Happy Birthday Mom and Happy New Year...

January 1, 2009 marks the beginning of a new era at Iowa Lakes Community College and the northwest Iowa area as we bring college soccer to the area.

But, January 1st always marks a special day for the Farley family as we celebrate the birth of a very special person who has had a very special place in many peoples hearts...my Mother.

Jo Nell ("Jody") Farley was born on the first day of the year in the year....well, she likes to keep that private. But, it is no surprise to me that such a beautiful person was brought into the world on the first day of that year.

I know that my twin brother, both of my sisters, and I, could never put into words what a special person she is and what a tremendous impact she has made on all of our lives. Much of the things that I bring to the student-athletes that I teach come from my Mother somehow and I appreciate who she is as a person. I can never thank her enough for being such a wonderful person.

I look forward to 2009 and will talk about that more in my next blog. But, for now, I would like to say a few days early....Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for who you are and for teaching me to become the person that I am today. I love you a ton!

Merry Christmas to ALL and to ALL a good....

It is unbelievable to me that 2008 is almost history! I have spent a few days pondering over the year and it simply amazes me where I am sitting right now and all the events that happened in our lives over the year of 2008.

To me, the year 2008 will always be a year of bitter sweet.

2008 started for me in a place that I TRULY LOVED! Mitchell, SD will, surprisingly, be one of the highlights of my life. When I think of Mitchell, I will think of great friendships that were built with the like of Tim Jones, Cully, Dosh ("Here's the deal"), Dan & Bert Davidson, "D" and last but, not least, I will remember "G"...just to name a few! When I think of Mitchell, I will think of an incredible group of players that hurt almost as bad as I did when I left for a better opportunity. I will remember a great motivator in Ruth Haidle who not only was always there for my players academically, but is still there for "coach" to this day; a true motivator. I will remember good times, bad times, happy times and sad times, good wins and bad losses. I will remember Mitchell and never forget.

But 2008 will also be remembered as a year of new beginnings for me. It is no huge secret about how excited I am about the Iowa Lakes Soccer Program. The school continues to be incredibly supportive to me and there is no doubt in my mind that 2009 will be full of great memories and new, successful beginnings. I am beginning to build new friendships here and the community has been amazing. I am very thankful of where I am at. There is no doubt that I was placed in the Iowa Lakes area for a reason and I look forward to seeing where we go with this opportunity.

But, aside from me this Christmas, I am thankful for so much more! I have an amazing Mother who has recovered 100% from some terrible health problems over the year of 2008. She is an amazing woman who will forever remain a role model for me. Thank you for everything you do Mom...I love you. I am thankful for Keegan who is attending the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York...there was never a doubt in my mind that he would be truly successful. I am thankful for my twin brother and both my sisters...and their entire families. I am thankful for Brad Smith...even though he is, well BB! I am even thankful for Lucien "LD" Roden even though I didn't recognize the guy while we lived in the same town...good thing I moved. I am so thankful for Ray and Netty Martinez and their new baby...what an amazing story. Born 3 months premature and weighing in at 1 lb. 3 oz...we all wondered if it was possible for him to survive. HE DID and what a surviver he is! Tristian Martinez is now at home and very healthy. Ray and Netty are the most deserving. I'm thankful for the Bill Clarks, and the Jill Bukowsky's of the world. I am thankful to be blessed with so many friends.

I have only touched on a few names of people that have made a difference in my life...but there are many more out there and you know who you are. I love you all and thank you for everything you have done to make a difference in my life and others.

2008 has been life changing and a good year...but, I am so excited about 2009 and building relationships with all the new soccer players who will become my family like Willy Kappie, Patrick Gikundiro, and Hugo Ramirez who will be here on January 8th to start it all off for Iowa Lakes Soccer.

So....without further due....MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD......

Winter is here...and in Texas too!

Everyone told me that I was heading to Texas for vacation. Everyone said that I was going to get a tan. Everyone was jealous that I was leaving the great northwest of Iowa. The lakes were already beginning to freeze over when I left...I bought into the hype. I was excited to head home to Texas or some nice warm weather!

Then I arrived and realized what I already knew...it is cold in Texas too!

Now don't get me wrong, it doesn't get into single digits too often. But, the cold and the heat is all relative to the region you are in. Sure it was in the upper 40s and low 50s in Big D (Dallas, TX). But it really didn't feel much different than the 25 degree temperature that I left in Arnolds Park, Iowa. Fortunately, the wind wasn't as bad as normal...so, it was manageable. But, coats were definitely required.

Oh...I guess you are wondering why I was Texas? Recruiting as always.

Every year I attend the Sportsource Soccer Showcase in Dallas, Texas. It is a great opportunity to see a ton of really good players from all over the country. It is a very nice time. Charlie Kadupsky and the entire Sportsource crew do a great job of making all the college coaches have a very enjoyable weekend while watching a lot of talented players. The days get long, but they do a great job. It is also a great opportunity to catch up with fellow coaches accross the country.

AND for me...it is always a great opportunity to see Mom! She is doing great and the only negatives we experienced all weekend was the Cowboys losing in the last couple of minutes and the ONLY Steelers fan in the entire establishment standing in front of Mom for a little too long (fortunately she wasn't tall enough to block her view...or it would have gotten ugly ;-). Mom loves her Dallas Cowboys.

The travel home was a bit rough with all the bad weather along the way..but, I made it and was very glad to return home and see my new "family" here in northwest Iowa! Christmas will soon be here....make sure you all enjoy it and I will enter a new post in a couple of weeks.

I'm Finally Back...

Okay, okay, okay...I'm back and updating my blog! To all of those faithful readers that are following the building of the Iowa Lakes Soccer Program, please forgive me for not posting in so long. But, all of your encouragement have pushed me to get this blog updated! Thank you.

It has been a pretty amazing ride since I arrived in August. The fact of the matter is that I have been much busier than I ever anticipated and the response from recruits and future student-athletes has been nothing short of amazing.

I have been on the road a lot during these last few months. I have seen our competition. More importantly, I have had the opportunity through recruiting to meet a lot of wonderful families over the past few months. I have also had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people in this great community. I definitely feel at home.

The office is complete and ready for all of the future Iowa Lakes Soccer Players to come make it their headquarters. The fish aquarium is up and running....even has fish in it; so now the players have a place to relax on campus. The big screen television is up for viewing of soccer DVDs and games. Equipment is beginning to have the Iowa Lakes logos place on it. People around the community are beginning to talk about soccer! It is great!

Just think of how great it is going to be when the players get here! I can't wait...it will be a ton of fun to really be back and coaching on the pitch again!

On the Road Again...

Two airplane flights, a rental car, and many, many miles is all it took for a two week long recruiting trip! After landing in Dallas, Texas at DFW airport, I managed to put over 2,000 miles on an Enterprise Rental vehicle and speak to hundreds of high school student athletes.

The trip was a very successful trip and it was really great to catch up with many of my recruiting contacts and friends. I can't begin to thank all of the folks that took me into their homes and made me feel comfortable throughout the trip. In two weeks on the road, I managed to only stay in a hotel for ONE night! That says alot about all the friends that I have throughout Texas and Louisiana that know my goals and are more than willing to help me achieve the goal of helping student-athletes get into college. It was a very exciting trip.

But, it is definitely very nice to be home and unpacking the suitcase. I hope all of those friends that I haven't seen for a while are keeping up with my blog...if you are, hello, I miss you all!

Back to work...I have a program to build here!

Exciting Little Things to Show Progress.

It always amazes me to see how some of the little things that people overlook make such a huge difference in the perception of a team or program. Many of those little things are really beginning to happen and people are taking notice.

Our first batch of Iowa Lakes Soccer T-shirts have arrived and it is so much fun to see people around campus, town and even other campuses sporting them. You will also notice if you are reading this blog post, that the Iowa Lakes Soccer Program now has a team crest or badge. Ben McRae of the Goalkick Soccer Store here in Spencer designed that for us based on the thoughts I gave to him...and it looks great! Thanks so much to Ben for doing that and everything else he is doing to help the Iowa Lakes Soccer Program.

I have a Texas recruit and his family about to arrive, so I better get rolling. But, I do want you all to know that...WE are definitely making progress!

Making Progress...and the Clay County Fair...

Time sure does fly when you are having fun! So many exciting things are happening around here. For starters, I am getting to enjoy the fun filled activities of the world famous "Clay County Fair" for my very first time! I have been wondering the last couple of weeks what all the talk was about; now I know. It is fair week here in Spencer! What does that mean...it means that there are about 200-300 thousand people in our small town to enjoy all the fun filled festivities at this huge country fair. What has it meant to me? Well, a little extra work...but fun work. I volunteered for the YMCA and worked at one of their 13 "Nutty Bar" stands. Thank goodness I shared the booth with a Nutty Bar professional by the name of Gardner which made the afternoon breeze by even though we sold over 500 nutty bars (ice cream on a stick with chocolate and nuts).

On the soccer side of things, things are really progressing rapidly around here. As you can see by the picture on this post, I now have my custom branded email template in place which makes it a lot more fun to email. The Iowa Lakes Print Shop has been staying very busy printing all sorts of materials for me to help me hit the "recruiting trail". Ben at the Goalkick Soccer Store in town has been jumping through hoops to get me prices so I can start ordering uniforms and equipment. And I am still receiving emails and calls from players wanting to join the new Iowa Lakes Soccer Program! Life is good.

The support of the college continues to be incredible and I have just really appreciated everyone's help during the short time that I have been here!

In short, that's what is happening so far...it's been a great experience already. Until next time...

Time Sure Flies When You're Having Fun...

It is very difficult for me to believe that it has been over 10 days since I made my inaugural post to the Iowa Lakes Soccer Blog! Time simply seems to slip away when you are so busy and having so much fun. As I look over the past 10 days, it doesn't seem like a whole lot has happened...but, it definitely has!

I'm finally getting some furniture in my office, getting our soccer stationary printed...heck, I even have business cards already! There are so many things that have happened the past 10 days that it seems like a really incredible dream.

I've been in more newspapers and on more radio broadcasts in the past 10 days than I ever dreamed of..that's for sure.

The most exciting news of it all though is on the recruiting trail. First, I do want to preface this with saying that I have not officially started my recruting process yet because I am busy getting things in place to do a really good job of recruiting. But, with that being said, we have received 8 verbal commitments on the men's side and one verbal commitment on the women's side! That is very exciting.

Lastly, I just want to take the time to thank all the staff, faculty, students, and community members for making me feel at home in the Iowa Lakes Region! I can't tell you how important that has been to me. THANK YOU!

Iowa Lakes Soccer Preparing for 2009 Season

One week! I have been Head Soccer Coach at Iowa Lakes officially for one entire week as of today. It has been a great week! There is definitely a lot of excitement throughout the Iowa Lakes Community College as well as the Spencer Community about the idea of college soccer being here. It is a great opportunity!

The only difficult part of beginning this great opportunity was having to leave my former players who I care so much about and leaving the wonderful friends that I made in Mitchell, SD. I'm not sure the players or my friends will ever know how much it hurt to have to leave them. But, they will always be a part of my life and I will cherish the many memories that we built together. Plus...they all have a really cool place to come visit me now and hang out at the Lakes (Cully, Jonesy, and Dosh)!

There is so much to do and it seems that I can't get it done fast enough! I love coming to work every day now because there is just so much to do. Beginning a soccer program from scratch is so much fun...when you have a strong support system. Here at Iowa Lakes C.C. there is definitely a VERY STRONG support system and I am so thankful for that.

I am really looking forward to hitting the recruiting trail and working with the many coaches and players around the country. It will be a lot of fun. I will work hard to keep everyone posted using this new Iowa Lakes Soccer Blog...so stay in touch and watch Iowa Lakes Soccer as we "Make a Splash" or "Catch a Wave" (I haven't decided which slogan yet...feel free to send me your opinion) in 2009!