When Tom Velek announced he was stepping down as director of coaching for soccer in Columbus and as director of competitive soccer for Columbus United, the competitive soccer club of the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority, last week, there was no disputing that he leaves a void that will be a challenge to fill.
Over the past 10 years, no one has contributed more to the growth of youth soccer in Columbus than Velek. Since agreeing to be a volunteer coach for his oldest son’s recreational soccer team, Velek became a student of the game, tirelessly studying, attending clinics and sharing that knowledge with new coaches who, like Velek, had a limited understanding of the game.
If his contributions to soccer were limited to improving the quality of coaching, that alone would have secured his reputation as an important figure in Columbus soccer.
Yet he is also recognized as the person who made the CLRA’s competitive Division II soccer program credible.
As CLRA director Greg Lewis noted, “Before Tom, our competitive teams won nothing. With him, they’ve won championships. That pretty much sums up his impact on the competitive side.”
And he did it all as a volunteer.
Today, the CLRA’s recreational soccer program is thriving, with more than 600 children.
“We’ve had more children registered for recreational soccer than we’ve had in 25 years,” Lewis says.
But it is on the competitive side, where the CLRA faces a dilemma, one that may have played a role in Velek’s decision to step down.
There are about 100 kids in the CLRA Division II program and while other competitive programs in neighboring cities are growing, there is a fear that the CLRA’s program is at an impasse.
To keep pace with that growth, the CLRA will have to hire a director, Lewis says, since there is little chance another Tom Velek is out there willing to do the job as a volunteer.
It should be noted that competitive soccer is far more expensive than recreational soccer. Competitive soccer teams incur travel costs and tournament fees.
CLRA simply doesn’t have the money available to make that big a step. Given that practical reality, the only way for competitive soccer in Columbus to expand is to shift the burden to the parents, something Lewis is reluctant to do.
Starkville’s competitive program, which is not funded by its parks department, is a autonomous organization with a paid director.
The other difference: In Starkville, the fee parents pay to have a child participate in its competitive program is $600. In Columbus, that fee is $225.
“What we don’t want to do is make it so expensive that kids can’t participate,” Lewis said. “As much as we would like to see our competitive program grow and expand, we have to be sensitive to the cost side. Can we have a competitive program and not charge astronomically high fees? That’s the question for us now as we look to the future.”
At this moment, there is no easy answer. For now, the focus will be on trying to fill the big shoes Velek leaves behind. That, too, will be difficult.
“There is no doubt, we owe Tom a huge debt of gratitude for all he has done for soccer in Columbus,” Lewis says. “He leaves a pretty big void.”
And some difficult questions yet to be answered.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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