Help us celebrate 20 years of girls' soccer at State College Area High School
Almost time to get out of the way
In our conversations, Jennifer and I have laid out a bit of a plan as to how to pull this off.
Step one was to get an initial word out via personal contacts, facebook, etc. That step is coming to a close. 23 people have registered via the registration page on this web site. There are almost 70 people in the facebook group. Some who have posted to this site haven't registered. Without doing a rigorous analysis, I'd say we've got the attention of about 50 people right now. A reasonable goal that I think we should set is a minimum of 5 attendees/class - that makes for 100 people.
Step two was for Jennifer to reach out this group of 50 to try and organize the various sub-efforts that will lead to the entire effort. Part of step two is going to be a larger, broader, more intense marketing and search campaign.
Step three will be bring it all together and selling the package to those we've reached.
There may be other steps or substeps - but that's kind of how I think this will roll out.
In the mean time, I wanted to share some ideas before I start to drift to the background.
- We should think big.
- We should think about kid friendly or kid specific events - for the "grandkids" of the program.
- We might consider reaching out to parents, teachers, school officials, referees, etc.
- An alum vs alum game would be great. A game of kids of alum might work too.
- I have made contact with the PSU women's program and they are doing something slightly similar next year. There may be opportunities to overlay the two events or leverage each other.
- The booster club will want to help as their daughters stand to benefit greatly from the event.
- Initiate a commitment to fund raising for a scholarship or scholarships which the alumni would steward
- Build an archive of letters from the past about thoughts for the future, capture your reflections on the team, your time on it, your life, advice for the current classes and future classes
- Build an archive of pictures, old and new that tell the story in another way
Now on to the very personal.
There are two reasons why I'm helping to pull this off.
1. There have been an extraordinary group of people to cross paths because of this team. I feel like I am the only person who knows that. I'll go as far to say that I /am/ the only person who /knows/ that. What I seek is an event that will allow everyone to see and feel what I have seen and felt - and an event that will inspire someone or a group to continue to make sure that this intersection of lives isn't forgotten and is in fact regularly revisited. I'm not going to do this much longer (I know I say that every year, but it's true) and when I go I don't want the intersection to go with me. Can we hold an event that will inspire us to perpetuate what has been magical for so many of us?
2. There have been an extraordinary group of people to cross paths because of this team. If we create an opportunity or opportunities for the current players to see what is possible, you will change the world beyond what you have already done. Done right, the event will expand the minds of 35-50 young women as to what they can do, what they can expect of themselves and each other. Done right, we will inspire them to hold a similar event 5 or 10 years from now.
I know those are heavyweight reasons - and a big part of me just visualizes being able to hang out with old friends and catch up. But when the room gets quiet, I know this is what I want. It isn't necessarily what you want or will do - but I didn't want step two to start without getting all of this on the table.
Keep spreading the word and keep encouraging people to register for the event.
Step one was to get an initial word out via personal contacts, facebook, etc. That step is coming to a close. 23 people have registered via the registration page on this web site. There are almost 70 people in the facebook group. Some who have posted to this site haven't registered. Without doing a rigorous analysis, I'd say we've got the attention of about 50 people right now. A reasonable goal that I think we should set is a minimum of 5 attendees/class - that makes for 100 people.
Step two was for Jennifer to reach out this group of 50 to try and organize the various sub-efforts that will lead to the entire effort. Part of step two is going to be a larger, broader, more intense marketing and search campaign.
Step three will be bring it all together and selling the package to those we've reached.
There may be other steps or substeps - but that's kind of how I think this will roll out.
In the mean time, I wanted to share some ideas before I start to drift to the background.
- We should think big.
- We should think about kid friendly or kid specific events - for the "grandkids" of the program.
- We might consider reaching out to parents, teachers, school officials, referees, etc.
- An alum vs alum game would be great. A game of kids of alum might work too.
- I have made contact with the PSU women's program and they are doing something slightly similar next year. There may be opportunities to overlay the two events or leverage each other.
- The booster club will want to help as their daughters stand to benefit greatly from the event.
- Initiate a commitment to fund raising for a scholarship or scholarships which the alumni would steward
- Build an archive of letters from the past about thoughts for the future, capture your reflections on the team, your time on it, your life, advice for the current classes and future classes
- Build an archive of pictures, old and new that tell the story in another way
Now on to the very personal.
There are two reasons why I'm helping to pull this off.
1. There have been an extraordinary group of people to cross paths because of this team. I feel like I am the only person who knows that. I'll go as far to say that I /am/ the only person who /knows/ that. What I seek is an event that will allow everyone to see and feel what I have seen and felt - and an event that will inspire someone or a group to continue to make sure that this intersection of lives isn't forgotten and is in fact regularly revisited. I'm not going to do this much longer (I know I say that every year, but it's true) and when I go I don't want the intersection to go with me. Can we hold an event that will inspire us to perpetuate what has been magical for so many of us?
2. There have been an extraordinary group of people to cross paths because of this team. If we create an opportunity or opportunities for the current players to see what is possible, you will change the world beyond what you have already done. Done right, the event will expand the minds of 35-50 young women as to what they can do, what they can expect of themselves and each other. Done right, we will inspire them to hold a similar event 5 or 10 years from now.
I know those are heavyweight reasons - and a big part of me just visualizes being able to hang out with old friends and catch up. But when the room gets quiet, I know this is what I want. It isn't necessarily what you want or will do - but I didn't want step two to start without getting all of this on the table.
Keep spreading the word and keep encouraging people to register for the event.
Add a Comment
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Comment by Allie (Wienken) Stryd on January 3, 2008 at 2:37pm - hey all... not sure we can make this event, but it's a great idea. sure would love to catch up and reconnect with many. i was pretty bad at soccer, but learning to be a team player is what stuck with me. thankful for the time.
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Comment by Meg Dolan on December 5, 2007 at 3:38pm - hooray!!! sign me up...north carolina isn't too far away for a reunion.
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Comment by Erin Brown (erb) on October 11, 2007 at 6:52pm - I agree immensely with the magnitue of these statements and the impact that my past soccer career/team has had on my life. I'm in and I can get members from the Class of '97 in as well....
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