By Brent Ridenour, President, Ohio Extreme SC, May 31, 2018
It’s hard to believe that we are going to be completing Year #9 as a soccer club. It’s hard to believe that we are heading into our 10 year anniversary. But it’s also a great time to reflect and a great time to look forward.
While reflecting, I think about all of the parents, the coaches, the directors, and everyone who played a part in helping us get to this level. I also think of the players that have come to training with an open mind and listened to their coaches.
I wish I had saved the text messages ….the emails….and the voice mails…….you know…the ones that said “you’re never going to make it” …..”Lima can’t sustain a soccer club”……”Everyone plays 3 sports here” ……”It will never work”……”You’ll never be able to compete with the big city clubs”.
10 years ago, the biggest youth soccer accomplishment in the greater Lima area was winning the local recreational soccer league and going on to play in the “state recreational soccer tournament.” (which really isn’t a state wide tournament as it only includes the West Central and Southeastern part of Ohio). Teams/parents/coaches would walk around and brag about “Playing for the State Championship.” 10 years later….no one talks about that anymore and we now have teams that are ACTUALLY playing for the State Championship.
Looking forward, I see a lot more that we can do. We are just now having teams compete on a state level (against clubs with twice as many players and with player fees far exceeding ours). We are now starting to get 2 teams at many of our youngest age groups which will be great as those teams moving into 11v11. We are continuing to form partnerships with other great youth soccer organizations across Ohio which will help us spread the word about who we are and what we do. It’s going to be an exciting future for our youngest players and I can not wait to see them improve every year.
Thank you to everyone who helped us get here…..and to all of you who are going to help us get to an even higher level. Go Extreme!