Keep Alpharetta Soccer Alive and Kicking

The Alpharetta Ambush Soccer Club (the “Club”) is administered by the City of Alpharetta and the Alpharetta Recreation & Parks Department (“ARPD”). The Club has consistently developed youth athletes utilizing ARPD facilities at Webb Bridge Park and North Park for the past 10 years. The Club consists of advanced players at the Academy (U9 – U12) and Select (U13 - U19) levels. Nearly 400 children currently play in the program.

ARPD recently began enforcing a residency requirement that by Fall 2011 will require each individual Ambush team to maintain a roster consisting of at least 50% City of Alpharetta residents. At present, the Club proudly maintains an overall residency of greater than 50%.

Enforcing the residency rule on a per-team basis creates significant instability to individual teams and to the Club as a whole:
- Some Alpharetta residents will be forced to suddenly find neighboring/competing clubs to play on if/when their team disbands.
- Teams that do meet the residency requirement on an individual team basis face greater uncertainty about what the status of their team will be from year to year, impacting team and player retention.
- As a defensive measure, some Alpharetta residents will also leave the Club to avoid the team instability altogether; they don’t want to get left behind.
- This per-team rule creates a vicious circle, impacting trainer retention, trainer quality, program attractiveness among new players, and the quality of the program overall.

Instability among the Club also impacts Alpharetta businesses. Ambush soccer generates significant revenue for local Alpharetta businesses. With over 1200 weekly trips from parents to practices and games, it’s conservative to estimate that revenue alone could reach at least $500,000 annually for local business.

POSITION: The Ambush Club supports and respects the City’s desire to be good stewards of Alpharetta residents’ resources. We ask that the ARPD 50% residency requirement be calculated based on the Ambush Club as a whole and not on each individual team. This position provides greater flexibility so that the Club can provide a strong, stable, quality soccer program that supports the residents and businesses of the City of Alpharetta. This change will allow for both entities to be successful in satisfying their ultimate needs. We ask for your help in petitioning the Alpharetta City Council and its members to adopt our recommendation.