Posted On June 5, 2010 by PUSC
Dear Friends, Colleagues and Soccer Enthusiasts:
I hope that you are well. I just wanted to bring you up to speed with some changes that have been going on in my life. Last week I was offered an opportunity to join the Twin City Youth Soccer Association in Winston Salem, North Carolina, as their new Director of Coaching. After much discussion with my wife, we feel that this will be a fantastic move for us as a family.
Those of you who know me well, also know I have two young children, my six-year-old son Knox, and my daughter, Haige, who is almost three. My daughter is a Special Needs child with global development delay. When she was six months old, we were told that she would never walk or talk. Two months ago, she was rushed to the hospital and kept in intensive care for three days after swallowing a hair barrette. The barrette was removed from her throat through the side of her esophagus. I was in Los Angeles at the time with the CDA U16 team. I quickly flew back to be with my family. As a parent, my life flashed before my eyes and the realization that life is so precocious and extremely short became more apparent. This move to North Carolina has come around very quickly and the changes it brings have become very overwhelming.
This opportunity will offer my wife, Megan, the chance to take some time off from working and continue to become an incredible Mum. She and I can spend more time with our children. Megan’s family lives in Michigan and mine still reside in the UK. This was another deciding factor in the move as it will bring us a lot closer to where our families are located and allow us to have our kids become a bigger part of their lives. My daughter has recovered well and has recently, after many hours of therapy, started to walk. We are hopeful her development continues. Winston Salem offers a couple of incredible Special Needs programs we hope Haige will qualify for.
As of July 3rd, I will be leaving Placer United to begin my new role in North Carolina. I am happy to say that the Placer United Board of Directors has made some excellent choices in my replacements. Ron Benjamin will take full control of the Girls Development Program and Paul O’Brien will take on the daily operations of the boys side, as well as, continuing to work with San Juan SC and the CDA program. Ron and Paul both have years of exemplary experience in the soccer industry. After spending the past eight years with Paul and three with Ron, I want you to be assured that they will continue to develop the players and the soccer club to the great standard that you have become accustomed to.
I’d also like to take this time to thank all of the wonderful coaching staff at Placer United, in particular those that have been with me for five or six years: Jason Gantt, James Kavanagh, Lee Callow, Gene DuChateau and Matt Scamacca. There have been many volunteers that came through the Club during my time ere and I would like to thank them also, including past Board Members Cindy Schnider and Chris Peters whose support in the early days of the job were very much needed. Thank you to the current Board of Directors and volunteers who work tirelessly in their support of me as the DOC, my incredible team managers, Linda Ito, Chris Peters, Michelle Schiffel, as well as, the mentors that I have gained along the way from various areas of the country: Fred Wilson at Mustang Soccer Club, Benjamin Ziemer at Nor Cal Premier Soccer League, Tara Erikson at University of Oregon, Cal South DOC Steve Hoffman, Chris Little at Greensboro Youth Soccer Club, Brad Wylde at the Charlotte Soccer Academy and Jill Ellis at UCLA. I can’t thank you enough for all the support. Lastly, I would like to add a huge thank you to Paul O’Brien, Ron Benjamin, Scott Juniper, Mark Carr, Fraser Morrison, Mike Smith, Justin Niefhoff, Joey Hoffman, Paul Furlong and Paul Thomas for always being there with advice and great times!
Thank you for allowing me to serve you as the Director of Coaching. It is a role that I have taken very seriously and have always been extremely passionate about. I also want to let you know what a great pleasure it has been getting to know you. I’m very proud to have been part of the Sacramento area soccer community for the past eight years and I hope I have been able to make a difference.
I look forward to finishing out the rest of my time with Placer United and seeing you all out on the field.
Nathan Williams
Executive Director of Coaching
Placer United Soccer Club
“Dedicated to Development”