By Marc Thaler
Staff Writer

The long-term future of the Tri-town Youth Soccer League is in serious jeopardy, according to current board members Kurt Lauer and Jon Morris.

Unless a new group of adult volunteers steps forward by May 1, filling the positions that will be vacated by the 10 longtime members making up the current board, the program will disappear following the 2005 season.

"We're all at the point where we're stepping down come the end of next season," Morris said. "If a new board doesn't sit itself sometime soon, Tri-town soccer will have no choice but to fold."

Tri-town soccer, established in 1988 for Goffstown, Dunbarton and New Boston children, encompasses both a recreation league for approximately 550 players each season and a more competitive travel division for roughly 150 young athletes. Each of the current board members has served with Tri-town at least 10 years.

While the travel program, created in 1998, has its own board, it's a subset of the Tri-town Youth Soccer League, Lauer said. And should Tri-town cease to exist after the '05 campaign, the travel program would be out of business as well.

"Really, this is a last resort for us," said Lauer, one of only two current board members with a child still playing in the league. "Every kid got a mailer last fall and we put public notices in the newspaper asking for new board members. But we never put it in these terms – where we will fold.

"We don't want people to step forward out of guilt," Lauer added. "We want people that have a passion for it. And that's not necessarily a passion for soccer, but a passion for their kids."

"Ideally, we'd like to see parents come in with younger kids just starting out in the program, so when they come in they'll stay for a while," Morris said.

Specifically at the rec-league level, Lauer said the value of Tri-town soccer is more than merely providing every child with an opportunity to compete.

"The beauty of the rec league is that kids learn to play together," Lauer said. "They learn respect, how to control themselves, how to have fun, and how to talk to their buddies."

Currently, the league has five coed divisions for 5- and 6-year-olds, 7- and 8-year-olds, 9- and 10-year-olds, 11- and 12-year-olds, and 13- to 16-year-olds.

"Could the older kids go to another town and play? Sure," Morris said. "But where are your typical 6- and 7-year-olds going to go?"

The responsibilities of the board – often taken for granted by many people, both men said – are essential to the success of the league.

Tasks include lining the fields on game days, scheduling games, providing uniforms, making sure coaches and players arrive on time, plus handing out and collecting equipment.

While the current board members are seeking a minimum of six volunteers to provide "new blood," the more people who step up, the better.

"If it was a 10- to 12-person board with everyone pitching in, everything actually runs quite smoothly," Morris said.

The Tri-town soccer season lasts approximately nine to 10 weeks, normally beginning after Labor Day and concluding the first weekend of November.

Both men stressed the positions are 100-percent volunteer work. There is no paid staff.

"The transition time is now," Lauer said. "This spring, we start registering kids (for the fall ‘05 season). We have to hear from people by the end of April. If people come to us in November, it's too late."

"Nobody on the board wants to see this happen," Morris said. "The last thing anyone presently on the board wants to see is this program fold."

Adults interested in serving as Tri-town board members should contact Lauer at 497-8441 or Morris at 497-8438.