AEDC's Prebola redefines "soccer mom"

  • Published
  • By Shawn Jacobs
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Cindy Prebola sort of backed into her role as the recreational soccer director for the Tullahoma Soccer Association.

Growing up in the South - first in Tullahoma, then in Mississippi - she was not exposed to the sport as a child. That changed when she and her husband, John, who is from the Northeast, moved to Tullahoma to work at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC).

Cindy is an engineer specialist, working in the Computational Simulation, Modeling and Analysis group of the Technology and Analysis Branch. John is the Space Threat Assessment Testbed (STAT) technical director and works in the Instrumentation and Diagnostics Group of the Technology and Analysis Branch.

"My husband has been coaching soccer, either middle school or a select team or a recreational team for nine years," Prebola said. "We have a son who is six now, and he's in his third year of soccer. "When our son started playing is when I started getting involved.

"I was U-6 (under six years old) coordinator for a season or so, and I guess for a little over a year I've been recreational director. And now we also have a daughter, who is four, involved in soccer."

The nearly 10-year AEDC veteran helps set up all the registration procedures, coordinates all of the children who want to sign up, recruits coaches and much more.

"It's a voluntary position," Prebola said. "The previous recreational director had been director for several years. When her son got into in high school, she needed to step out. Cara Chadwick and I decided to do the job together. I'm technically the recreational director and Cara is the assistant recreational director, but she helps out with all the work. I couldn't do it without her or the whole board."

Prebola is also in charge of scheduling the games.

"That part is fun for me," Prebola said. "I mean I enjoy math and solving problems. It's a puzzle when you take into consideration all the constraints like having coaches that coach more than one division, so you try to help [those coaches] to keep their games close together."

Prebola's untiring efforts at helping the soccer league run smoothly have not gone unnoticed. Recently she was awarded the Extra Miler Award from the Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce for going "above and beyond the call of duty" in aiding the community.

She was nominated by Joe Martin, a board member of the Soccer Association and secretary of ambassadors for the chamber.

"Twice a year Cindy becomes the to go-to person for all kids and their parents who want to sign up for soccer," Martin wrote. "Cindy takes it upon herself to manage the draft, the uniform purchases, the scheduling of the games and the prepping of the fields as well as the academy practices for the younger children.

"Cindy never turns away a child [for] the fact that a child may not be able to afford to pay for the upcoming season. Every association out there needs a Cindy to help keep them grounded ..."

Prebola said she had no idea she was getting the award.

"I was totally surprised," she said. "I felt a little bad standing up there because I don't do it all by myself. There is a lot of help that goes behind it."

Nonetheless, this fall 315 children are enrolled in the Tullahoma Soccer Association, and the success of the season will depend a lot on Cindy Prebola's sometimes unrecognized efforts.

"I think it's great for the kids," Prebola said. "It keeps them well conditioned and active, and my kids love it."