Dude, sorry!Don't Call Me Dude.
Oh snap!!!I was made aware of this thread this morning and had decided to ignore it; the community weighed in quickly and accurately. But I did want to put something on the record. I'll show you the courtesy that you didn't show Jacob and not share your real name on this forum, or the text of your email of "Futbol Club Desires and Expectations" that prompted an internal discussion about whether you would be a good fit for our club.
We're a new club, built on principles of great soccer, empowering girls, diversity, and inclusiveness; and over all of that, trying to do things "the right way." Now that last bit means something different to everyone, but for us it's usually about going for as much integrity and as little drama as possible. That applies to our coaches and players, but also (because they are an intrinsic part of the youth sports equation) to our parents. It seemed very clear from your initial email that you would have trouble meeting those expectations, and further due diligence (talking to parents at prior clubs you had been a part of) confirmed that.
Jacob communicated that you as politely as possible, respectful of the fact that your... enthusiasm came from a good place: you love your daughter. I get it; I love mine. You made another appeal; it was, again, politely turned down. I'm sorry you felt that the Director was then obligated to get on the phone with you to explain something that you clearly wouldn't accept or understand.
A lot of people would have left it at that. You chose to open an anonymous account and post lies (libel, technically) on a message board. Again, fortunately, this is a pretty savvy crowd, and even the folks who don't know Jacob or our club got a sense of what really went down. But here's the thing: what you did showed a lot of drama and not much integrity. So I still feel very comfortable with our decision.
I also feel sympathy for your daughter, who I'm sure is a fantastic kid, who has no idea what opportunities her (well-intentioned) dad is costing her. Before you fire off the inevitable hit job on me, you may want to take a beat and think about that. Best of luck to you and to her.
Kirk
Dam, Stu Pitt! That’s frickin funny!
Do not believe the false narrative about Tudela FC's willingness to take in "the poor." There are surely a few "inner city" families playing with financial assistance, but that can be said of all clubs. I personally know 15-20 families in the Club. Most all of those families live in very privileged neighborhoods, are very well-off, and pay very high club fees. I do not know of a single family in the Club who is struggling financially, and I seriously doubt that there are more than a handful. For those few families with severe financial need, the scholarships are not "free." I am told that those families are expected to "earn" their scholarships by participating in fundraising events, such as having their kids sell lemonade on the street.
All clubs must be financially responsible, or they will not survive. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with expecting families to earn their scholarships. What I am saying is that Tudela FC is no better than others when it comes to offering its services to "the poor."
Do not believe the false narrative about Tudela FC's willingness to take in "the poor." There are surely a few "inner city" families playing with financial assistance, but that can be said of all clubs. I personally know 15-20 families in the Club. Most all of those families live in very privileged neighborhoods, are very well-off, and pay very high club fees. I do not know of a single family in the Club who is struggling financially, and I seriously doubt that there are more than a handful. For those few families with severe financial need, the scholarships are not "free." I am told that those families are expected to "earn" their scholarships by participating in fundraising events, such as having their kids sell lemonade on the street.
All clubs must be financially responsible, or they will not survive. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with expecting families to earn their scholarships. What I am saying is that Tudela FC is no better than others when it comes to offering its services to "the poor."
Riled up at U11? They are calm and matured in comparison to U8. I'm not joking.
Not trying to kill your weekend. And I have nothing against your club, which had a very successful first year. But one of the posters was suggesting that the Club was funding "low income inner city" kids, as though Tudela FC was particularly philanthropic in its outlook. I have a lot of respect for what your club is doing on the field.
But your club is not philanthropic, and your club is not really funding a whole lot of "low income inner city" kids. I'm not saying you should be philanthropic, nor that you should be funding anybody. But I have to roll my eyes when you claim you are "reaching out to underserved communities and bringing in girls who are too often left behind by the club system." I know who your clientele is, and while there are a few players in the club from "underserved communities," the percentage is less than what you will find at any other local club.
I believe your base fee is in the neighborhood of $2500+, not including the team fees, and not including the more-or-less mandatory trip to Indiana to play against the founding Tudela FC. All in, it costs $3,000-$4,000 for most Tudela players for each year. Now, we aren't talking about older players on ECNL or Academy teams playing in important tournaments all over the country. We are talking about small-side bronze and silver CSL teams playing in local tournaments. Just so you know, those fees are not really "in line" with the fees of most other clubs; they are near the very, very top. It's no wonder your kids are given the opportunity to sell coffee and lemonade on street corners to help pay for their team fees.
Now, as far as your own comments about accepting the "financial burden" of funding all of those low-income inner city kids who cannot afford to pay "full fees," I call BS. Your base fees are so high that offering partial scholarships here and there means that your club is still charging high fees. You argue that 30% of your players receive partial financial assistance, and you seem to think that is a high amount. Just so you know, Tudela is nothing special in this department; almost every local club gives about 30% of its players some form of scholarship.
Look, I like your club, and I like the people in your club. I even stood up for your club earlier on this board. I make no judgment as to the propriety of your club's fee structure. If you're bringing in a ton of money, then more power to you.
But please don't try to hose the forum with talk about how your club is doing its all to bring soccer to the underprivileged. That would be inconsistent with the truth.
Not trying to kill your weekend. And I have nothing against your club, which had a very successful first year. But one of the posters was suggesting that the Club was funding "low income inner city" kids, as though Tudela FC was particularly philanthropic in its outlook. I have a lot of respect for what your club is doing on the field.
But your club is not philanthropic, and your club is not really funding a whole lot of "low income inner city" kids. I'm not saying you should be philanthropic, nor that you should be funding anybody. But I have to roll my eyes when you claim you are "reaching out to underserved communities and bringing in girls who are too often left behind by the club system." I know who your clientele is, and while there are a few players in the club from "underserved communities," the percentage is less than what you will find at any other local club.
I believe your base fee is in the neighborhood of $2500+, not including the team fees, and not including the more-or-less mandatory trip to Indiana to play against the founding Tudela FC. All in, it costs $3,000-$4,000 for most Tudela players for each year. Now, we aren't talking about older players on ECNL or Academy teams playing in important tournaments all over the country. We are talking about small-side bronze and silver CSL teams playing in local tournaments. Just so you know, those fees are not really "in line" with the fees of most other clubs; they are near the very, very top. It's no wonder your kids are given the opportunity to sell coffee and lemonade on street corners to help pay for their team fees.
Now, as far as your own comments about accepting the "financial burden" of funding all of those low-income inner city kids who cannot afford to pay "full fees," I call BS. Your base fees are so high that offering partial scholarships here and there means that your club is still charging high fees. You argue that 30% of your players receive partial financial assistance, and you seem to think that is a high amount. Just so you know, Tudela is nothing special in this department; almost every local club gives about 30% of its players some form of scholarship.
Look, I like your club, and I like the people in your club. I even stood up for your club earlier on this board. I make no judgment as to the propriety of your club's fee structure. If you're bringing in a ton of money, then more power to you.
But please don't try to hose the forum with talk about how your club is doing its all to bring soccer to the underprivileged. That would be inconsistent with the truth.
Not trying to be petty. In fact, most of what I said about Tudela FC was positive. I praised their G2007 team and said it earned my respect. I praised Tudela FC successful first year. I said I liked the club and the people in it. I have not said a negative thing about the club, nor any person involved in it. I believed all those things when I wrote them, and still do.
Yes, you are correct that I was responding to an "anonymous" poster named Stu Pitt. Just like I am now responding to an "anonymous" poster named ajaxahi. Stu Pitt suggested that Tudela FC was funding a load of underprivileged and inner-city players. Later, KJR doubled down on that, stating that the Club was taking on the "financial burden" of reaching out to those players, "because its what we're about." It is only on that claim where I call BS.
My last responses stated facts supporting my opinion that - despite other areas where Tudela is doing well - it is not anymore "philanthropic" than any other clubs. You call me a bitter competitor, but I supplied supporting facts which you did not dispute. You supplied none of your own.
The facts provided were (1) the very high costs Tudela charges, ($2,500+ before team fees), (2) the fact that Tudela FC kids are raising money at lemonade stands, (3) the fact that most clubs give at least as much in scholarships as Tudela FC, and (4) the fact that I personally know much of the clientele at Tudela FC.
If you would like to know more facts, then we can look at competitor clubs directly in Tudela FC's neighborhood. LAUFA and Hollywood FC are the two closest clubs to Tudela FC. There are positive and negative things to say about both clubs. But pertinent to this conversation, both have significantly higher scholarship ratios than Tudela, and since both charge significantly less than Tudela, their scholarships make a bigger difference. Neither club has its kids selling coffee and lemonade on street corners in order to afford their team fees. (Not that there is anything wrong with doing so, but it is a bit cringeworthy.)
Although my club was bracketed with some of Tudela FC's teams, we are not in the same recruiting neighborhood, and do not compete for the same players. As to my own club, our club fees are about $1,500, and our team fees are about $500 per year. I personally spoke with all parents and personally negotiated all contracts for all the girls in the club so far (over 70 so far). The club scholarships awarded amounted to 29.6% of fee revenue. On the boys' side, the scholarships are higher, as is true for most clubs.
Let me repeat my bottom line.
- I respect Tudela FC;
- I like the people at Tudela FC;
- I have no problem with Tudela FC charging any amount of money the market will bear;
- I don't accept Tudela FC's claims as they relate to reaching out to the poor and underprivileged.
From U8 to English premier that Applies aswell if the player is bigger pain in the butt or being a distraction outweighs the clubs ability to make money.ALERT!! Your kid will get cut if you being a pain in the ass outweighs the contribution that your kid brings to the team.
Not necessarily disagreeing but where does Lavar and Lonzo Ball fit in here?From U8 to English premier that Applies aswell if the player is bigger pain in the butt or being a distraction outweighs the clubs ability to make money.
that clown is the poster child. hes coaching his kids in a euro league. How does that happen?Not necessarily disagreeing but where does Lavar and Lonzo Ball fit in here?