We had another follow-up meeting with the Fish Hoek Football Club on Tuesday. After we met with their committee, they spoke about our proposal at their Annual General Meeting which generated questions and concerns, so they invited us back to meet with their whole committee. We spent some time presenting ourselves to the full committee and then answered their questions. Most of their questions were things we expected to hear, only a few were things we hadn't thought through. We handled all of their questions pretty smoothly, but there was one interaction that was particularly encouraging. One of the guys, who was clearly skeptical, asked what makes us different from any other academy that is in the other parts of this city. At that point, the club chairman asked if he could answer that question. I was really interested to see what he would say. He responded by saying that our motives are different from the other academies. Those academies are driven by greed hoping that one of their players will make it big and set them up for life. They make promises to kids that they either can't or never intend to keep. He shared that our motives are simply for the kids to be advanced. WOW! So amazing that he basically said what I would have said, but that it didn't come from me. Somebody else, who is only just getting to know us, can already sense that our hearts are different. This was the best moment of the meeting. It left me feeling that if the chairman of the club feels that way about us then our chances of this being approved should be good.
So, now we're just praying that they would respond soon with a positive response. We know that if they give us a year to try it out that they will be blessed by the opportunity and desire to have it continue.
If you're curious about how we presented ourselves to them, here is our powerpoint from the meeting. It might help you know how to share what we are doing and planning with others in your sphere of influence.
