Jim Kenney invited me to share my letter…. SSC Board, My son Robert Mankowich participated in the U11 Summer Lacrosse team led by John Hall, John Salica, John Mankowich and Gregg Ziems. I want to share our positive experience with the Sachem Sports Club Board. Yesterday was the final tournament the team participate in this summer. Leaving the Greenport field yesterday, though the weather was miserable, I had many sunny feelings. First I wanted to thank the SSC Board and Justin McFaul for taking a leap of faith with these coaches this summer. I realize that PAL did not have to sponsor these teams, inevitably it was well worth the investment. These coaches had the childrens best interests-physically and emotionally- at heart and were beyond considerate to the financial responsibilities of running a team. ….. it was a pleasure and I hope to share many more on- the- field and off- the- field times with them and the other members of our team, and would encourage any of Roberts friends to do the same with SSC. I am a doer, as are these coaches. If we can dream it…. we can do it. Have a vision and follow through. Sure there are bumps along the way and challenges in many different forms, but in the end if the feeling of worth it prevails, it is Gods way of saying….. DO IT AGAIN!!! These men and families came together to create a team experience as well as an individual experience. John Halls ability to communicate with parents on the facets of the team is note-worthy. From e-mail to verbal communication to website design, he has the innate ability to be approachable, state the details to keep all in the loop. I can appreciate his willingness and the time he puts into this communication and it is inevitably linked to the success of this team. The ability to put together a different group of parents and kids together, each week and make them feel as though they belong to a permeant team was evident every step of the way. Our team was made up of families from 4-5 different teams. The coaches positive, direct interaction with each child was on target and I believe our children are better people for knowing them. The coaches worked together to bring each of their professional strengths to this team, as they did bring out each childs strengths. John Salica, John Mankowich and Greg Ziems brought an energy and new drills to the practices and continued to learn the game themselves. They continuously spent time reviewing ways to teach our children- noting what works and what doesnt. They were open to hear each other out, had specific roles in coaching on and off the field. They planned out their practices and worked together to overcome the daily struggles that comes with youth teams. They worked on developing our childrens lacrosse skills on the field, our children learned how to be an instrumental member of a greater team community, off the field. Although I am unsure of their technical expertise for every position and situation, if they charged with running a team, they will seek out knowledge and educate themselves. My son Robert has grown in so many ways this summer as a player in a position that suits him so well, and as a leader. Roberts confidence is shaken easily, there are ups and downs lately with that. As a parent, we shared this with the coaches and parents. One of the best things we have ever done. Because both parents and coaches were while being realistic with him, helped him to continue to overcome these feelings. Seeing him direct and lead the defense, though the season, and more specifically yesterday, and give other team members confidence and general love was a proud moment for me. As a mom, I am happy to help and support, as well as be a momma bear and protect. After last years experience with JT, I was skeptical in general, and sad that JT was not motivated to play this summer (I feel a direct representation of that). I learned from that a number of things and because of how this summer went, know that it can be different and WILL when the right combination of leadership and philosophy work together to create a practical and reasonable youth sports experience. In general it comes down to how the kids and parents leave feeling. Winning, truly, does not have anything to do with it. I have no idea how many games were won or lost this summer, but I do know we all left, in general, with a winning feeling! Our kids and our wallets were not taken advantage of and our kids were not treated as a commodity. The coaches had the team participate in tournaments where our team had a shot to win most games. We were competitive and challenged every step of the way. Our wins did not come easy nor our loses. Our children were taught the game at practices AND on the field. They were coached every step of the way. We experienced Youth sports at its best. Thank you. Lucille Mankowich
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 01:07:30 +0000
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