Sure, Marnie Crawford has seen top competition. The former right fullback grew up playing in select soccer leagues in California before she kicked for a year at the University of Hawaii. But she’s not focused on do-or-die competition today —
Sure, Marnie Crawford has seen top competition.
The former right fullback grew up playing in select soccer leagues in California before she kicked for a year at the University of Hawaii. But she’s not focused on do-or-die competition today — quite the opposite — and she downplays the level of Division 1 soccer back in the late 80s.
“It wasn’t as highly organized as it is now, it was almost like intramural,” Crawford said. “Soccer’s come a long ways since then.”
But she played enough to know what the sport means to kids, and what traits make a good coach: Organized, skilled and patient.
“I didn’t learn as well from the screamers,” she said.
Those are important lessons, because Crawford is in the midst of her first year as regional commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization on Kauai. She’s in charge of hundreds of volunteers for the nonprofit organization that promotes fair play over wins and losses.
“It’s fun,” the Oahu-born, California-raised mother of two said of monitoring the region from Wailua to Wainiha.
But why would anyone volunteer to be in charge of making sure more than 80 teams from youth to 18 all have coaches, team moms, assistants and referees for the 40-plus games?
“It takes great teamwork to keep the region going,” she said. “Soccer is a great sport that emphasizes that teamwork is the key to success.”
But the work is made easier by parents who want their kids to have memorable experiences.
“They’ll do whatever it takes,” she said.
Besides volunteering, Crawford bookkeeps for her husband’s family businesses, like The Shell Factory in Kapaa, and is a registered nurse. Organizing comes with its stresses, to be certain, but working in emergency rooms has taught Crawford to relax and focus on tasks at hand.
“I think that helps a lot,” she said of her medical background. “By not getting as overwhelmed with too many things.”
The Garden Island caught up with Crawford this week to talk about soccer on Kauai and the journey from player to organizer for a league focused on fair play.
The Garden Island: How did you get involved volunteering for AYSO? Was it just a matter of helping out because your kids played, or was it more than that?
Marnie Crawford: I played AYSO when I was 5. I remember loving the snacks after the games and feeling part of a team. I played soccer all the way to college. When my daughter turned 4, I knew that I wanted her to have that same feeling of accomplishment. I knew that AYSO was an all-volunteer organization but I had no idea what was needed to help. I started helping out by coaching my daughter’s team and organizing a snack schedule.
TGI: AYSO is a nonprofit that promotes fair play. Is that how the league is run on the island? How would you describe the atmosphere around games? Is it cutthroat trying to win at times or is it focused on fair play and experience?
MC: AYSO is all about kids having fun playing soccer in a safe environment. Games are great fun to watch. Not only are coaches trained to not be cutthroat but parents are given a ‘pledge’ form to sign that they are allowed to cheer only. The coaches coach, kids play, and everyone else cheers. It goes without saying ‘everyone wants to win.’ My goal is to create the environment to win but not at all cost. Sometimes it is difficult for a volunteer coach to understand the concept of playing to have fun. A core philosophy is everyone plays, meaning that it doesn’t matter how good you are or how the team is doing — everyone will play at least half a game. The game is broken down into quarters, substitutions are done at every quarter. No child will play four quarters till all other players have done three quarters. It guarantees that all players are part of a team.
TGI: How popular is soccer on Hawaii? Does it compete with bigger name sports like football and surfing?
MC: Soccer is very big in Hawaii. It is a sport that both boys and girls can play at a young age. We currently have players from age 3-18 that participate. Our biggest division is the 6 and 7 year olds for both boys and girls. In the fall, soccer and football are the two sports that draw the most kids. Players must decide which sport they want to play in. I think kids that have a good soccer foundation make excellent football players. Kids can enjoy both soccer and surfing.
TGI: Where do you see the sport going here? More participants or is it near its peak now?
MC: I think that soccer has room to grow on Kauai. We have around 700 kids in this Region 941 (Wailua to Wainiha) but there are more kids out that could benefit from having soccer in their lives. We started advertising in April for the fall season. I think when parents realize that there is a sport available to kids that aren’t competitive, there could be more kids that play. Soccer is a great way for kids to have outdoor fitness and ‘bond’ with players their age.
TGI: Describe the experience of being a regional commissioner. It must be stressful organizing hundreds of volunteers, or has your career as a nurse pretty much made everything else seem not as stressful?
MC: Being regional commissioner is pretty stressful. It has lots to do with prioritizing and putting out small fires before they get out of control. I guess it can be similar to nursing in that respect. I don’t think of mistakes as bad but learning experiences. My mistakes as regional commissioner aren’t going to kill. I think a nurse being regional commissioner has brought safety a priority in all decisions. This year, all coaches were given a first aid kit along with a ball, cones and whistle. All coaches had background checks done on them and had to have “safe haven” certifications. Safe Haven is a certification about safety: signs of dehydration, where to be if thunder or lightning is heard, head concussion training, and heat stroke.
TGI: What’s your favorite part of the volunteer job?
MC: Seeing the smiling faces of the players after a game. I know part of the smile is from having after-game snacks but part of it is from the satisfaction of accomplishment.
TGI: Can you sit back and enjoy watching a soccer game when you’re involved, or is there too much to monitor?
MC: I think the first couple weeks of the season had me monitoring more than sitting back and enjoying. Things are moving smoother and I can watch a whole game without interruption.
TGI: Does the league need more help? If someone was interested in helping out, what should they know?
MC: Volunteers are welcome and needed. There are lots of duties that can be spread out. AYSO has so much training available. Anyone that wants to help the keiki, AYSO can train them for positions
TGI: Did you have a soccer background? And how did you choose your career as a nurse?
MC: I loved soccer as a kid — I wasn’t the best athlete but it was always fun to play. I had wanted to be a doctor when I was young. I was good at school but didn’t want to have to go to as many years of schooling that is required to be a doctor. I found that the nurses were the ones that actually got to spend time with patients and their families. I think that the doctors have to make hard choices and the nurses do the hard work. I always knew that I would be in health care … I love working as a nurse but full time as nurse and running the business made life hectic.
TGI: With the soccer fair play concept, is it hard to watch leagues that don’t operate on the same scale, say watching other teams get blown out in other leagues?
MC: AYSO has six core philosophies: Everyone Plays, Balanced Teams, Open Registration, Good Sportsmanship, Player Development and Positive Coaching. I believe in those philosophies but those philosophies aren’t for everyone. It isn’t hard for me to watch other leagues. I think that having a wide range of leagues may accommodate other families that don’t have the AYSO philosophies.
