VNA Nebraska Sports Center

News Detail

17

Apr, 2024

FAQ concerning the Merger with Sting Soccer

Is my team changing?
All VNA coaches have been told they are being retained. The plans are for enhancements not disruptions. A greater pool of players and club pass players within Lincoln. Teams will remain the same if families and coaches chose to.

Is my coach changing?
All VNA coaches can continue with their team.

Pricing: how will this change?
VNA members will see a decrease in membership dues* with Sting Soccer. Sting Soccer has a total price, as opposed to VNA whose pricing was broken into two fees (Program Fee and Competition Fee). The Sting Soccer total price is U7-U10 $1100, U11-19 $1900, which is lower than the price for VNAs programming (when Program Fees and Competition Fees are combined).
* U7/8 and U11/12, program plans are different thus it's not a true apple to apples comparison.

Why are we no longer with Villarreal CF?
The end of the 6-year contract expires on April 30, 2024. After an analysis of the costs versus the benefits a contract renewal was not comfortable.

Is the club experiencing financial issues?
The business of the VNA club is meeting ALL the financial obligations. What we are needing in regards to resources is HELP. Personnel help, people, to help carry the load of the work. In order to hire additional staff, there would need to be an increase in income and that would take growth, time and/or support in other ways. Amy simply needs more help to get all the work done and Jorge needs more support. VNA became a big business, that needed more personnel. If money was an unlimited resource, other resources would also be unlimited, such as personnel.

Is this addressing a competitive disadvantage?
Yes, we do have a competitive disadvantage in 2 areas; at the entry level point and at the highest competition level.
Entry Level: There have been goals to have more programming at the entry level point, growing a Rec program for players, the combining of our efforts will allow this to happen more quickly and in a quality way.
Highest Competition Level: To participate in higher level leagues such as ECNL-RL there needs to be a depth of teams, at each age, to sustain that level of commitment. To offer these competitive leagues to our interested players, requires clubs coming together to offer more and to bring our community together. Not every player on every team is interested in participating at a higher level and the depth of teams is crucial to offer different options for the different interest levels.
Program expansion and a variety of league opportunities are great things for players, teams, and our community.

The confusing part to many is the statement that we have exhausted every other alternative before reaching this decision. People are confused by this. If the reason to merge with Sting was all of the good things you talked about in most of the message, why would this be our last option?

Merging our work, efforts and passions with Sting was not our last option. Perhaps this was not written how we meant. Only if there was a natural and true alignment would there be any consideration for a change. Through extensive research we are excited and happy about Sting. We feel there is true alignment here, and we are excited for this next phase of the journey. The other options we explored, were not in alignment, we were not interested in pursuing them after initial conversations. We were only going to work with other clubs or club leaders if there were better opportunities for coaches, players, and our community. We loved this option, there were no options we would have even considered.

What other alternatives are we referencing?
Our only concern during the process was alignment.
We talked to many other soccer clubs, or club leaders, to see if there was alignment of work, goals, values, player types. We wanted to exhaust conversations with anyone and everyone to ensure we were making the absolute best decision going forward. We wanted to do our due diligence to confidently say this is a good path and a bright future. Only if there was a right fit would there be a change. We are excited and proud to continue this journey with the next chapter.

When will these changes be implemented?
The 2023-2024 soccer year and specifically the spring season will continue as planned. Nothing changes for this 2023-2024 soccer year; coaches will continue to coach, training schedules will stay the same, game schedules (leagues and tournaments) will stay the same.
When do things start to look different for players and families? Team formations for 2024-2025 will be between May 28-June 6. All the VNA coaches will be retained with the goals of enhancements not disruption to the team.

Will uniforms change?
As Villarreal CF will not be part of the future path as a partner, the unform will not be an option to retain beyond the 2023-2024 soccer year.

Contact

VNA - Nebraska Sports Center
345 Speedway Circle, Suite #1
Lincoln, Nebraska 68502

Phone: 402-853-7100
Email: [email protected]

VNA Nebraska Sports Center

Website Manager

VNA Nebraska Sports Center

VNA Nebraska Sports Center

News Detail

17

Apr, 2024

FAQ concerning the Merger with Sting Soccer

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