Thread by @jclmorgan

This little story starts twenty-five years ago in 1994.

The Cornelia Warren foundation, founded in 1925 by the daughter of a local industrialist, invests $35k (or $60k in 2019 dollars) into retrofitting a popular outdoor rink in Westbrook, Maine for year-round use. #mesoccer

The rink is on the banks of the Presumpscot River and is within walking distance of the city's mills and the historical Frenchtown, Scotch Hill, and Little Canada neighborhoods, so-named because of Westbrook's history as an immigrant-powered, working-class mill city.

It’s not the first time Cornelia Warren’s name is attached to an unconventional recreational project in Westbrook.

In 1904 she leads the effort to convert one floor of a downtown building into a gymnasium intended to give Westbrook’s youth more recreational opportunities.

(Personal aside: Until it closed in 2010, there was a no-frills bar on the ground floor of this building called the Mill Side Tavern.

I was too young to ever experience the gym, but I did often ask for the bar TV to be changed from UFC to @USMNT for their 2010 qualifiers.)

@USMNT Anyway, Cumberland Hall is born in 1905, and Cornelia Warren’s investment expands recreational opportunities for Westbrook’s youth--including girls.

The gym is heavily-used through the 1970s and is known as the “cradle" of the city's success on the basketball court.

@USMNT Back to the Cornelia Warren Four Season Rink.

In 1994 I'm an 11-year-old living in a trailer park a five-minute drive away from the rink.

And even though my friends and I spend most of our waking hours playing outside, I don't recall us ever thinking about using the facility.

@USMNT In 1995 my family moves to our first house in a neighborhood even closer to the rink, but I still don't recall anyone using it.

In 2001, I graduate from Westbrook High School, and I still don't recall anyone ever using the rink.

@USMNT I continue to live in Westbrook while attending @USouthernMaine, and--with the exception of a 10-month stretch of time when I lived in New Jersey and California for @USCG training--I live in Westbrook through when I'm hired as the JV boys' coach at my alma mater in 2011.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG Still don't recall anyone using the rink except in the winter, when it may or may not freeze.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG At this point, I own dog-eared copies of @franklinfoer How Soccer Explains the World and @gladwell Outliers, and I'm wearing out my copy of @gwenoxenham Pelada, a documentary on pick-up soccer around the world: vimeo.com/9869545

I've got Big Ideas.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham What if we use that rink no one uses and run a few street futsal sessions during our JV pre-season?

We do it, and the sessions are fun and popular with our players.

Within a couple weeks, I replace the fired varsity coach and become the interim coach.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham In 2012 I shed the interim tag. The program is on a downswing, but our city is continuing its tradition of attracting people from around the world looking for better lives.

That's a good trend for many reasons, including the improvement of the boys' soccer program.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham The next Big Idea: What if we use that rink no one uses and run weekly futsal sessions all summer?

We include the whole program, we consistently get 20-30 players playing from 7p-9p every Wednesday night, and our Lincoln Street Futsal sessions are born.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham In 2013 we have the next Big Idea: Let's host a small-sided street futsal tournament at the rink.

So we host our inaugural Presumspcot Open: Friday night is an outdoor screening of Pelada, Saturday is the boys' and men's divisions, Sunday is the girls' and women's divisions.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham The outdoor screening is a hit, and the men's tourney is an awesome experience.

But there are a couple concerning trends in the other divisions that we'll continue to see that summer when we try to expand our weekly futsal sessions to include younger boys, girls, and women.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham Younger boys (think U9-U13) love the tourney and subsequent sessions, but we quickly learn U13 boys + an asphalt playing surface = lots and lots of gauze.

No joke, it feels like we're sending these players home with their parents looking like mummies.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham On the girls' and women's side, we're not getting much interest. At all.

We can't field a girls' division in the tourney, and the two older girls' teams basically have this reaction when they take their first step on the asphalt and get their first peek at the splintered boards:

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham But our Wednesday night sessions at the rink for our program's players only become more popular.

Dads and uncles join us, random dudes drive from a couple towns away to play. There's a festive atmosphere off the court and intense competition on the court.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham During the off-season we'll figure out solutions for safely engaging those groups reluctant to use the facility next summer, we say, but we have a fall high school season to prepare for.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham Four months later, I coach my last game at my alma mater before unexpectedly resigning in December for family medical reasons.

I hope my tenure will last a couple decades, but it lasts only a couple years.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham Even though I accomplish the goal I always set for our incoming freshmen ("leave the program better than you found it"), this quote from a @pressherald story about that final game shows I think I have more to give:

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald Turns out I do have more to give.

In July 2014, a few of us launch @RoseveltSC to give players in southern Maine a more affordable club option to complement their high school play.

Adam Birt (@CurrentSportsME) outlines our project:
pressherald.com/2014/07/16/pre…

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME Because volunteering to build a club from scratch will *obviously* be the same (or less) amount of work as running a high school program, I’ll *obviously* still be able to work on the rink project to make it more attractive for all players.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME But it's not until December 2015 that we make any progress on improving the rink.

By then, we learn enough about @ussoccerfndn Safe Places to Play grants to connect with Jim Arnold, the regional rep for @sportcourt1974, and schedule a site walk with him and City officials.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 Our site walk that month with Jim and the City’s tireless Greg Post goes really well, and we’re optimistic enough about the potential project for us to send to send an update to our local Board and post a teaser for the project online:

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 But not even two months later, all our nascent momentum halts.

The adjoining property is a golf course, and the owners announce at the end of January that they're shuttering the course.

The City is now interested in buying the course and turning the rink into a parking lot.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 The second lull in our efforts while the rink’s future is in limbo is best captured with the dates between my last optimistic e-mail and my next optimistic e-mail.

Greg, Jim, and I periodically touch base over this period of time, but the project is on life support.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 With the exception of the departure of the driving force behind the idea of turning the rink into a parking lot, there isn't a catalyst event I can point to that explains why we started picking up momentum again last November.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 But there’s been a flurry of activity, and we’ve made a lot of progress. Like *a lot* of progress.

And speaking of flurries, they're happening right now and will only get worse as the day goes on:

https://twitter.com/Todd_Gutner/status/1206876066196967425?s=20

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 Which means the meeting we were supposed to have this afternoon to coordinate the public rollout of the fruits of our 8-year odyssey and labor has been postponed.

Which means this thread doesn’t have a happy ending--yet.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 (Hey, if I’ve had to wait eight looooooooong years for a Big Reveal, then you can wait however long it takes us to coordinate a Big Reveal.)

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 Anyway, here are a couple other Before shots I took this morning, when it was (literally) the calm before the storm. (@mlsist)

Here it is, your moment of Zen.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 @MLSist Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: I present to you the quarter-century revival of the Cornelia Warren Four Season Rink in Westbrook, Maine.

April-October futsal programming coming Spring 2020! #mesoccer

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 @MLSist To (finally) put a cap on this thread: We set out with a goal in 2013 to make a facility we'd been using since 2011 safer and more inclusive for all players.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 @MLSist We think this project will build on Cornelia Warren's legacy of expanding recreational opportunities for girls and women. And the court's proximity to Westbrook's most diverse neighborhoods will make it accessible for all.

@USMNT @USouthernMaine @USCG @FranklinFoer @Gladwell @gwenoxenham @PressHerald @RoseveltSC @CurrentSportsME @ussoccerfndn @sportcourt1974 @MLSist This project will also be a unique facility in our state, and our partnership with @MeScr ensures it will be available every week for players and clubs from all over our state.

Here’s the City of Westbrook’s press release with more details about the project.

Greg Post, the director of Community Services, and Dan Stevenson, director of Business and Community Relations, were great guides through the process: facebook.com/20297705973664… #mepolitics