(This is the time of year when the horse racing season for the Ivory Pine Syndicate is winding down, but the soccer season for the Rosevelt Soccer Club is gearing up. Here's a 90-day glimpse of the day in the life of a horse racing managing partner and soccer club administrator.)
Awoke, 4:12a
Let out and fed Jasper, 4:12a-4:30a
It doesn't matter how early (or late) I wake up, Jasper stirs at the first sound of any movement and wants the morning routine to start then and now.
Prepared and ate breakfast, 4:12a-4:30a
Rosevelt SC admin, 4:30a-5:30a
Still putting the finishing touches on our unofficial rosters, uniform #s, and club-wide directory
Walked, 5:30a-6a
Listened to The Daily podcast, a regular in my rotation of non-horse racing and non-soccer podcasts.
Wrote Portland Press Herald comment, 6a-6:30a
The biggest newspaper in Maine recently published a story about an amended agreement between the Portland Hearts of Pine and the City of Portland, and the comments section was skewed against a club I've supported since it was first announced in November 2019. Contributions to comments sections are usually drops in the bucket, but I felt like a perspective like mine hadn't already been posted so might as well throw it out there.
RSC admin, 6:30a-6:45a
Another opportunity to shine a spotlight onto our players' accomplishments with their high school programs.
Worked at Westbrook High School, 7:30a-2:30p
Visited Norton Farm, 3p-3:30p
Wednesday afternoons are one of my favorite times of every week, because it's usually when I go to Norton Farm in Falmouth, Maine to check in with our two race horses Crimson Pine (pictured above) and Sixby Hanover and chat with our trainer Mike Graffam and his crew at Team Graffam.
The farm has been in Mike's family since before the American Revolution, and his family has bred, trained, and raced Standardbred pacers and trotters since the 1950s. Caring for and training horses is pretty much a 24/7/365 vocation for Mike and his team, but Wednesdays this time of year are the best days for barn visits. Otherwise, they're making the drive down to Plainville, Massachusetts to race on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. And the meet in Bangor is about to begin, which includes racing on Saturdays and Sundays.
Attended younger daughter's middle school soccer game, 3:45p-4:45p
Maine's soccer ecosystem features numerous types of programming, most of which complements each other. So the challenge isn't so much valuing one type of programming or devaluing another type of program, but instead making sure those various silos are better connected to one another and unified with common purpose and deliberate planning.
The one type of programming I've long struggled to find meaningful, though, is middle school soccer. It's often a lower-level of soccer compared to Fall Classic club soccer, and the two programs' schedules often conflict with one another during the week. In fact, our GYSA girls team has reduced the number of our weekly practices the last couple seasons to only one required session every week once the middle school soccer season starts.
The schedule conflicts between club soccer and scholastic soccer for U13 and U14 teams date back to when I was a high school varsity coach almost fifteen years ago, and they'll like persist for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, any opportunity to see our younger daughter represent her community and play with her friends is a good experience.
Ate dinner at Sidecar Pub, 5p-6p
A few of us Rosevelt SC coaches and administrators are attending a local college game featuring ten of our club's youth alums and a number of our 23U Men's, so we agree to meet up at the Sidecar Pub for a pre-game dinner and drink. Sidecar is a sister establishment of our club's apparel sponsor Junction Bowl, and it's one of the best spots in the Greater Portland area to listen to live music most every night of the week.
Attended University of Maine-Farmington vs. University of Southern Maine men's soccer game, 6p-8p
The University of Southern Maine's home field Hannaford Field is located almost equidistant between Sidecar Pub and and our house, so this is truly a home game. Ten of our club's recent youth alums are on the two teams' rosters, and Hannaford Field is--in my opinion--the best field in Maine.
We're pretty proud of the fact that we're punching above our weight when it comes to helping to develop collegiate men's soccer players, and we're hoping we see similar results on the girls' side of our club in the coming years.
The fact that we have a good number of youth alums playing collegiate soccer also bodes well for our club's goal of qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup by 2030 with a roster that consists of at least 50% of our homegrown players.
Asleep, 9:21p
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