skip navigation
Madison Area Youth Soccer Association

Oregon SC Adding Volunteer Requirements Starting in 2018-19 Season

By ERIC ANDERSON, 01/25/18, 12:15PM CST

Share

Oregon SC relies heavily on volunteers to help us provide the best possible soccer experience for players. However, in recent years it has become very challenging to get the help that is needed as the club continues to grow and develop.

Some examples of this problem include:

  • We currently have two vacant Board positions
  • We struggled to fill several Recreational and In-House coaching positions last fall
  • We have been unable to fill the needed volunteer spots for the Oregon Soccer Fall Fury, which is the club's main annual fundraiser, for the past few years.

The bottom line is that approximately 30 or 40 volunteers are doing the vast majority of the work; a group that makes up a very small percentage of the members of a club that has more than 900 players. Whenever something else needs to be done, inevitably these people end up doing it, in addition to their other volunteer duties.

As a result, the Oregon SC Board has decided to add volunteer requirements for all families with players Under-9 and older starting in the 2018-19 season.

Families will be responsible for four hours of volunteering for each OSC player on Under-9 teams and older.

Parents will have the option to opt out of all or half of those volunteer hours for a fee: $100 to opt out of all volunteering, or $50 to opt out of two hours of volunteering. (For high school-aged players, whose teams play in either only the fall or spring, the total requirement will be two hours with a $50 opt-out fee).

To be clear, we would much rather see an increase in volunteers than to collect additional money from families. However, collecting money from those who choose to go that route will allow us to pay people to perform some of the tasks for which we cannot find volunteers without raising fees on all players.

People who serve in the following positions will be exempt from the volunteer requirements:

  • Board member (voting or non-voting position). Recreational Boys Commissioner and Recreational Girls Commissioner openings are currently available.
  • Oregon Soccer Fall Fury tournament director/committee member. Tournament Director needed for 2018. Learn more
  • Competitive assistant coach
  • Recreational coach (U9 and older)
  • Team manager (U9 and older)
  • U7/8 coach
  • Rookie League or 4K Kickers coach
  • Field Crew Coordinator. This paid position is currently available. Learn more

* Please note that there are licensing requirements for all coaching positions.

Beyond those positions, volunteer hours can be completed by helping with the following:

  • Oregon Soccer Fall Fury
  • Goal-moving crew
  • Field flag crew (make sure all fields have corner flags on game days, return them to the sheds after final games of the day). A coordinator for this project is needed.
  • Goal net takedown crew (fall)
  • Goal net set-up crew (spring)
  • Community Park Clean-Up Day (spring). A coordinator for this project is needed.
  • Bucky Book Distribution Coordinator (fall)
  • Food Drive (one in fall, one in spring). A coordinator for this project is needed.
  • Equipment Trade-In (summer). A coordinator for this project is needed.
  • End-of-season in-house tournament (high school-aged players)
  • Parents Night Out (high school-aged players)
  • More to be added 

Starting this summer, you will be able to check out and sign up for volunteer opportunities through the "Dibs" page, which is available under the "More+" tab on the top far right side.

Again, these requirements go into effect for the 2018-19 season, which begins in August/September; registration for that season will open in May. There are no volunteer requirements for the upcoming Spring 2018 season.

Thanks for your continued support of Oregon SC. If you have any questions about this new policy, please contact Oregon SC Board president Eric Anderson at president@oregonsc.com.