November 2005 Minutes
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PLEASE NOTE: This VYSA mailing is being sent to each members' Chief Executive Officer presently on file at the State Office unless another individual has been designated to the State Administrator, Julie Caramanica. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING THIS MAILING TO DISTRIBUTE TO ALL APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS OF THEIR CLUB OR LEAGUE. |
REGULAR MEETING - BOARD OF DIRECTORS
November 16, 2005
The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association, Inc., was called to order by President Denise Edwards at the Sheraton Richmond West at 7:30 pm. Board members present were:
Denise Edwards President
Ray Greenberg Vice President
Roger Underhill Secretary
Bob Maynes North Recreational Commissioner
Tom Gross DC Recreational Commissioner
Ron Bedwell Central Recreational Commissioner
Debi Honaker Boys North Travel Commissioner
Monica Hall Boys Central Travel Commissioner
Anne Thompson Girls North Travel Commissioner
Board Members Jim Bonfils, Bill Golden, John Singleton and Jane Orem were excused. Also present were Julie Caramanica (VYSA Administrator) and Alan Liotta (SYRA).
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS BOARD MINUTES
The minutes of the October 20, 2005, Board meeting had recently been sent and not every Board member had had the chance to review them. The Board agreed to wait until next month for approval.
TREASURER’S REPORT
The Treasurer’s Report (Attachment A) was distributed. Julie Caramanica reported for Janet Cate, Accounting Manager, that registration income looks good. Interest income is well above budget for the first two months of this fiscal year. Touchline revenue and expense for one issue is good. ODP revenue is above budget for the district play due to large numbers in the pool. ODP expense appears low as pay to coaches has not yet been made and inter district scrimmage expenses have not yet occurred. State Cup is on track for Fall play. Also noted was that payroll numbers are low due to the Assistant Technical Director position vacancy.
STATE ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
The State Administrator’s Report (Attachment B) was distributed. State Administrator Julie Caramanica reported that four clubs have been placed in bad standing because of non-payment of Fall fees. She reported that Fall registration data is still coming in. A list of clubs whose data has still not been submitted was distributed. KidSafe Compliance forms are due in the State Office by December 1st.
Some registration data was distributed to the Board. The information shows differences in player registrations for the past three seasonal years.
Julie reported that several complaints had been received about US Sports Pics. The Better Business Bureau shows them to have an unsatisfactory record for failure to respond to complaints.
Julie reported that a coach from Springfield Youth Club pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of child pornography. The coach has since left his position with Springfield Youth Club. It was noted that no action could be taken if the individual is no longer a member. Julie was instructed to check with Springfield Youth Club to see if the coach had recently signed a KidSafe Disclosure and Release form.
The VYSA Workshop will be held February 3-4, 2006, at the Richmond Center. This is VYSA’s 20th Workshop. Julie asked Board members to approve a budget amendment for an increase to the Workshop budget so that a special gift with the 20th Anniversary Workshop logo can be given to adults attending the Luncheon to honor the anniversary. Several guests have been asked to attend and additional funds are needed for their expenses. A motion was made and seconded to increase the Workshop budget by $15,000. The motion was approved.
Sebastian Dremmler, from Bayern, Munich, will be attending as the International Clinician; Sue Ryan, Region I Girls ODP Head Coach, will be the emcee at this years luncheon; and Fran Sepler will present a session on Risk Management. Regular updates to Workshop information are posted on the VYSA website.
ADJUDICATION COMMITTEE
Ray Greenberg has volunteered to chair the Adjudication Committee. Ray reported that the Adjudication Committee will hear two issues of referee abuse and three issues of referee assault on December 10th.
SMALL SIDED PLAY FOR STATE CUP
A motion was made and seconded that, beginning with 2006 Fall State Cup Competition, U12 State Cup teams will no longer have a choice of playing 8v8 or 11v11, but will be required to play 8v8 only. There was considerable discussion, which included:
which was the better learning environment for the players,
decisions may have already been made by clubs and leagues as to roster sizes for that age group,
practical issues regarding field layouts; and,
team sizes in other states.
An amendment to the motion was made and seconded to delay implementation of 8v8 for U12 teams playing in State Cup until 2007-2008 seasonal year. The amendment was approved. The motion to eliminate 11v11 for U12 teams playing in State Cup in 2007-2008 was approved.
SELECTION OF YOUNG REFEREES OF THE YEAR
The Board went into Executive Session to select the Young Referees of the Year. When the Board returned from Executive Session, it was announced that Brad Mitchell had been selected as Young Male Referee of the Year and Cassandra Ferrari had been selected as Young Female Referee of the Year.
STATE YOUTH REFEREE ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
State Youth Referee Administrator Alan Liotta reported that the State Referee Committee plans to form a committee in each district. These committees will be made up of an assessor, instructor, assignor and a State Grade referee. They will be asked to make recommendations to the SRC for not only Young Referees of the Year, but also for other activities including referees selected for Regional and National competitions.
Alan also reported that the SRC has decided to no longer hold the one-week referee academy but instead institute a year-long developmental process that includes State Cup and ODP competition, as well as very high level training.
RECOMMENDED SOCCER START POLICY CHANGES
Julie Caramanica, in consultation with Soccer Start Chair Marcelo Gangotena, recommended three changes to the Soccer Start policy: (1) the approval body should not be a whole committee, but just the Soccer Start chair and either the VYSA Vice President or VYSA Secretary; (2) that the number of years a club may remain in Soccer Start not be limited; and (3) that reduced fees for Coaching Education and Referee courses for Soccer Start clubs be eliminated. A motion was made and seconded to approve the changes suggested, specifying that the committee member will be the VYSA Secretary. Board members discussed a great many issues: whether the program should be limited in duration; if it has evolved into a scholarship program; budgeting impacts on VYSA if many more clubs request to participate; and whether or not the program already has safeguards built into it. It was decided that the issue would be tabled and referred to a committee which will establish criteria for application by a club to request Soccer Start status, the application for Soccer Start coaches taking Coaching Education courses, and a scholarship program. Board members were asked to attend the committee meeting. As has been done in past years, letters requesting substantiation for their status will be sent to clubs which have already submitted registration fees for Soccer Start for 2005-2006.
SCHOLARSHIP IN MEMORY OF WILLIAMSBURG PLAYER
It was reported that a Williamsburg soccer player had recently died during a tournament game. Williamsburg Soccer Club has set up a scholarship in the player’s memory. VYSA will contribute to the scholarship fund once information regarding the fund is received.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Denise Edwards reported that she had attended the US Youth Soccer President’s meeting held November 4th in Chicago. She noted that USSF President Bob Contigulia, USSF Vice President Sunil Golati, and USSF Secretary General Dan Flynn were all in attendance. The meeting split the attendees into groups to discuss the future of US Youth Soccer.
The Federation Youth Governance Task Force met at the Federation Board meeting in Dallas. Denise attended that meeting as well. The Youth Task Force negotiated a final draft of Policy 212. Policy 212-1 passed unanimously. Background check management and national insurance plans were also discussed at that meeting. The task force will meet again at the Federation meeting in March.
Denise asked that, in order for the on-line program to work more efficiently, the time at which State Cup rosters are frozen on the State Cup Roster freeze date be changed from 10:00 am to the midnight before. The Board agreed to the change. State Cup rosters for Spring State Cup will be frozen at 12:01 am on April 20, 2006.
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
The Board went into Executive Session to make committee appointments. When the Board returned from Executive Session, it was announced that Ray Greenberg had been approved to serve as Chair of the Adjudication Committee and that Gary Grosicki and Lula Bauer had been appointed as new members of the Adjudication Committee.
NEW ONLINE TRAVEL DATABASE OVERVIEW
President Denise Edwards gave Board members an overview of the capabilities of the new online database. She showed how each component works, how each is accessed, and reports that can be derived from data collected.
GOOD OF THE GAME
Ray Greenberg showed Board members a children’s book authored by an NCSL parent. The book’s title is "Hunter, Stripe, and the Soccer Showdown". The State Office will try to obtain copies for the State Libraries.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 pm.
Prepared by
Julie Caramanica
VYSA Administrator
Next Meeting is December 3, 2005, at 6:00 pm at the Sheraton West in Richmond.
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