In appreciation of NIRSA soccer’s unsung volunteers

Volunteering at a NIRSA Championship Series regional or national tournament is a great opportunity for any NIRSA member who’s interested in joining the NIRSA Soccer Family. Leadership positions will be posted again in the spring and I encourage those members of the community with some experience to consider these development opportunities. Regions I, III, and IV will be accepting applications for regional coordinators.

Fortunately, these are not the only volunteer opportunities available; within the Series, soccer is unique in that there are other development opportunities. NIRSA Soccer’s goals include creating opportunities for more than just experienced intramural and sport club staff professionals and student participants. Divisional coordinator and league commissioner positions are a great way for graduate assistants and young professionals to get involved.

I have written many articles welcoming our new regional coordinators and sending off our acclaimed veteran regional coordinators, but my friend and colleague Max Miller, Assistant Director of Athletics at Swarthmore University, helped me recognize that we’ve been overlooking our frontline volunteers. This article is in appreciation of our NIRSA Soccer divisional coordinators and league commissioners.

This time of year gets us all ramped up and energized for the upcoming months. The students are back on campus. Classes begin to settle into a comforting tempo. The long days of training begin to prove it was worth the time. What many of us don’t recognize is that it is now that the work our soccer regional and divisional coordinators have done for the last six months begins to personify itself with soccer league play across the nation. This is, almost, a time they have to take a breath of fresh air. But that is short lived as our season starts and score reporting begins.

I think that regional coordinators from Region I put it best. “These divisional coordinators create an experience unlike any other not only for themselves and with the NIRSA team, but more importantly, for the participants and fans. There is no way we could make this all happen without them,” says Cybbi Barton, Region I Coordinator and Club Sports Coordinator at Pennsylvania State University. “It takes an organized, proactive and engaging person to be successful as a divisional coordinator and all of these members are excellent examples of all those characteristics. They work and volunteer their time with NIRSA soccer from the middle of the summer until the end of the semester and they all step up to help each other out in every situation they can. The team atmosphere with this group is truly unprecedented. They know how to work hard and play hard to contribute to such a successful league season and regional tournament. It’s an honor to be working alongside them!”

Max Miller says, “These divisional coordinators are passionate about student development, soccer, and NIRSA. Their passion comes out through their volunteerism and dedication to NIRSA and the Series. Without these contributors, the league simply wouldn’t function as well as it currently does. They are on the frontlines working with the teams directly to create a successful season and enjoyable experience.”

So many things from these comments ring true when it comes to the success of regional and national soccer. We have appreciated our leaders for regional and national Soccer, but I’ve been remiss to not acknowledge the work of the other volunteers with NIRSA Championship Soccer. I think that Max and Cybbi said it best. We send huge thanks to the following divisional coordinators and league commissioners for all their service:

• Marissa Allen, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Women
• Adam Murphy, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Women
• Emily Babcock, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Women
• Andrew Havrisko, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Women
• Shane Conti, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Men
• John Luk, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Men
• Adam Shanley, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Men
• Michael Potter, Divisional Coordinator, Region I Men
• Emily Theys, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Women
• Kevin Maurer, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Women
• Merrissa Vault, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Women
• Rob Ruiz, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Women
• Erik Pabst, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Women
• Chris Sato, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Women
• Mike Forbes, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Men
• Shawn Conboy, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Men
• Jon Broska, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Men
• Daniel Gardner, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Men
• Jessica Coleman, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Men
• Hannah Roberts, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Men
• Zach Kirkpatrick, Divisional Coordinator, Region II Men
• Andy Chabot, MASC Commissioner, Region III Men
• Eric Sztul, MASC Senior Associate Commissioner, Region III Men
• Russell Lawrence, MASC Associate Commissioner, Region III Men
• Nick Singer, Divisional Coordinator, Region III Women
• Abby Van Note, Divisional Coordinator, Region III Women
• Steven Karasweski, Divisional Coordinator, Region III Women
• Kelsey Orrill, Divisional Coordinator, Region III Women
• John Lee, KMSL Commissioner, RC Region IV North
• Travis Lankford, TCSL Commissioner, RC Region IV South
• Andrew Kuchem, TCSL Commissioner, RC Region IV South
• Chad Zimmerman, TCSL Commissioner, RC Region IV South
• Brooke Cocheran, TCSL Commissioner, RC Region IV South
• Kelsey Jones, TCSL Commissioner, RC Region IV South
• Alan McCarter, RMCSL Officials’ Assignor, RC Region V
• Marvin Burke, RMCSL Treasurer, RC Region V
• Eric Thompson, GPSC Commissioner, Region V

Even with limited to no experience with soccer, any NIRSA member can find a way to get involved. When I began my soccer journey, I had very limited experience with the sport. I believe that my story is similar to some in our NIRSA soccer world. We are just looking for great attitudes, volunteers who are willing to learn, and members who are willing to give their best effort!