Troy Harvey: Dandy Town Youth Academy Director
Western Stars/Dandy Town has appointment Troy Harvey to the position of Youth Director of The New Dandy Youth Academy.
Mr. Harvey has served as: Youth Coordinator at NVCC; Youth Coordinator and Scheduler for the BFA; Vice Chair of the Competitions committee at the BFA; Player Development Committee member at the BFA; and national U16 and U17 Youth coach. Additionally, he holds the UEFA B coaching license.
A club spokesperson said, “In light of this we are holding pre registration in the very near future. We will be unveiling the exciting things that can be expected this season for our Youth Academy. Parents will be able to register to guarantee their child’s placement, any remaining spots will be filled during regular registration. Payments will not be due until beginning of the season.”
Wish that this could be perceived as a major plus. First thing you must do Dandy Town is to clean up the drug culture image that has plagued your grounds for way to long. Why we turn a blind eye to this activity at clubs in general but more specifically at clubs that operate youth programs is a mystery to me. Yes, I anticipate the angry respones as it is within our nature to attempt to deflect rather than face the problem head on and deal with it. So Mr.Harvey,let’s hope that at the top of your things to do is to demand a drug free environment, because the kids deserve it.
Respectfully ‘Bill’ can i ask what it is you do to help ‘clean up the drug culture image’? Would you be prepared to call and offer your assistance to Mr. Harvey in an attempt to ‘demand a drug free environment’?
I have coached at a youth level at another club very near to St. John’s Rd. and i have made the best of efforts to provide my players with a safe and drug free environment in which to play. However i find that when i ask parents, club members and residents to assist they are often busy, working, tired etc etc. All i’m saying is that if you’re not prepared to be a part of the solution don’t complain about the problem.
Point well taken Titan and here’s what I have done when I was a coach at the youth level; conducted training sessions on a school field where the penalty for drug possession or sales, increases significantly! There was a proposal put in front of clubs a few years ago that called for all clubs to fully address the anti social and drug environment with penalties attached for non compliance. It required the support of the affiliates but that didn’t happen. I have made the attempt Titan but unfortunately there arent enough folks that really support this type of change. But we can’t let parents of the hook because no kid of mine would be allowed to play in an unhealthy social environment.
@Titan..
Kudos for your involvement at the youth level, however surely you can accept that one of the many issues that clubs are faced with is the very same thing that Bill speaks of in his piece.
This issue is not new, however clubs have failed miserably for a variety of unacceptable reasons to address the problem over the years and must accept a sizeable share of blame as a result.
The lack of real leadership in our community clubs is clear which in turn has resulted in numerous negative outcomes, to include drug and alcohol abuse, unsociable behaviour and a very poor product on the field of play.
Again, kudos for your service.
Totally agree with you Rob. Unfortunately the clubs have failed to some degree but we can’t just throw our hands in the air and walk away, otherwise yet another generation of young people will be lost to the ‘streets’.
From my experience i have found that sometimes all these young men want is someone to spend time with them and listen to what they have to say. I would encourage anyone that has a few hours to spare to give of yourself and get involved.
I simply do not feel that we should complain about the problem if we are not out there ‘getting our hands dirty’ trying to find a solution…….and well done to you ‘Bill’ keep doing what you do, don’t let the lack of support from your club deter you.
I agree Titan..Note however that identifying and highlighting the problems of club football and accepting that there are huge systemic problems, is the very first step on a very long road to recovery.
Sorry Bill, but could you clarify what you mean when you say “drug culture image?”
Do you mean actual drug taking on the club grounds? Do you mean drug taking during youth practice and matches or do you mean club members happen to look like they are involved with drugs?
No need Frank-T, truly no need…sigh!!!
Jimmy …what should reduce you to exhale / sigh is the undeniable lack of leadership in our clubs ..no proper accounting of income generated …violence in and around our fields…and yes drug use in and around our fields..this is indisputable…
Frank…Are you actually saying that drugs are not consumed / used on club grounds or club members are not involved in the use and distribution of drugs in and around their club grounds?
Are you saying that more than a few clubs have not legitimately earned a reputation of being soft on drugs?
If so, surely you jest….
Keep your powder dry (for a minute) Ross. If Bills comments are to be addressed we (I) need to understand exactly what he is commenting on.
I don’t think he is talking about players and coaches using drugs during practice and matches. So he must be talking about drug usage that takes place within and around (some) club grounds.
If Bill referring to what I think he is we need to looks at what clubs are doing (or not) to foster a drug tolerate culture and what they are doing/can do (or not) to enforce a no tolerance policy.
If Bill is in fact referring to an image problem that’s another matter.
What would a club need to enforce a drug free zone? Well they need sufficient physical infrastructure plus people to patrol all areas of the ground AND they would need to police ON HAND at practices, matches and generally to arrest/forcibly remove violators.
Do the clubs have the kind of resources required to do this?
If its also an image problem perhaps first we need to deal with the fact that some (most?) clubs are dependent on alcohol sales for funding.
So is Bill really talking about the lack of resources available at clubs generally coupled with a social minded ethos where some clubs may be lenient on drug use in an effort to show people that there is another path they could take?
Frank
Stop the insane drivel Frankie.
If clubs can’t or won’t eradicate drugs from their grounds then they simply need to get out of the child care business, cause that is what much of this is. I have long argued that some clubs and people in football need to be removed for the good of the kids that play the game.
Case in point : Many clubs are opposed to removing known gang associates and or known ( persistent ) trouble makers from their teams and the same clubs regularly request assistance from the FA for security for those same players that have difficulty playing in certain areas of the country. That simply means that those clubs are prepared to place the responsible members of their team in jeopardy, simply by association. That is in my estimation not only insane, but also highly & dangerously irresponsible.
So Frankie, until club officials come to grips with the things they can control, then this plea for sympathy and support falls on deaf ears…
and that sucking sound you hear is young players shifting to non club related prgrams and worse, to other sports…
To Rob. I can tell that you are not involved with a sports club committee or board by your typical tendency of people not involved to just critise without providing any useful or meaningful suggestions. Before you make comments and critise you should know about your subject first. I have served on the committee of a sports club for 5 years and have been involved with the club for much longer. If you don’t know most, if not all sports clubs on the island do not condone the sale or use of drugs on their club grounds. You say that clubs should “eradicate drugs from their grounds”. Please tell me how you plan to achieve this.
Let me give you an example of my sports club. We have posted signs and letters around club to ban drugs. We have installed security cameras inside and have CCTV outside of our club. We have regularly asked for assistance from the Bermuda Police Service to patrol or club to help remove drug dealers/users and troublemakers, which they do. they stop to the club several times during the week and even more so on the weekends. We have tried to enforce the ban of drugs ourselves and we have even tried to reason with these guys doing all of this. And do you know where all of that effort has gotten us? Nowhere! The letters are ignored. They act as though the security cameras are not there. I don’t know what you expect but there is only so much that can be done with CCTV. Unless some one is monitoring it 24/7, then there is alot that can be missed. Also, you can see some one smoking on camera but you can’t tell what it is. As far as evidence goes, it could be a cigarette or samson. When the police come, sure they might find some of the drugs that they haven’t managed to stash away in one of the hundred hiding spots around a filed and club. They even have the dogs and don’t always find something. Sure they may arrest some one for an outstanding warrant or if they are lucky, actually catch the person with drugs. And do you know what happens when the police leave? They go right back to do what they were doing. And the people that do get locked up? When they get out, they go right back doing what they were doing. There is no real fear or respect of the police.
Oh yes, the club should enforce the ban themselves right? Who should do this? Members of the committee? Regular people who donate their time to try and help a club? Let’s look at an example of that. You may remember about 3 years ago, the then-president of a local sports club confronted some people smoking weed outside of the club to get them to stop. What happened? He was assaulted, and hospitalized with a broken jaw, cracked ribs and head injuries. His picture was on the front page of the newspaper at the time. These regular folk, often with families of their own are expected to put their safety and even their life on the line to enforce rules that the Police Force (Who are specialy trained and armed to deal with confrontation) can not enforce. Sure, we can expect committee members and even club members to make a reasonable effort, but what do you do when you attempt to reason and are ignored? How do you enforce this? Are you willing to do this Rob? I have done it and I’ve been in confrontations. And the best case scenario I had, they stopped for a few days and then things went right back. So what do you do, become stern and confrontational yourself with a person that can likely be ready and able to fight and have all his friends jump you as well? I don’t know where you live but in this real world, if you beat a bully, he doesn’t go away. He comes back with his crew who will jump for daring to touch their friend. How do you deal with those issues? Ban the individual? Sure, that’s been done but what then now? Not all committee members hang at the club all day and night. Most, if not all have to work, 1 if not 2 jobs and have family and lives outside of the club. What do you do when the person is there and nobody is there to report it? Even if you do, what happens? They’re hit with a trespassing charge, given a fine and released back to the street to come back to club angry and often vengeful.
Clubs should hire full time security right? Do you know how much security costs? How about $30-$35 per man per hour. Do you know the finances of most of Bermuda’s Sports clubs? St. Georges and Somerset are two of Bermuda’s biggest clubs and host cup match every year which brings in way more funds that most other clubs are earning and they still struggle for finances. If they struggle what about the other clubs that don’t have huge money makers like that? Let me fill you in on a well known secret: Most of Bermuda’s sports club are struggling financially. My club hires security for every football match to ensure the safety of our fans and players which costs us between $700-$1,000 per game. This hurts our revenue but we think it is worth it for the safety of public but there is no way that we could this every day.
I say all of this to ask, is it really insane drivel that Frankie is saying? Do you have any useful suggestions for clubs to eradicate drugs? Because I have been actively seaching for an answer for years and nothing has worked thus far. Or are you just content to sit back and critize and dismiss facts as drivel? Let me ask this last thing, if Governments (With their Billion Dollar budgets) have failed with to eradicate drugs what hope does a broke sports club have?
and stop with the invective Rob.
Not sure how you make it a plea for sympathy I just asked how would the various initiatives work in practice…sounds like you have no idea.
Also Rob you are ignoring the fact that many clubs see themselves as having a societal role…
Call it insane if you want but the logic goes:
- If little Johnny/Jenifer is here kicking a ball, they aren’t “out there” doing foolishness.
- Secondly if you want to constructively discourage people from anti-social behavior you have to engage with them on some level.
- Thirdly, if you intentionally keep your programme open to “at risk” people one consequence is that you will rub against “undesirables”.
Have I seen “trouble makers” rescued BECAUSE they were allowed to associate with “responsible members of the team”? Most definitely.
There is no question that non club affiliated programs are attracting support because they don’t come with any of the “baggage” that a stereotypical club has and fair dues to parents and children who make that choice.
Insulating yourself from an issue doesn’t make it go away…
What clubs CAN control 100% is what happens when its players/members are engaged in activities that are run by the club (i.e. on the field of play)
Bill has indirectly submitted that he is not prepared to patrol a club ground on a damp, cold weekday night to stamp out anti-social behavior.
In which case lets ask ourselves, what does it cost to:
- run a drug testing and monitoring programme for 200 to 300 players and administrators? Should this be limited to in season or all year ’round?
- build and maintain a secure facility?
- hire security/pay for police presence 24-7?
- how would a specific club pay for this?
(just teed up Ross to talk about lack of info on club finances)
Designating a club as a drug free zone would send a good message BUT there would need to be some means of enforcing it.
Of course the other option is to assume that all coaches and administrators are actually trying to peddle drugs to the players and avoid the clubs at all cost.
Frank
Frank – All sports are subject to random testing by the agency chaired by Jon Beard. THe FA should be asking them what exactly are they doing in this regard.
yes Rob at the national level…an in house testing and monitoring programme will have to be funded by the Clubs
Rob, all PLAYERS are subject to random testing. Most of the people we are talking about are not players but fans or just guys that hang around. You could have a drug-free team but not a drug free club. From reading your comments, you are an idealist who states how things should be. We all can agree on how things should be and with an unlimited budget and resources I’m pretty sure we can make things how they should be. But the reality of the situation is a lot less ideal. With an extremley limited budget and scarce resources there is only so much that we can do. Those of us who have ever served down in the trenches know the reality of this situation all too well.