Extinction F.C.
Mission Statement
& Statement of
Player Expectations
Extinction F.C., a new team playing in the New Orleans Coed Soccer League and created in the Fall of 2002, has been founded on a single idea: We play soccer to have fun and to stay fit. Anything else that should come from our participation in the NOCS is a welcome bonus, but should never become the overwhelming drive for our club.
While winning is fun, if it becomes an expectation instead of a benefit, it adds a certain level of pressure and can create an attitude where playing for fun is no longer good enough; we must play to win. This is in direct contradiction to our founding idea. So winning, while nice, can never replace fun as our goal.
To accomplish this goal, we are committed to helping all of our players learn how to play the game, as well as learning how to play the game better. (Just because we aren’t 100% concerned with winning, it doesn’t mean we don’t want to be competitive.) To do this, we have certain expectations that we feel anyone who plays on Extinction should be aware of.
First of all, we’d like our players to have a good attitude in general, and we’d like them to examine our basic principle and agree with it.
Second, football is a team sport, and to play well and ensure that everyone one the field is having fun, it is important that anyone playing is a team player. While it is understandable for a player to want to engage the entire opposing team all alone every now and then, relentless ball hogging is not something we tolerate. There will be six players on the field at any one time, and they should all be touching the ball. Also, the sharing of playing time is paramount. On a team with a large roster, it may become necessary to closely monitor the minutes that everyone plays. It is our intent to get everyone all the football we can, and we would like folks to be gracious when we call them off the field. Substitutions, unless for injury, are not a comment on anyone’s skills. We simply want everyone to play equally.
Thirdly, we are not a U.S. National team in any way shape or form. Since we are not professionals, it’s our job to help each other out and be supportive of our fellow players. Sometimes we make mistakes, and the last thing we want to hear about is what we’ve done wrong. Constructive, supportive comments should be given freely, and derogatory or accusatory comments will result in players being asked to leave.
Fourthly, we’re looking for reliable folks. If you want to play for Extinction, we definitely want you to have the full experience of participating in an athletic team. That includes attending practices as well as games. If we are to become a competitive team, then we need to play together as often as possible. Committing to Extinction means you are willing to work hard to have fun, and that hard work will pay off. We have an existing practice schedule, but once we can pull our team together we are willing to adjust the time and to some extent the location, to accommodate as many as possible.
Lastly, and in some ways most importantly of all, respect is paramount to Extinction. A player is expected to maintain respect for his or her fellow players, captains, referees and the team itself. A player with the proper respect for all of these things should have little trouble complying with the aforementioned expectations.
Players who fail to live up to these expectations will be asked not to return to Extinction. We understand that people are looking for different things in the NOCS, and that we cannot accommodate all of those people. We do not expect to. That is the purpose for this statement. If you have read this, and agree with the principle of the team and do not find the expectations limiting or burdensome, then Extinction is the team for you.
Welcome, and have fun.
Aaron Sims, Captain
Rachel Casey, Assistant Captain