HomeMy WebLinkAboutSports complex Public Comment from Rishad Bharacha 3-14From:Rishad Bharucha
To:Agenda; Jeff Graff
Subject:Bozeman Sports Park
Date:Tuesday, March 04, 2014 8:37:39 AM
Dear TOP Committee and Bozeman City Commission:
My name is Rishad Bharucha, I am twenty three years old and I am originally fromMumbai, India. I am a junior studying Computer Science at Montana State Universityand I am also an assistant coach for Bozeman Blitzz FC. I completed my first seasonwith the Blitzz last Fall working with the U10 and U11 age groups and I am lookingforward to coaching again in April this year. I am writing to you with my honestopinion regarding the proposed building of a sports park in Bozeman.
I have been watching soccer, or football as we call it in India, since I was thirteenand have been supporting Arsenal Football Club for a little over ten years now. Igrew up playing the game throughout my time in school, unfortunately I was nevercoached. I was privileged to play with some of the best players in my city who wenton to represent my school at the competitive state level and I learned my trade fromthem.
While growing up in India, we would play on concrete and mud primarily. I waslucky enough to play on a grass field about four or five times at the very most. Oneof the biggest benefits of playing this kind of ‘street’ soccer in my opinion, has beenthe development of a knack for taking risks on the field and a degree of mentaltoughness that comes with playing against older kids and sometimes adults. Thosewere some of the best hours of my life amidst dealing with an extremely competitiveand time-consuming education system, which I wanted to get away from for a longtime and finally did when I got a scholarship to study in Bozeman.
Since I have been in Bozeman, I have been lucky enough to play on grass during theFall intramurals at MSU and even practice by myself to improve as a player in thesummer, the latter I am especially grateful for. I think it is quite amazing that thereis now an opportunity for the future of Bozeman and the state of Montana to have asports park that would give youngsters an opportunity to experience the game freelyon state of the art grass pitches.
I just participated in the US Soccer ‘E’ License course over the last weekend. I mustadmit I had my doubts over the quality of development of the game on the first twodays of the license clinic compared to the European methods which I have studiedon my own. On the third day I saw some content in the lectures that convinced methat while there is certainly a gap between the US and Europe in terms of coachingand player development, US Soccer seems determined to take the game forward inthe right direction and bridge that gap.
I believe that the growing popularity of soccer in Montana combined with thedevelopment of this sports park could define a watershed moment for the Bozemancommunity and Montana as a whole. The drive for developing players that I haveseen at the Blitzz is commendable and Bozeman will surely reap the benefits of itover the next few years. Being able to play in a free environment would really allowthem to express themselves and push each other to improve as soccer players.
One of the points emphasized over the weekend at the license clinic was the need
for kids to participate in multiple sports while growing up. I grew up playing cricket,which is a popular sport in India, as well as soccer which I have retained a bigpassion for, so I can understand the importance of this step. The plans to buildsoccer, lacrosse and multi-sport fields certainly fit into the vision that has stemmedfrom American sports science and I cannot emphasize enough how much I wouldlove for the development of the sports park to go through.
Throughout my time watching soccer, I have paid attention to the economics ofEuropean clubs as the game started changing over the last decade. I believe in theimportance of self-sustainability and I am against the idea that clubs should fall intodebt over careless decisions that were made out of greed. A sports park in Bozemanwould be an excellent long term investment for the state in addition to the presentinvestment in the development of young athletes.
I cannot really compare Montana to other states with regards to existing athleticdevelopment facilities because I have not grown up in this country. However, Icertainly believe that with the right drive and vision, kids from Montana can one dayreach the US national team and play on the biggest international stage, the WorldCup. I know as a coach, that this is certainly something I remind my kids in order tomotivate them, drive them and simply make them dream about the seeminglyimpossible.
I have heard a great deal regarding the impact that the Apollo 11 mission by NASAhad on the younger generations and made kids dream of reaching the stars. Ibelieve that we are at a similar crossroads at this point and the right investment indeveloping a top quality sports park could give these kids the dream of lifting theWorld Cup, or developing similar aspirations of reaching the pinnacle in other sports.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter and to your commitment toBozeman Parks and Trails. I strongly encourage you to fund at the greatest levelpossible a high quality sports park to give these kids a dream that could potentiallychange their lives, who will one day bring great pride to this city.
Sincerely,
Rishad Bharucha