When it comes to how Clint Brunson became a part of the Board of Directors for Midland Soccer, the current President is quick to admit it isn’t a particularly glamourous story. Brunson began his path, like many, as a parent. When his daughter’s soccer team found itself without a coach, Brunson felt there was a lack of communication between his team and the current Board of Directors.
“I didn’t want to be someone who sat around and complained, so I figured I would might as well join,” Brunson said. “And that’s exactly what I did.”
Brunson’s previous positions on the Board of Directors include: 7-Under Boys Commissioner and Parks Commissioner. A couple of things he felt could be improved were the field conditions as well as cracking down on team stacking within the age groups.
“With rec soccer you want kids to be on a level playing field and to have the memory of playing soccer forever,” Brunson said. “There wasn’t much communication between the city parks and Midland, so that was one of the first things I did once I was elected.”
As a result, Brunson set out to restore the sprinkler system and treat the parks for stickers. These changes were immediately noticed, which led to an increased interest in parents wanting to join the Board of Directors. For someone who is on a Board of Directors with 12 members, when ideally it would by 20, the increased interest was a welcome sight.
“Having more people interested in the Board of Directors allows for more opinions, and for me to spend more time working with the city,” Brunson said. “We want to create a pipeline of communication for parents, coaches and kids. We want to make sure there is always someone to contact when any of our members have a problem.”
Despite the improvements, Brunson refuses to be complacent. His primary focus has been combining the currently three parks Midland has games on into two and eventually one place where all kids can play. To do that, and complete other items on his agenda, Brunson hopes to have an effective and fully staffed Board of Directors.
“Currently for someone to get appointed, they attend a meeting, and if the person is still interested, the Executive Board will review his/her resume and that will determine if someone is appointed,” Brunson said. “I would like to be in a position where people are running against each other. The goal is to have being on the Board of Directors as something people want to do, and have it be something that is associated with a good thing.”