All…
I want to welcome everyone back for the 2017 season. With the days getting warmer and longer it won’t be long before we are outside on the pitch regularly on Tuesday’s, Thursday’s and Sunday’s. With the start of a new season I think it is good to share a few thoughts on the upcoming season.
As a new member of the executive last year, I needed to learn a fair amount about the Niagara Old Boys (NOBs) and how they tick. In the end, not a difficult task with veterans like David and Rolf graciously sharing past experiences. Tim had all the connections for fixtures and referees and most importantly the Centaurs Bertie’s team. On top of that, there was Dermot, Derek, Gary and Ravi who provided support and assistance.
From last year, running the club and organizing things was not that difficult with the support we receive from members. The greatest challenge was being able to field a viable “masters” side. Every fixture we worked hard to field a full side relying on players from Lockport (Chris, Dave and friends), or Hamilton (Chris, Duane, and friends), and not to forget the GITS. Last year demonstrated the Niagara Old Boys (NOBs) is a club where anyone can play regardless of their current or past club affiliation. We need to encourage players who no longer regularly play for a senior men’s side (Cru, Hamilton, Grimsby, Brampton, Centaurs…etc.) to pick up the game again with the NOBs. We are well situated in Burlington for players west of the City and in Niagara Region. So how do we do that?
As with anything there is no quick fix. A couple of things we are doing this year to bolster our ranks for contact and touch include:
- Improved scheduling. We are reducing the number of contact games with no contact games in July and August. We are also looking at the NRU schedule and the possibility of having Saturday games.
- Sanctioned events. Contact players need to register with CRU/ORU (~$105) for insurance purposes. We are looking at getting festival coverage ($150 total) for home games so non-registered plays can play with coverage. So maybe some Alumni might show up and get hooked again. This would mean a game fee.
- Keep Communication. Always the most important thing!
- Expand our Touch game. We are considering a Touch League for Sunday’s to attract more players. We have been approach about hosting a 12-week touch league for players 40+ in age (June, July, August). This would be organized and run by a third party and use part of our field. The field would still be available for our regular touch, but on another part of the field the Touch League would have two games going (much like in the dome). We should have more information on this soon.
- Further collaboration with the Centaur’s. We share the same clubhouse and fields, we need to look at opportunities that are mutually beneficial. We also need to reach out to other local clubs.
Our first contact game is on Saturday April 29th in Oshawa as part of the Kris Krause tournament. Spread the word!
I look forward to see you out over the season. Any suggestions or comments are welcome (phil.gray@cogeco.ca)
Thanks
Phil
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