By Nigel Maxwell

PAYSA Technical Director commits to 5 more years in Prince Albert

Sep 6, 2018 | 2:00 PM

The man who oversees all the coaching and programming for the Prince Albert Youth Soccer Association (PAYSA) has made a long term commitment to the club and the city.

Technical Director Dragutin Ivkovic, more popularly known as Dragan, has just signed a contract extension, good through 2022, with the option to extend for two more years.

“I see great potential here and a personal challenge for myself to see what we can do with soccer in a small community like Prince Albert,” he said.

The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. Ivkovic said his personal goal is for Prince Albert to have the best soccer clubs in the province.

“When I say best, I don’t mean we beat everybody 10-0, it means that all our age groups are able to compete with Regina and Saskatoon teams, that’s it,” he said.

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Ivkovic made another significant commitment recently as well. On Aug. 25, he was married in his home country of Serbia and plans to bring his wife to Prince Albert.

PAYSA Board President Marty Antaya said Ivkovic has made a huge difference in the organization since arriving three years ago. One of his biggest contributions has been recruitment, even traveling to a number of indigenous communities in the Prince Albert area to recruit players and find teams for the recreational league.

“For him to go out there and spend time in those communities, they feel like they are a part of this club and that’s really important and that wasn’t here prior to him coming,” Antaya said.

PAYSA Board Vice-President Barclay Batiuk said the board felt a lot of pressure from parents to keep a man with Ivkovitch’s experience and professionalism in the city.

“People go to him, they have his number 24-7 and if they need to call him they call him directly with problems and he takes care of 99 per cent of all the issues,” he said.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell