Observations from Two Feet Away (Jan 22) - Under Every Rock
By Adam Knoll | January 22, 2010 at 01:10 AM EST | No Comments
The Fundraiser have been a great way to get out and do different things to help raise money for the team, while giving back to the venues that host us. Our two events in January have been awesome, and our turnouts have helped us raise almost $500.
It’s not enough though, although we have already generated over $1000 from events and other fees, we are still way far off from out mark. Now, the good news is, we gained over $1000 and had only two players pay off all their fees. The downside, all the player fees will probably cover jerseys and maybe a home game or two.
I’ll be frank (okay, who will you be?), with jerseys and fields and officials and decals and practice materials…the low end of the money spectrum we need is around $5000 more , so in essence, we are 1/6th of the way there. However, this is not a call of panic, no instead it is a call to arms.
We need you, Phoenix, to get out there, we need sponsors, we need fees paid, we need ideas for other events. An idea has already been floated about a Texas Hold’em tournament, and I think that’s a great idea. The problem I’m trying to avoid is OVER fundraising. If we do too many gigs, not many can make 4 things a month, let’s be honest. So when we do have something, it’s got to be worth it, it’s got to be well run and people have got to show up. I’ll be honest; the turnout at shenanigans was lackluster from a player standpoint, however, from a fan/family standpoint it was terrific. We had a high turnout, even though we lacked in a key area.
The Madden tourneys have generated a lot of interest. Our first one was supposed to be small, around 8-10 guys, see how the bugs worked, get it ready. It went smoothly, everyone enjoyed themselves, and we got some gaming in. The touney in Feb already has 20 people lined up, it will be a fun time. Yet although I’m interested in driving high turnout events, we cannot overlook other possibilities. Carwashes, Raffles and other small things are just as important. I’d like to have at least one car-wash in Wilmot, get to know our base, have a good time. We do raffles at every single event, they are astoundingly effective.
I want to have a Panther-Phoenix competition come April, in which we would invite Wilmot Panther Football Players out to compete with the phoenix in all types of areas, including a scrimmage. I think that would be HUGE. I want to start gravitating more toward Wilmot with each passing month. Half our team is in Kenosha, we got to suck it up. The team reads Wilmot, not Kenosha, part of the deal. I need increased involvement by everyone, especially those who would want to put their hat in the ring for a leadership position next season.
And on top of all that, I, we, the team needs sponsors. We will work with anybody. Only want to donate $100, that’s great, thank you, which webpage would you like to be put onto? I want to do so well this season where we can just revolve it straight past this season and have a head start for next year. Lets focus on better practice equipment and more drill setups. If we do well enough, we could have those this year.
It’s almost February, it’s time to step up. We will get what we need to progress toward the season, that’s not the question. The query is whether or not you are going to be a part of it.
Observations from Two Feet Away (Jan 21) - Home/Away
By Adam Knoll | January 21, 2010 at 11:58 PM EST | No Comments
With the final schedule being completed, lets take a look back at how our schedule unfolds and what the addition of Home/Away does to our overall outlook.
Its no secret that as a unit we will be tested right away. The Cougars, Lynx, and Rage in a six game span makes nothing easy, and the Gators, Premier and Sabers are nothing to sniff at. This stretch will make or break us. However, the schedule evens itself a bit with 4 home games to start off the year, giving us pivotal home games in weeks 2-4 and also having us greet the Sabers in week 6.
Offsetting this of course is that we finish the season with 3 of 4 on the road. However, two of the games are Janesville and Racine, not exactly hour long drives. Yet the final game on the schedule is an away vs the Cowboys, which could turn out to be huge down the stretch,
All in all, I am very happy with the schedule, I think it’s a fair division for further away teams. We host one Milwaukee team, yet play another away. We do have to travel to Lake County, but Lake Zurich and Fox Valley come to us. We play one game in Kenosha, the other squad comes here. It really was a nice job done by the schedule makers.
Now we just have to make it work.
The End of December
By Adam Knoll | January 02, 2010 at 02:36 AM EST | No Comments
December ends our ‘prospective’ title as a unit, and lends itself to a new year, 2010, the calendar year of the expansion Phoenix. We will waste no time in establishing ourselves as a group, with two team events already set in January, with more on the horizon. The time spent waiting for the right moment is over.
December was a nice little break between our fall practices and the fundraising needs of the New Year. All told, 3 team meeting were held, two focusing on offense, one on defense. Our lone outdoor practice was washed out by heavy snows, yet even if we held it, not much would have been accomplished. January will hold more meetings, and maybe even a practice or two given the weather conditions. Yet what sticks out the most about this month already is the team events that are holding a lot of promise.
With March only 77 days away, a lot of the time between here and then will be focused upon team funds and getting the capital we need to compete and fund our team. We want to purchase our jerseys by March 1st, which means player fee money would be beneficial by then. A player of course has till May 1st to get their fee in, but help in any way would be very nice. Again, all players are acceptable Phoenix spokespeople when it comes to Sponsors, get us a sponsor and we will share the profits.
Here’s to a very strong January!
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