DEAR EDITOR:
I have read several articles and editorials in The Dispatch this
past month regarding the Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League.
DEAR EDITOR:
I have read several articles and editorials in The Dispatch this past month regarding the Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League. It is disheartening to see something that should be so positive, like youth soccer, become so political. I hate to think that people who are volunteering their time, and say they are doing so for our kids, can’t find a way to get past personal animosity and “vendettas.”
I don’t personally know any of the people who have been quoted in these articles. I don’t know Dick Mussalem, Gordon Sakai or Balan Campeau. I have never had a conversation with Jack Salvemini or Don Mott. I have no idea what the history between them is.
What I do have is three daughters who will be playing in Orchard Valley this fall. Soccer in general, and this league in particular, are important to us.
As well meaning as the board members must be, they do not know me or my children. I want people who know and care about my daughters to have a say in how this league is run. As a parent, I want a voice. I want each of my daughter’s coaches, who contribute countless of hours of their time to the league, to be able to vote for board members and vote on key league decisions.
I encourage the Orchard Valley board members, and those who are leading the reform movement, to put any personal animosity behind them and work this out. If this is truly about the kids, how can those who care the most for the kids, their parents and coaches, be excluded from the voting process?
In the end, I believe Orchard Valley will find many more parents and coaches willing to volunteer additional time if they feel they have a voice in the direction and values of the league.
John Slattery, Morgan Hill
Submitted Friday, July 30 to ed****@****ic.com.
