Greg:
My daughter will be at the SSC tryouts starting June 12th, at 6:00pm. Whether she plays competitively with SFC or stays playing recreational, she will be playing soccer in Sapulpa from now on.
I would be more than happy to assist you in getting a tournament off of the ground. The way your complex is set up, you could have all kinds of things going on out there!
Here are some ideas to consider:
1) SSC Soccerfest - your rec tournament, held either in Spring or Fall. Besides the tournament itself, have all kinds of things to do out at your complex. I've contacted Big Toe and Eurosport about coming out to a proposed tournament in Sand Springs; they were both really excited about the prospect. It would be just as easy to have them come to Sapulpa! Also, the Club could rent a Jupiter Jump, an inflatable slide (like at Oktoberfest), possibly a dunk tank as well. Make it a complete experience for everyone involved.
2) Youth Soccer Month - this is a program that was started by the USYSA, the parent organization for Green Country soccer. It is held in September and it is all about getting people involved and excited about soccer. The guidelines and suggestions are at http://www.youthsoccermonth.org.
3) Summer of Soccer - this is a program that could be started during the Summer and just have a coach or two volunteer to show kids that have never played soccer before (or just want or need to get more practice) the basics of passing, ball control, shooting and so on. It would be free and would hopefully, get kids interested in soccer and sign up for the next season.
4) In-house coaching - introduce a training program for new coaches (or coaches who haven't received their certification yet) to get the information needed to coach. We would need to send an outline to the OSA office to get it approved and it would replace the Youth Module 1 and 2 as well as the E certification. We could print the materials prospective coaches would need and give them their own certificates at the end of the session.
5) Varsity soccer - Get together with the high school varsity and junior varsity teams and have something like "SSC Night", where if you show up to Chieftan games in your uniform, you would get in at a reduced rate. You could possibly even have something like a "Parade of Teams" ceremony, where before the game, each recreational team would be announced over the PA and the players names read (kids absolutely love this!).
6) Fundraisers - Offer club-wide fundraisers to bring more revenue into the Club. It could be anything like cookie dough, ribs, even those rubber bracelet things that every kid seems to have! They could be embossed (raised or sunken letters) or printed and they could be in the Sapulpa colors of royal and white or get swirled colors (looks similar to tie-dyed).
7) Camps and clinics - Offer a variety of camps and clinics to get the players more experience and learn more than with regular team practices and such. Challenger British has programs almost every Summer and they come all over the Sapulpa/Green Country area. Even hold camps and clinics for the competitive side to get them better trained to compete with the other area clubs.
There are many more things that you could implement into the Club; all it takes is drive, determination, and people most of all. People who are genuinely interested in seeing Sapulpa soccer grow and flourish.
That's it for me. Post your thoughts.