Message from Patrick Wells - current President of the CBSSA.

Another busy summer of soccer is upon us, this year however, we are far busier than normal as we are in the midst of major changes for our club. Our infrastructure, team, player and referee base are expanding as never before. These are exciting times to be a striker – I often sit and wonder where we will be as a club in the near future with so much growth. There is so much potential here in CBS, all players and coaches need to do is dream where you want to be in the future and work to make it happen. Proof of this is the dreams of our provincial players – as a club we have more high level players than ever before. So how else is CBSSA changing?

In terms of infrastructure, we have started construction of the “field-turf” facility in Topsail. This is part of an ongoing multi-year project in co-operation with the municipal, provincial and federal governments which started with the construction of the clubhouse. Many of you now see that our main field is a mess! I ask you to be patient. Having travelled to many other similar facilities, I can comfortably report that upon completion, we will have a modern soccer facility that will be second to none; in a location that will be envied by all.

This new facility will arrive at a perfect time in our history to support our relentless expansion of players and team numbers – this year alone we have 3 new senior teams and 2 added all-star teams. One of the new senior teams is the Strikers FC Challenge Cup team. The addition of this team signals the return of top level senior men’s soccer to CBS and our return to elite status among soccer clubs in the province.

Of course the most important part of the club is our minor players and we are a minor soccer organization. I have many fond memories of playing minor soccer and can tell you this sport has done many great things for me. Soccer taught me the value of team mates – I have been lucky enough to play on teams where “the team ability has been greater than the sum of the parts”. Working together for the good of the team is an important skill that some say is being lost – we hope not! I have also learned the value of competition and pushing for personal excellence. Now as a teacher I realize now, more than ever, every child needs a model of team work and athletic excellence. Excellence is a personal thing – you do not need o be an all-star to be excellent – you need to be achieving personal goals to make yourself a better player and team mate. Everyone can do this and this is how you grow a child’s self esteem – high self esteem translates into success in many other facets of life.

It is my hope that we develop a soccer culture in CBS, one where players set personal goals based on their dreams and those of their team mates. Winning and losing are not the most important things in soccer, it is how you prepare yourself to play and that you play to the best of your ability. With the support of parents, our staff and coaches, I believe that we have the ability to help players realize their aspirations, enjoy the sport and remain involved for life. It is a fact that dedicated athletes make better students and better citizens. If all players can learn soccer culture and set goals for themselves then I believe we can have a better community where recreation, health and team work become a life long objectives of our club members.

In closing, I want to ask if you have ideas that would help our club. No idea is too small and the success of our club for the past several years has been based on building partnerships – we have found that working together as a team and building partnerships makes us more successful. You are part of our club and are a team member, you can become part of the process. If you see me this summer and I encourage you to say “hi” and introduce yourself. Feel free to ask me about soccer culture, team work and sports as a part of a growing child’s life. As a teacher I have researched this issue and can tell you the many virtues of sport in a child’s life – including healthy living, positive mental attitudes and establishing goals – all of these have been shown to increase the quality of person’s life.

See you on the pitch, Pat

PS - I have lived in CBS for 15 years and I teach Biology, Psychology and Environmental Science at Holy Spirit High School.