BFC STATE OF THE CLUB UPDATE
February 11, 2020
Team BFC,
As we roll into the Winter/Spring Program, we’d like to provide you with an update on the State of the Club:
From the Board's perspective, BFC is off to an amazing start and we’re very excited about where we stand. As with any new and ambitious endeavor that’s trying to upend a traditional model and forge a new path, we’re facing some interesting challenges. However, with the continued commitment of our passionate and engaged Board, an equally committed and engaged coaching staff, and the amazing support from our BFC families, we’re off to a great start. I will try to be as brief as possible, but there's much to convey regarding what we’ve learned, and more importantly, where we’re trying to go.
One thing remains crystal clear....we’re a club committed to our mission of developing and promoting a love of soccer, to help youth players reach their goals and potential, and to foster a broader community that celebrates the joy and opportunities that come from the diversity, competition, and fun found in the “world’s game.” Community, Character, Commitment!
Initial Announcements
1. 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization - Burlington FC is now officially a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. Through the diligent work of Geoff Hand, who handled our application with State and Federal government, we can now make this declaration. This was a necessary step for our fundraising and sponsorship efforts in support of the scholarship program.
2. #equalpay - As I'm sure many of you have noticed, our spring season kits have #equalpay across the sleeve of our home and away jerseys. This is due in part to an initial grant to Burlington FC from #equalpay, a fundraiser started by the Burlington High School Girls Soccer team. For those not familiar with their mission, you can learn more here: https://equalpayjerseys.com/.
We received some very constructive feedback regarding this decision from the BFC Community, which we’d like to address directly. This feedback was extremely thoughtful and positive, but did raise some questions regarding the perception of this decision.
The question raised....is it appropriate to have a seemingly political message or statement on a youth soccer jersey? Frankly, and in full transparency, that question never crossed our minds. We never looked at it that way. We, including the person who raised the question, fully supports the mission of #equalpay. We viewed it as an amazing statement for our club and our community. We welcomed the support of #equalpay, and wanted to further support their cause by having it on both our boys and girls uniforms.
Following, we further discussed the topic at our next meeting. As a club with a stated mission of improving the gender equality for our girl’s program, this seemed like an easy choice for us to connect with #equalpay. Our intentions and thoughts haven’t changed, we’re proud of the association.
However, we acknowledge moving forward, when it comes to statements, particularly on our kids jerseys, as a club we will...1) consider if any statement, no matter how positive it may seem, is appropriate 2) discuss the opportunity and solicit opinions from our BFC Community and 3) proactively inform our members and community of our intentions.
In the future, we will support a process that includes an open forum for our BFC community to consider these types of opportunities. And as always, we need and welcome your input as we continue to build something great!
3. Committee Volunteers - BFC created several committees to work with our Board on our Scholarship program, Fundraising, and Community engagement. We need volunteers and support to build out these critical pieces for the future growth of BFC. Please email me or any board member if you would like to participate. We need help, we need energy and we need support!
Program Update
In this, our inaugural season, BFC offered two core programs (Fall Academy & Winter/Spring Team Program) and two ancillary programs (Futsal & Performance Academy). Our participation in each program was great overall, with some exceptions. In retrospect, focusing more on our core programs initially and growing into our ancillary programs may have been something to consider. We’re striving to find the balance between enough training for some, and too much for others.
As a club, we’re committed to setting clear expectations for each of these programs. High on our list of priorities is clearly defining what is expected from our athletes and families/guardians, as well as what you can expect from us. The success of our program is reliant on a clear understanding by all parties of the commitment involved with our programs.
Futsal
Futsal was offered for our athletes to get more touches in a competitive environment during the Winter. With limited control of scheduling and team placement, it proved to be a challenging for BFC to coordinate. Mid-session schedule changes by the league organizers to weekend and late-night game times created frustration for coaches, players and families. Additionally, some other clubs chose to play their teams "up" which meant our teams were playing against different skill levels that often did not match. Despite these challenges, Futsal provided a great opportunity for our players to compete together for the first time as BFC. More importantly, it set a solid foundation for a successful spring season.
Performance Academy
Performance Academy Training Sessions were designed to supplement our regular team training and provide opportunities to focus more on individual skills. This program was incredibly successful with regards to training. However it’s unclear if we have the demand to continue to support the program financially. We’re always in need of finding the balance with program costs and demand. As you know, we rent our indoor space and compensate our coaches—necessary considerations as we build a net zero program.
Winter/Spring Team Program
Our core winter/spring season is off and running for our club and premier teams. We have a full slate of teams across age groups, both girls and boys. This includes our newest age group addition, a U8 Coed team led by Coach Mirza Korajkic.
BFC has established a strong foundation with 18 teams and over 210 players preparing for the Spring season. Despite our high numbers we are still in need of players for our U12 girls and U19 High School Girls teams.
Weekly training schedules are loaded into TeamSnap by team, but please confirm with the BFC website calendar each week as times do sometimes change.
In an effort to improve communications, please use TeamSnap to confirm your availability for the training sessions. Team trainings are mandatory. If there is a training you cannot make, please inform your coach as far in advance as possible.
2020 BFC Spring Teams & Coaches
U8 Coed - Mizra Korajkic
U10 Boys Club - Bob Day / Dan Versace
U10 Girls Club - Bronwen Hopwood
U12 Boys Club - Mahat Abdullahi
U12 Boys Premier - Alfred Karam
U12 Girls Club - Kaitlin Cole / Mahat Abdullahi
U14 Boys Club - Alec Brigante
U14 Boys Premier - Bob Day
U14 Girls Club - Ella Bankert / Bronwen Hopwood
U14 Girls Premier - Lauren Cootware
U16 Boys Club - Alfred Karam / Jason Robinson
U15 Boys Premier - Brad Agoos / Jason Robinson
U16 Girls Club - Maddie Masengard / Scott Bushweller
U16 Girls Premier - Brooke Jenkins / Scott Bushweller
U18 Boys Premier - Brad Agoos / Jason Robinson
U19 Girls Club - Mukhtar Abdullahi / Kaitlin Cole
Spring Tournaments
BFC teams will participate in various weekend tournaments this spring. Tournament participation does come with registration fees for each tournament, so we’re creating a team account to cover the costs.
Costs per player will vary depending on the team. Although we have not committed to all of these tournament options due to player availability, highlighted below are a few of our tournament considerations:
Seacoast United Spring Showcases
U12 Boys Premier (March 28-29)
U14 Girls Premier (March 21-22)
U16 Girls Premier (March 21-22)
NEFC Spring Showcase (March 20-22)
U14 Boys Premier
U15 Boys Premier
U18 Boys Premier
Needham Memorial Day Tournament (May 23-25)
U12/U14 Boys Club & Premier
U16 Boys Club
U12/U14/U16 Girls Club & Premier
U19 Girls Club
GPS Memorial Day Tournament (May 23-25)
U15/U18 Boys Premier
VSA Jamboree (June 6-7)
U8 Coed
U10 Girls & Boys Club
Nordic Cup (June 13-14)
U10-U19 Girls & Boys Teams
We understand out of state tournaments are a significant commitment. However, they’re integral to our efforts in building competitive programs. Our goal is to participate in 1-2 regional tournaments per year. More information to come by team, and always we’re open to your feedback on this.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Our Scholarship Program is a central part of our mission and serves two very important functions. First, and most obviously, it funds players who have the desire and drive to play soccer at an elevated level but lack the resources to do so. More importantly, we recognize that how we execute this program is an active demonstration of our mission and one of the important tools that creates our culture.
Currently we have 24 scholarship athletes. We are so appreciative of the donations that have been made thus far to the scholarship fund. But we do need to raise additional funds to fully support the kids in this year's program. In addition to several planned fundraisers, including the City Market “Rally for Change” and our March 15 3v3 tournament at UVM, we will be reaching out directly to club members for additional support for the program—whether it's volunteering at our events or donating to the fund.
A Scholarship Committee has been formed. The voluntary participation of our committee members has been exemplary and inspirational. We’re incredibly grateful for the time and efforts given by the following members:
Kitty Bartlett
Kelli Brooks
Cleary Buckley
Sue Chayer
Amy Cheney-Seymour
Bob Day
Sarah DeShaw
Matt Kiedaisch
Barbara Shatara
The committee has accomplished significant work on the Scholarship Application and Qualification process and anticipates recommendations to the Board by the end of February, with approval and execution by the end of April.
BFC ICELAND 2020
BFC is sponsoring a trip to Iceland for our U14 & U16 Girls teams this July—an amazing opportunity for BFC to compete at the club level overseas and experience a deep soccer culture. With a population roughly half Vermont, Iceland has produced a world class national team ranked #18 in the world for the women and #39 for the men. All built on a town supported club soccer culture. Truly amazing, and a model we’re harvesting best practices from as we try to grow our community based culture.
Hopefully, with this note you feel somewhat updated on where we are and where we are headed. We do appreciate all of the support and feedback received to date. It is invaluable and always welcome. Please consider attending our open Board Meetings. They are scheduled for the first Monday of the month. Lastly, please consider volunteering in some capacity. BFC enjoys a solid foundation but we need your support to truly grow.
Thank you and GO BFC!
Sincerely,
Jerrod DeShaw
Board President, Burlington Football Club
Team BFC,
As we roll into the Winter/Spring Program, we’d like to provide you with an update on the State of the Club:
From the Board's perspective, BFC is off to an amazing start and we’re very excited about where we stand. As with any new and ambitious endeavor that’s trying to upend a traditional model and forge a new path, we’re facing some interesting challenges. However, with the continued commitment of our passionate and engaged Board, an equally committed and engaged coaching staff, and the amazing support from our BFC families, we’re off to a great start. I will try to be as brief as possible, but there's much to convey regarding what we’ve learned, and more importantly, where we’re trying to go.
One thing remains crystal clear....we’re a club committed to our mission of developing and promoting a love of soccer, to help youth players reach their goals and potential, and to foster a broader community that celebrates the joy and opportunities that come from the diversity, competition, and fun found in the “world’s game.” Community, Character, Commitment!
Initial Announcements
1. 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization - Burlington FC is now officially a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. Through the diligent work of Geoff Hand, who handled our application with State and Federal government, we can now make this declaration. This was a necessary step for our fundraising and sponsorship efforts in support of the scholarship program.
2. #equalpay - As I'm sure many of you have noticed, our spring season kits have #equalpay across the sleeve of our home and away jerseys. This is due in part to an initial grant to Burlington FC from #equalpay, a fundraiser started by the Burlington High School Girls Soccer team. For those not familiar with their mission, you can learn more here: https://equalpayjerseys.com/.
We received some very constructive feedback regarding this decision from the BFC Community, which we’d like to address directly. This feedback was extremely thoughtful and positive, but did raise some questions regarding the perception of this decision.
The question raised....is it appropriate to have a seemingly political message or statement on a youth soccer jersey? Frankly, and in full transparency, that question never crossed our minds. We never looked at it that way. We, including the person who raised the question, fully supports the mission of #equalpay. We viewed it as an amazing statement for our club and our community. We welcomed the support of #equalpay, and wanted to further support their cause by having it on both our boys and girls uniforms.
Following, we further discussed the topic at our next meeting. As a club with a stated mission of improving the gender equality for our girl’s program, this seemed like an easy choice for us to connect with #equalpay. Our intentions and thoughts haven’t changed, we’re proud of the association.
However, we acknowledge moving forward, when it comes to statements, particularly on our kids jerseys, as a club we will...1) consider if any statement, no matter how positive it may seem, is appropriate 2) discuss the opportunity and solicit opinions from our BFC Community and 3) proactively inform our members and community of our intentions.
In the future, we will support a process that includes an open forum for our BFC community to consider these types of opportunities. And as always, we need and welcome your input as we continue to build something great!
3. Committee Volunteers - BFC created several committees to work with our Board on our Scholarship program, Fundraising, and Community engagement. We need volunteers and support to build out these critical pieces for the future growth of BFC. Please email me or any board member if you would like to participate. We need help, we need energy and we need support!
Program Update
In this, our inaugural season, BFC offered two core programs (Fall Academy & Winter/Spring Team Program) and two ancillary programs (Futsal & Performance Academy). Our participation in each program was great overall, with some exceptions. In retrospect, focusing more on our core programs initially and growing into our ancillary programs may have been something to consider. We’re striving to find the balance between enough training for some, and too much for others.
As a club, we’re committed to setting clear expectations for each of these programs. High on our list of priorities is clearly defining what is expected from our athletes and families/guardians, as well as what you can expect from us. The success of our program is reliant on a clear understanding by all parties of the commitment involved with our programs.
Futsal
Futsal was offered for our athletes to get more touches in a competitive environment during the Winter. With limited control of scheduling and team placement, it proved to be a challenging for BFC to coordinate. Mid-session schedule changes by the league organizers to weekend and late-night game times created frustration for coaches, players and families. Additionally, some other clubs chose to play their teams "up" which meant our teams were playing against different skill levels that often did not match. Despite these challenges, Futsal provided a great opportunity for our players to compete together for the first time as BFC. More importantly, it set a solid foundation for a successful spring season.
Performance Academy
Performance Academy Training Sessions were designed to supplement our regular team training and provide opportunities to focus more on individual skills. This program was incredibly successful with regards to training. However it’s unclear if we have the demand to continue to support the program financially. We’re always in need of finding the balance with program costs and demand. As you know, we rent our indoor space and compensate our coaches—necessary considerations as we build a net zero program.
Winter/Spring Team Program
Our core winter/spring season is off and running for our club and premier teams. We have a full slate of teams across age groups, both girls and boys. This includes our newest age group addition, a U8 Coed team led by Coach Mirza Korajkic.
BFC has established a strong foundation with 18 teams and over 210 players preparing for the Spring season. Despite our high numbers we are still in need of players for our U12 girls and U19 High School Girls teams.
Weekly training schedules are loaded into TeamSnap by team, but please confirm with the BFC website calendar each week as times do sometimes change.
In an effort to improve communications, please use TeamSnap to confirm your availability for the training sessions. Team trainings are mandatory. If there is a training you cannot make, please inform your coach as far in advance as possible.
2020 BFC Spring Teams & Coaches
U8 Coed - Mizra Korajkic
U10 Boys Club - Bob Day / Dan Versace
U10 Girls Club - Bronwen Hopwood
U12 Boys Club - Mahat Abdullahi
U12 Boys Premier - Alfred Karam
U12 Girls Club - Kaitlin Cole / Mahat Abdullahi
U14 Boys Club - Alec Brigante
U14 Boys Premier - Bob Day
U14 Girls Club - Ella Bankert / Bronwen Hopwood
U14 Girls Premier - Lauren Cootware
U16 Boys Club - Alfred Karam / Jason Robinson
U15 Boys Premier - Brad Agoos / Jason Robinson
U16 Girls Club - Maddie Masengard / Scott Bushweller
U16 Girls Premier - Brooke Jenkins / Scott Bushweller
U18 Boys Premier - Brad Agoos / Jason Robinson
U19 Girls Club - Mukhtar Abdullahi / Kaitlin Cole
Spring Tournaments
BFC teams will participate in various weekend tournaments this spring. Tournament participation does come with registration fees for each tournament, so we’re creating a team account to cover the costs.
Costs per player will vary depending on the team. Although we have not committed to all of these tournament options due to player availability, highlighted below are a few of our tournament considerations:
Seacoast United Spring Showcases
U12 Boys Premier (March 28-29)
U14 Girls Premier (March 21-22)
U16 Girls Premier (March 21-22)
NEFC Spring Showcase (March 20-22)
U14 Boys Premier
U15 Boys Premier
U18 Boys Premier
Needham Memorial Day Tournament (May 23-25)
U12/U14 Boys Club & Premier
U16 Boys Club
U12/U14/U16 Girls Club & Premier
U19 Girls Club
GPS Memorial Day Tournament (May 23-25)
U15/U18 Boys Premier
VSA Jamboree (June 6-7)
U8 Coed
U10 Girls & Boys Club
Nordic Cup (June 13-14)
U10-U19 Girls & Boys Teams
We understand out of state tournaments are a significant commitment. However, they’re integral to our efforts in building competitive programs. Our goal is to participate in 1-2 regional tournaments per year. More information to come by team, and always we’re open to your feedback on this.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Our Scholarship Program is a central part of our mission and serves two very important functions. First, and most obviously, it funds players who have the desire and drive to play soccer at an elevated level but lack the resources to do so. More importantly, we recognize that how we execute this program is an active demonstration of our mission and one of the important tools that creates our culture.
Currently we have 24 scholarship athletes. We are so appreciative of the donations that have been made thus far to the scholarship fund. But we do need to raise additional funds to fully support the kids in this year's program. In addition to several planned fundraisers, including the City Market “Rally for Change” and our March 15 3v3 tournament at UVM, we will be reaching out directly to club members for additional support for the program—whether it's volunteering at our events or donating to the fund.
A Scholarship Committee has been formed. The voluntary participation of our committee members has been exemplary and inspirational. We’re incredibly grateful for the time and efforts given by the following members:
Kitty Bartlett
Kelli Brooks
Cleary Buckley
Sue Chayer
Amy Cheney-Seymour
Bob Day
Sarah DeShaw
Matt Kiedaisch
Barbara Shatara
The committee has accomplished significant work on the Scholarship Application and Qualification process and anticipates recommendations to the Board by the end of February, with approval and execution by the end of April.
BFC ICELAND 2020
BFC is sponsoring a trip to Iceland for our U14 & U16 Girls teams this July—an amazing opportunity for BFC to compete at the club level overseas and experience a deep soccer culture. With a population roughly half Vermont, Iceland has produced a world class national team ranked #18 in the world for the women and #39 for the men. All built on a town supported club soccer culture. Truly amazing, and a model we’re harvesting best practices from as we try to grow our community based culture.
Hopefully, with this note you feel somewhat updated on where we are and where we are headed. We do appreciate all of the support and feedback received to date. It is invaluable and always welcome. Please consider attending our open Board Meetings. They are scheduled for the first Monday of the month. Lastly, please consider volunteering in some capacity. BFC enjoys a solid foundation but we need your support to truly grow.
Thank you and GO BFC!
Sincerely,
Jerrod DeShaw
Board President, Burlington Football Club