My name is Aaron Morris, and I am the new head boys and girls soccer coach at Palatine High School. This is quite the honor and privilege to be leading this program. I am a proud alumni of Palatine High School (2003). I also had the opportunity to play for Coach Filian and then learn underneath him for many years.

To say Coach Filian left his mark on this program and community is an understatement. The countless lives that he has affected is in the thousands, myself included. We have a strong community and a very strong alumni base because of him.

 With a sense of tradition, a strong base of alumni and friends, and with a sense of community I come to you with this campaign. We currently are very short on funds for the program. The needs of the students at the high school have changed, not to mention the cost of everything these days.

 Each year we fundraise through our “team store” and get a portion the sales. This year we have also worked the concession stand to help raise some money. While this has covered some of our needs, I believe we could do more.

 The money that we receive will go towards some of our larger goals.

Our larger goals are to participate in summer league soccer, which is vital to our offseason program. This is a big expense.  Last year we had close to 40 boys that signed up to play, and we could only have one team. I would like to expand this to include our girls program as well.  

The money raised will go towards purchasing equipment for our team that is normally purchased by athletes' families. Families need to purchase red and white socks, cleats, and guards, for some families this is a financial burden. I want to be able to provide athletes that cannot afford basic equipment a quality experience at PHS. To put this in perspective we have had some soccer families affected by a very recent condominium fire and they lost all of their belongings. The money will also go towards providing students with different experiences. Right now our end of the year parties consist of pizza parties, while other programs have a more formal banquet. I would also like to take upperclassmen on college visits in the area so that get exposure to the college process.

 It is a lot to ask for, but I believe in this community and our alumni. I appreciate all of your support, and please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. We would like to welcome you to come out to a game to see your Palatine Pirates in action! 

Thank you in advance for your consideration and support.

Coach Morris