I ask myself this quite a bit.
DeKalb County United has been a big part of my life for about 30 months now. From the start it's taken a lot of time. Time away from my family, time sitting at a computer and time meeting with people to share what we envision this club can become. And I'm not alone, we've had a lot of people put in a lot of time to get where we are.
Sometimes I ask, if I had this much free time why didn't I start a business that would pay me? Or why don't I just get a second job after work?
Sometimes my kids ask why so many conversations are about soccer? Sometimes they ask why they always have to go to soccer games or tag along to events or why they have to go to the Forge for a beer unveiling.
Sometimes I spend more than 20 hours a week, sometimes more than 30, doing things for DKCU. That's a lot of time spent outside of 'my real job'. So...why?
My motivation has not changed much since day 1. I want to give our players, and all the future players, a chance to play at a high level and continue their careers. It's the type of club or program that I can only wish existed when I was young enough to compete. And truthfully I wasn't good enough then, but I would have loved it.
The other thing that we continue to work toward is having the type of passionate community support that exists around local clubs like this all over the world. DKCU can be something that is 100% locally born and raised and it's something that all the people of DeKalb, Sycamore, Cortland, Malta, Rochelle, Dixon, Genoa (and so many others) can rally around and put their own stamp on it. Everyone could use something positive in their lives...DKCU can be one of those things. A family-friendly opportunity to get outdoors for a few hours on a summer night and be with your friends, neighbors or coworkers.
Sometimes I have to explain to my two daughters that we do so much "soccer stuff" because we want to do something good for other people. Maybe it's just sports, but that's how we do it. They don't understand it yet and I can't expect them to.
At the end of my time with the club, whenever that is, I want to see the club continue to exist beyond my own involvement. I know there is a group of people in this community that have bought in 100% to supporting and helping DKCU. I know there is potential to grow and there is potential to fail. Every day we manage this club, this business, knowing we're walking a tight rope on everything we do.
The time we spend pushing it forward every day can leave a very unique legacy to our community and the kids growing up here. I will keep doing the work because there's work to be done...and we're more motivated than ever.
We thank you for your support and look forward to 2020.
John Hall
President
DeKalb County United
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