Greetings fellow footballers from the president of the SMSL, Tom Bundy. For all of you new to the league, welcome. As for all of you veterans, welcome back. Especially to one particular veteran Joe Metz. Joe has accomplished what no other participant has. Joe has played in every season since the leagues inception. I, myself , have missed one or two seasons. If someone else has this claim, I’d sure like to know. Kudos to you Joe for staying active in your enjoyment of soccer. ( Word to the wise: Introduce yourself to him, before he runs into you.)
I know having a bye is a pain, but we are trying to accommodate everyone who wanted to participate. This spring there was enough interest for seven teams. In an effort to increase playing time for all participants we decreased the team size to 16 players. Time will tell if this is a good idea.
We are trying to give you guys the most ” bang for your buck”( the best fields and officials ). Speaking of which, if you feel that the officials have done a good job please tell them. Everyone likes to feel appreciated. If you feel like they haven’t done a fair job please tell your captian. Try not to badger the officials. They have agreed to do this and are getting paid. We expect professionalism from them and they expect respect from us. Lets keep up our end of the agreement.
Someone else you should make an effort to introduce to is Peter Christofilakis owner-operator of Spartan Sports Park. The captain of Barcelona in the spring league. Their family have been instrumental in supporting the growth of soccer since its infancy in the Springfield area. And that tradition continues at Spartan Sports Park.
I hope everyone enjoys the season. (Injury Free)