It’s early Saturday morning, sometimes almost too early, and there’s already organized chaos running rampant through the household. Fortunately, the gurgle of the coffee machine promises at least a moment or two to savour before running out the door.

“Has anyone seen my cleats?” comes the call down the hallway. “Are we home, or away this week?” asks your better half. While you’re trying to focus on an answer to either question, it’s a quick sip of Sumatran dark roast, and an even quicker search for the car keys. In the background, the dog’s barking, and your son or daughter is extolling, at length, the virtues of a teammate’s water bottle – which costs three times what you paid – and how said vessel helps its lucky owner play better.

Everyone loaded into the car, it’s time to head off to soccer. As you back out the driveway, you’re thinking “Now, how do I get to Boyd again?”…

Believe me, and with all apologies to the Beatles, we know how hard it can be. All soccer families, big and small, go through the same thing: getting to and from practices – remembering them in the first place – and making sure that your sons or daughters arrive at the right park, at the right time, on the right day.

It’s tough these days for families with two or three kids, or more. And it’s no different for the larger soccer family of Richmond FC – after all, we’ve got 1,330 of them! That’s how many players were registered with the Richmond FC family last year. And that’s not even including those who were involved in the Spring Soccer program.

As with any family, there’s plenty to organize if we’re going to keep on top of things. Here’s a look at some useful figures from last year:

84 teams and training programs
3,426 games and practices
4,990 active field hours
216 volunteers (coaches, managers, board members, etc.)

On those active field hours… if you were to lay those hours out and place them end-to-end, that’s enough for 208 days of soccer played continuously 24 hours a day. Now that’s a lot of soccer!

From our family to your family: Stay tuned, as we’re working on something right now to help keep everyone organized. The new season’s about to kick off, and we wish everyone an enjoyable and successful soccer year. Now, where did I leave my cleats?…