Hello to all Smoky Mountain Middle School Soccer coaches and
participants, and welcome to the 22nd deluxe edition of our middle
school age soccer program. From the 4 teams we originally started with, to the
110 teams we currently register, we have always kept our focus on doing what is
best for the kids and at the same time promoting soccer to as many as possible.
Only 10 years ago the entire program for both boys and girls was held in the
spring. There were 58 teams at that time. We spent Friday night prior to the
tournament at Kinko’s, preparing, printing, folding and stapling the tournament
schedules to be handed out the morning of the tournament. There was no
internet, no US Cellular, all information was delivered by phone, and dads did
most of the coaching.
Today over 1900 players, 90 coaches, from 16 counties
make up our program. Every year we add new teams to the format. As an
independent program with no official school affiliation, the support has been
tremendous and continues to grow. We want everyone who participates to
understand that we are not connected in any way with Knox County Schools in any
manner. We are totally independent and therefore any questions, problems,
and/or inquires, should come to one of the 3 people listed below. Under no
circumstances is anyone to call on the middle schools themselves for any
reason.
The founder of the program is David Melendy. He has been
an activist for the sport for some 25 years. He was co-founder of the Smoky
Mountain Soccer Club in 1992, and held a board position there until the club
merged last July. As a coach/manager he
guided his son’s team to 3 state titles and 3 runners-up titles over a 10 year
period. His team won over 650 games during that time. He currently works for
The following people and only these people are
responsible for the program in total. Please feel free to call on them as
needed.
David Melendy
Cell 679-0185
Commissioner
Alan Devan
Cell 388-1210 H 966-8949
Registrar
Bob Bratta
966-3064
Referee Scheduler