Dawson County Boots Local Soccer Club to Allow a Forsyth Club to use soccer fields.

By adminDawsonville Blog

 

Rock Creek Park of Dawson County says no to their own local Dawson County United Soccer Club for using the fields in favor of an out of county soccer club (UFA of Forsyth) next fall. This is surprising due to Forsyth County having many soccer fields in which to offer their youth to play soccer. Plus the park facilities were created and paid for by Dawson County Residents. DCU Academy has been serving the local youth of Dawson County with a low cost soccer program compared to other clubs in north Georgia including UFA. Rock Creek Park Administration says though; “that Dawson County Youth will be able to play soccer  with UFA” (The Forsyth Soccer Club).  DCU sent the below letter out today to the parents of current players in the program to better explain the situation.

 

Dear Dawson County Parents –

As you may or may not know, there have been some developments recently with the Dawson County Parks & Recreation Department. We wanted you to hear this from us, instead of hearing it secondhand or through the rumor mill.

On Wednesday morning March 16, Lisa Henson, Park Director, called a meeting with Anton Sieber and Jason Bonesteel, two of the managing directors of Dawson County United Soccer League, to discuss “future field use at Rock Creek.”  In this meeting, Lisa Henson informed Anton and Jason that Rock Creek is terminating its field usage agreement with Dawson County United at the end of this season so they can make room for United Futbol Academy (an organization based out of Alpharetta), who are expanding their operations to include Dawson County.  We were offered no recourse, nor any chance to renew or alter our agreement with the park – we were simply told that we would no longer be able to use the fields because United Futbol Academy would be using them.

This development may come as a shock, so let us assure you of two things:

1 – Dawson County United, a locally owned and operated association, will continue to exist and operate as usual.  The only change will be the location.  We did anticipate that something like this was coming given the politics that have been at play by certain individuals over the past few months. We have already secured ample field space on private land and we will move our operations there beginning with the fall 2011 season. More details about this and some other positive changes with the club will be announced in April (as previously planned).
2 – United Futbol Academy (UFA) is coming to Dawson County. They are a huge club that stems from the merger last year of Atlanta Soccer Academy (ASA) and Forsyth Fusion.  We have nothing negative to say about the club – they are professional; they run a good operation; and they have good people in charge. They are also twice as expensive on the Rec side, and about three times more expensive on the Academy and Select side.  It is quite possible that they will come in at the same rates you are accustomed to with DCU, but those fees will go up.  That is not simply an opinion, it is a fact.  We know how slim the margins are at the prices we charge, and there’s no way they can operate at those margins – at least not for very long.

It is not our intention to make this into a war between clubs.  No line will be drawn in the sand by Dawson County United.  In the fall, you will have a choice between two soccer clubs, and you will have to make an informed decision as to what is the better choice for your kids. So, as you get to that point, we want to remind you of what you have with Dawson County United:

A small club with a community atmosphere and camaraderie
Locally owned and operated
Fields on private land that we won’t be sharing with other sports
High quality development of players
Low cost

To find out what you will get with UFA – it’s not our position to say.  We invite you to check out their website and to ask questions. Then compare your information with ours, and figure out what is best for you and your kids.

Thank you for your continued support of Dawson County United. We will keep you informed of any further developments.