By Laura Thomas, Assistant Director of Sport Clubs and Intramural Events at Texas Tech University

The NIRSA Championship Series is happy to announce that you can now apply for a position as a regional coordinator for soccer! Many members have been following along with the successes of the NIRSA Championship Series Soccer Work Team this year. But for those who haven’t, we’re excited to let you know that we recently brought the regional soccer tournaments under the umbrella of the Championship Series. This is a considerable accomplishment that has come about after years of hard work from dedicated members as well as thanks to support from the NIRSA Headquarters Team. This move will allow proper support to be given to the regional tournaments as well as to the regional coordinators.

The soccer regional coordinator position isn’t a new one, but we’ve made several changes in our efforts to align the regions with national operations. Before I continue explaining these changes, I want to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for all the past and current regional coordinators as well as for the student athletes who love attending our competitions nationwide. Without the dedication of these members, we wouldn’t have the reputation of hosting the highest-quality tournaments at this elevated level of competition for collegiate club soccer. So thank you all!

For NIRSA professionals, this is a great opportunity to serve the Association in a new capacity and to gain experience in tournament planning and coordinating. Individuals serving in a regional coordinator position are highly involved in the current push to set a consistent foundation across the nation, which will ensure the future success of both the regional and national tournaments. The founders of Championship Series Soccer have done a great job getting it off the ground and running more smoothly than I could have imagined. It will take current NIRSA professionals to continue making progress. I encourage you all to apply if you are passionate about being a contributor to the culture we are enhancing in NIRSA Soccer.

More specifically, some of the responsibilities for this position include:

  • Serving as a NIRSA liaison reporting regional rankings, bid recommendations, and other pertinent information
  • Responsible for the recruitment, selection, and guidance of a regional leadership team
  • Disbursing and maintaining accurate information/reports for constituents and leadership team using appropriate communication methods (e-mail, website, forms, etc.)
  • Aligning and instilling NIRSA values within the administration of league(s) and tournament(s) operations
  • Ensuring successful execution of league(s) coordination and management through effective communication with league representatives
    • Including but not limited to:
      • League scheduling
      • Forfeits, cancellations, and rescheduling requests
      • League results and standings
      • Rules, policies, and disputes
      • League membership and new team affiliation requests
      • League policies and practices
      • Finances
      • Eligibility
    • Ensuring successful execution of regional tournament(s) through effective communication with regional representatives
      • Including but not limited to:
        • Tournament operations including host site selection(s), logistics, risk management, equipment, supplies, etc.
        • Tournament competition including scheduling, rules, team/player management
        • Eligibility
        • Team selection
        • Officials
        • Volunteers
        • Hospitality and lodging as necessary
        • Finances

Another aspect we have enriched is the level of support each region is provided by requiring each region to have at least two regional coordinators who are serving simultaneously. Positions are currently open in Regions II, IV, and V.

The application deadline is April 22. Don’t miss out on this wonderful professional development opportunity—submit your application today!

 

For more information about serving as one of the regional coordinators for NIRSA Championship Series Soccer, please contact NIRSA Championship Series Soccer Work Team Chair Laura Thomas.