General Policy
The goal of the Homer Soccer Scholarship Fund is to make the club soccer experience available to all qualified soccer players who have the talent and commitment, but who may not otherwise be able to afford the expense of competitive club soccer. Qualification takes into consideration financial needs as well as other factors that may influence a player’s ability to play at the Homer Soccer Club. However, since the financial resources of the Homer Soccer Scholarship Fund are limited, the availability and amount of scholarships is also limited to true financial hardship situations. Scholarships are not always available and vary season to season due to the availability of funds.
Responsibility
Players receiving financial aid and their families are required to exert a maximum effort to do volunteer work for team or/and Club sponsorships or functions as requested. Failure to do so may result in a review of the financial aid granted. All scholarship applicants are expected to pay the reduced Player Fees on the same payment schedule as other players unless approved otherwise by the Travel Director and/or scholarship committee.
Parents/Guardians of scholarship players will be expected to participate in club and team fundraisers.
Scholarship Approval
Before a scholarship will be awarded, the parents or guardians of the prospective scholarship recipient must complete the Scholarship Application. If the paperwork is not provided or the Scholarship Committee determines that there is insufficient basis for a scholarship based on need the scholarship will be denied. These decisions will be made on a case by case basis.
All scholarship requests must be approved by the Scholarship Committee. The Scholarship Committee of the Homer Soccer Club will review all Scholarship Applications. The Scholarship Committee will then make a recommendation on each scholarship request to the remainder of the Homer Soccer Board for approval. The parent will receive written notification of the Board’s decision whether or not the scholarship is awarded.
All information contained in the Scholarship Application will be kept confidential but some information may be provided to the manager of the player’s team to ensure that the Scholarship program is implemented to the best benefit of the player.
Normally, no scholarship will be awarded to cover the cost of the uniforms, camps, or travel costs. However, there may be some extreme circumstances where a child may receive additional assistance. In the event a child meets the Federal Poverty Guidelines as reflected in the Federal Register, a child may receive more financial assistance, including tournament fees, uniform fees and other team activity fees. However, these funds are extremely limited. In these situations, some accommodation may still be made by working with the team manager. A Scholarship will not cover cost of additional items purchased, such as equipment bags, warm-ups and other non-uniform items.
Commitment of Scholarship Players
Scholarship recipients will be expected to conform fully to the policies of the Homer Soccer Club regarding behavior and conduct. In the event that a scholarship player fails to perform all agreed sponsorship and other volunteer activities, attend training sessions, matches, tournaments, or other Homer Soccer Club activities, the scholarship may be withdrawn immediately in whole or in part.
