Along time ago, I was an Amherst soccer player, the second year of the club’s existence, after the Audubon soccer club went defunct in 1979. I have seen huge growth in the number of participants in the sport as well as the increase in skill and play of the game in our town. Back in 1980, the whole club played on a few fields, one was on Sweet Home Road, the other was behind Maple East Elementary School, and two were later added at ECC North. There was no concept of the small-sided games, skill development, or a paid director of coaching as we have today. We have come along way. You either move forward or you fall behind.
We have been lucky to have had dedicated coaches, parents, and volunteers on the Board of Directors for the club for the last 30 years. One of those people is Mark Deyle, who I had the pleasure to meet over the Memorial Day Weekend. Mark was instrumental in the years of hard work that was required to build the soccer complexes we have at North French and Paradise Park. He, like many past volunteers, just stopped by the North French fields to see how everything was going for the AIM tournament this year. Mark is a humble man but I could see the sense of accomplishment in his eyes and hear the pride in his voice as he talked. It must be quite satisfying to watch such a great event take place on soccer fields that everyone told him could never be built.
The short history of our club is full of people that have dedicated so much time for the realization of youth soccer in the town of Amherst. I feel responsible to not only maintain what has been done in the past but to continue to advocate for improvement into the future. It will take any even greater volunteer effort from all of us. We have a daunting task before us to maintain the legacy, but I know we are up to the challenge.
