*VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE* ABOUT UST AND DIX HILLS SC
Parents,
As a volunteer of this organization since 2003, I write to you with a very heavy heart.
After 42 years, Dix Hills Soccer Club may have met its match. It is our belief we have been duped, and in turn YOU have been duped, by an individual that we hired, with the best of intentions, to bring professional training to our members. As the President of Dix Hills S.C. (DHSC), I pushed to hire Kozy Ikwuazom to be the club’s Director of Coaching for a very healthy monthly fee, which the club could not afford, but I trusted Kozy’s promise to grow our club. His remit was to train our players and to help them achieve their individual best, while creating a fun, healthy environment as well as to help the club grow its membership, by fielding young soccer teams that play the Beautiful Game the way it was intended to be played. DHSC allowed Kozy to grow his new organization, Ultimate Soccer Training (UST), by creating an exclusive training relationship with him, thus providing him the stability to hire a team of trainers and grow his brand. DHSC has supplied the fields, lights, winter training facilities, insurance, league fees, etc., while UST billed our parents directly for its training services. This relationship brought value to our players and to our organization, and DHSC was content with it, as the club was growing.
But…
It seems DHSC let the fox into the hen house:
In the past few weeks, UST created a new year-long training contract and *demanded* that Dix Hills parents sign it “within 48 hours” to the tune of nearly $2,000 per year with additional fees for tournaments, indoor facilities, mandatory Camp / Clinic fees, (all “TBA”). All fees are “non-refundable”, “non-transferable” and due up front with an option to pay monthly with the issuance of a credit card.
3 days afterward (after the 48 hours window), UST informed the parents (you) to hold off on paying the DHSC registration fee.
UST then informed the parents that UST is separating from DHSC and aligning under the banner of another club, NY Surf.
UST told its “new members” to immediately demand a refund from DHSC.
DHSC has been inundated with refund requests. In fact, prior to receiving these requests, we did not even know this coup to steal our teams and players was happening.
Under the cloak of darkness, Kozy turned UST into USTFC, convinced parents to sign a new agreement, and then shifted them over to a new organization altogether after they signed the agreement under the assumption that they were still part of DHSC.
UST *stole* 19 teams and 242 players right out from under our non-profit, community organization, all under the guise of their role as the Director of Coaching for DHSC, leaving the club with several large bills to pay and demands for refunds from its members.
I am certain that none of you were fully aware of the situation. I know that many parents value and appreciate the hard-working trainers that UST provides, which is why we partnered with them, but you were all tricked into signing up for something that was not what it was made out to be.
I have heard from many parents who feel betrayed, but they do not want to prevent their child from playing with their friends. It is DHSC’s opinion that this is the antithesis of a lesson we would want to teach any of your children. Above all, sports is about life lessons, character-building, sportsmanship, learning how to win and lose while following the rules, and playing with integrity. UST does not represent those values.
There is, still time….
The contract you may have signed is NOT legally enforceable given that it was under false pretenses. Your credit card company will absolutely refund your fees, as they have done for many already. The leagues are still available for registration by any team in our club throughout the month of July, and if you prefer to stay, then DHSC can still register any player. If you choose to move on, DHSC will not hold any player pass hostage or prevent any child from playing elsewhere,
but if you are concerned that UST has any leverage over you, **THEY DO NOT**.Our town soccer club, which has been around since 1978, will be absolutely decimated – and will likely not be able to continue, if all of you leave to follow this unethical, back-handed organization.There is strength in numbers. Your teams can stay together. I know full well that your sons and daughters just want to play with their friends, and that you just want what is best for them, but I encourage you to STAY with Dix Hills Soccer Club. I have had conversations with numerous training organizations who are ready and willing to work with your teams, but I cannot commit to them without your confirmation that you wish to stay.
I again ask that you take the attached survey. It is 100% confidential. We believe that most of you were not aware of what you signed up for with UST, and we would like to get a sense for where people stand. Maybe your whole team wants to stay, but no one is willing to be the first to jump from the UST ship. We will find out through the anonymous survey and let you know.
Please, take the survey.
Kozy will pressure you not to, but it will take just 1 minute of your time and it could save Dix Hills Soccer Club from extinction.
Martin Targett
President
Dix Hills SC
(631)742-4983
president@dixhillssoccerclub.com
www.DixHillsSoccerClub.com
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