have committed to volunteer and keep the club organized. If it was not for their unselfish commitment to the children, most likely the club would be ran by someone different every season and if you did not know someone that is organizing a team to participate, than most likely your child would not be playing. Unless you attempted to recruit a number of players and organize the entire process by yourself.

Speaking for myself, I desire to keep my child busy. I have been fortunate to find a sport, that my son enjoys along with my wife and I. If we can keep our children focused on some of the fun and good things of being young, than we can perhaps prevent our children from being influenced by some of the bad opportunities that are available to them. The Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club is an organization compiled of players that attend the same school as your child and shares a similar interest in the sport of inline hockey. As parents, if we can get involved and assist in making this club an organization that children desire to be a part of and are proud to represent, than we have a better chance in keeping our children focused on some of the positives of being young. The club is not just about organizing the multiple number of teams each winter to participate in the MOIHA league. It is about creating an organization that the children can look forward to participating in. It is about creating an image that each player is proud to be a part of. The opportunity for the club’s contributions to your child’s future is only limited to the participation of the parents that get involved. The club can grow to include a longer season, participate in tournaments and be involved in other non hockey events. As parents we have a great opportunity before us, which allows each of us to get involved and help form the club that we would like to see it become. Keep in mind that this is a group of children that have a similar interest in hockey, they all attend the same school and they are all around the high school age. Remember you are only as good as the people you choose to associate with.

I know that every player in this club has grown up with very little consistency in team rosters, coaches and team structure. For each 10 week session it tends to shuffle the players to get that team that can triumph. With the number of players that attend Fort Zumwalt West High School and West Middle School, there is a golden opportunity for the parents to ban together to create a club that represents the school with dignity and pride. The FZWIHC, Fort Zumwalt West Inline Hockey Club, is planning on adding a junior high school team to it’s membership. All four teams are planning on have a very vibrant and modern looking uniform for the 2007-2008 season. Another goal of the club is to extend the regular season to include a pre-season league with the cooperation of our home rink. The cost of membership is being addressed along with the individual cost of benefits. It is the goal of the club to create and initiate various fund raising events, which are not so dreadful. Some of the ideals presented so far could be enjoyable fund raising events. The membership could have additional social time and actually assist in decreasing the overall cost to be a member. There is a lot of great ideals being shared during the practice sessions and games. We need to continue this positive level of discussion and carrying it in to the management of the club.

It is vital to our children’s development that we keep a positive level of involvement along with an adequate number of leaders that can help guide the youth of the club. With the opportunity before us we can choose to appoint the parents that can coach and lead this club into the next season. The results of this election opportunity will only be limited if the number of parents volunteering is limited. So, if you have some thoughts on how the club can be enhanced, than we have a place for you within the management of the club. The coaching staff, team managers, committee members and board members can have numerous opportunities to present examples of leadership and sportsmanship to the entire participates of the club. As parents and volunteers to the club you will have many opportunities to lead by example. But to accomplish all of these great things, we need parents and non parents to step up and get involved. We must make these elections about the children and not about the parents.

Keep the youth involved in positive environments and keep them associating with other focused individuals.