July 18, 2007



Dear Shadow Families,

First of all, I wish to thank you for electing the great group of well-rounded individuals
that I am working with to lead this Club into the future.  The new Board of Directors is
hard at work to make the Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club an organization that is
widely respected while being considered by players as the preeminent source for soccer
development in Eastern Washington.  We are currently taking strong steps towards
establishing an organizational structure that will best serve Shadow players and their
families.  To keep our efforts transparent to the members, we will soon have a website
link to all meeting minutes.  This will allow you to be reassured that we are truly acting in
the best interests of the membership.

Secondly, through all of the trials and tribulations in the past months, the Spokane
Shadow has had several significant achievements.  Individual players have been
selected for several layers of ODP pools and teams while several of our teams are
succeeding at summer tournaments as well as state and regional championships.  Our
coaching staff has remained strong through this transition period by holding to our
Mission Statement and focusing on player development throughout all of our teams.  At
times, especially with match results of the younger age groups, it is hard for parents to
see the light in the distance and stay positive.  However, one only needs to watch our
older and more developed teams play and succeed to see that Shadow’s overall
approach is best for long-term player development versus the tempting pursuit of short-
term team success.  We should all applaud the coaching staff for their efforts and
consistently support them in directing players down the true path that the Spokane
Shadow Youth Soccer Club is charting.

Lastly, all of your Board members are excited about the Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer
Club’s future and sincerely hope that you are too.  We are anxious for the establishment
of a well-organized and efficient member-based volunteer force.  We know that there is a
wealth of talent and resources within (and outside) the Club that is ready to jump in
when the opportunity presents itself.  Working together, the membership, the staff, and
the Board will be taking many strides towards molding this Club into an organization that
will make a difference for our children, all Shadow players, Spokane soccer, and the
Spokane community as a whole.

Go Shadow!



Mike Keenan
President, Board of Directors
Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club
spokaneshadowbod@yahoo.com