February 28, 2010

Parents:

This letter is being sent to all families that participate in the CCSA recreational program to make you aware of changes which are happening with the competitive soccer program. Some of you have heard while others may not know about the issues that have occurred with the competitive program that Cape Coral Soccer has participated in for the last two seasons. That program is called Island Coast Soccer Alliance (ICSA), and it was an agreement between the Cape Coral Cyclones program and the Florida Premier program (based in Fort Myers) to combine the competitive players from both clubs in order to provide the best training and build strong teams for all players in the area. The vision of those that formed the Alliance between CCSA and FP was that in time, all of the area clubs (North Ft. Myers, Lehigh Acres, San Carlos, etc.) would also join into the Alliance to form a truly regional program. After two seasons, that has not happened, and based on discussions with the leaders of these other clubs, it will not happen in the foreseeable future. While there have been some team accomplishments and individual success of players advancing to the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and moving on to play soccer in college, the concept has not reached the potential that we had hoped for and has become financially unattainable for many players.

The Cape Coral Soccer Association Board of Directors, under which ICSA operates, met last week and the decision has been made to return to the Cyclones as the competitive program of CCSA for the 2010 fall season and beyond. The Director of Coaching for ICSA, Peter Mellor, has been released from his contract with us and has taken a new position with an organization in Tampa. CCSA is being reorganized with Eddie Carmean moving into a position to oversee both sides of the club. He will still run the recreational program but we will now also have the competitive program under his direction. At this time there are still pieces that have to be put in place before the finished product can be presented to you. However, please know that the members of the board represent a diverse group of soccer parents and paid professionals who all have visions of how the program should operate. Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing all aspects of the club and coming up with a plan that will best benefit the kids. The goal of the board is to continue to build on the strong recreational program, which was voted by the Florida Youth Soccer Association as the Recreational Program of the Year for 2009 under Eddie’s guidance, and to offer the best competitive program that we can while making it more affordable in these tough economic times.

The recreational players of today are the competitive players of tomorrow and the only way we can make it better for you is if we hear what it is that you truly want. Most of us on the board started out as parents on the recreational side of CCSA when our kids were younger, and we value your opinions just as the CCSA board has always done. If you have suggestions or ideas you would like to share, please contact me, Tim Swisher,  at sc@capecoralsoccer.com or reach out to another member of the board and we will take all ideas into account as we move forward.

Thank you,

The CCSA Executive Board