August 2003 Minutes
August 20, 2003 Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors
| 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. | |
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 West Richmond at 7:30 pm. Board members present were:
Denise Edwards President
Larry Monaco Vice President
George Sadler Secretary
Jeff Skigen Treasurer
Linda Sadler Registrar
Bob Maynes North Recreational Commissioner
Roger Ney North Recreational Commissioner
John Livengood DC Recreational Commissioner
John Singleton West Recreational Commissioner
Jim Bonfils Boys North Travel Commissioner
Roger Underhill Boys Central Travel Commissioner
Tom Halstead Boys Southeast Travel Commissioner
Mark Walsh Boys West Travel Commissioner
Anne Thompson Girls North Travel Commissioner
Board members Doug Strobel, Ken Halloway, and Jane Orem were excused. Also present were Julie Caramanica (VYSA Administrator), Gil McCallister (SRC Chair), and Lauretta Skigen (Workshop Committee).
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS BOARD MINUTES
A motion was made and seconded to approve the July 16, 2003 Board meeting minutes. The minutes were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT
The Treasurer’s Report (Attachment A) was distributed. Jeff Skigen reported that this is the last month of the fiscal year. He expects finances to come in very close to budget on revenue and expense. Jeff also reported that several responses to RFPs for a new accounting firm were received. He and Janet Cate will review these offers.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR’S REPORT
The Technical Director submitted a report (Attachment B) to the Board prior to the Board Meeting.
WORKSHOP
Julie Caramanica reported that the contract for the Workshop facility is still not signed, but she hopes to have one soon. A general schedule change has been made that will result in more Exhibitor times. She reported that committee members have taken on specific responsibilities for different components of the Workshop.
STATE ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
The State Administrator’s Report (Attachment C) was distributed.
Julie Caramanica asked that the requirement for a deposit for Coaching Courses be eliminated. A motion was made and seconded to eliminate the deposit requirement for Coaching Education Courses. The motion was approved.
All Board members were asked to return paperwork for VYSA policies and Board information to the State Office as soon as possible. Items due from each Board Member are:
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement
Confidentiality Policy
KidSafe Form
Board Information Sheet
Julie reported that Dan Cain, of Cain Consulting, will be in town in September and contacted her about the possibility of meeting concerning Board Development. The Board did not show interest.
US Youth Soccer would like to send information about their Workshop to our clubs and leagues; the Board agreed it could be included in a mailing with the VYSA minutes.
Julie announced that Lettie Hart has been hired as the new assistant bookkeeper at the State Office. She asked that Board members notify her if they plan to be out of town, so that she will know when they are unavailable by phone or email. Board members were each given a copy of Laws of the Game Made Easy.
The State Office received a memo asking whether rural teams that don’t belong to a VYSA member club or league may play in tournaments. John Singleton and Denise Edwards will contact the individual about affiliating with VYSA.
TOUCHLINE REPORT
The Touchline Committee Report (Attachment D) was distributed. Linda Sadler reported that a meeting was held to discuss ways to fulfill the mandate by the membership at the AGM to lower the cost of the Touchline. She noted she hopes to use interns to help with advertising and is checking to see if VCU’s Mass Communications Department will accept this project as part of its marketing plan.
There will be three printed editions of the Touchline per year, which will focus on player, team, and member issues. The electronic Touchline will be restricted to administrative and referee matters.
GOAL SPONSORSHIP
Jim Bonfils and John Singleton reported they had researched the LA Steel Company and found that its goals are a good quality, they meet the standards for safety, are easy to maintain, and the prices are fair. They recommended accepting their proposal to become a VYSA sponsor. A motion was made and seconded to approve LA Steel Company as a VYSA sponsor. The motion passed.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
Julie Caramanica reported that she had received the information concerning the complaint received the previous month. The information was reviewed and a response was sent. No further action will be taken.
KIDSAFE BACKGROUND CHECK
Roger Ney reported that all Recreational Commissioners checked with their clubs concerning noncompliance with the KidSafe background checks. Some clubs had difficulty with Youth Leagues and user IDs; other clubs did not realize that their checks had not been completed. There was a discussion to give all clubs a 30-day period to comply or to consider case-by-case recommendations at the next Board meeting. A motion was made and seconded to permit an additional 30 days for clubs to complete background checks for 2002-2003; each club and league will then be reviewed and a decision on placing clubs in bad standing will be made. Suggestions were made to add a specific date and to complete background checks only on current volunteers. The motion was withdrawn. A new motion was made and seconded that all clubs that have not satisfied the KidSafe background check requirement by October 15, 2003 will be placed in bad standing. The motion passed.
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
The Board went into Executive Session to consider Committee appointments. When the Board returned from Executive Session it was reported that Scott Meyer was approved for appointment as SRA and the following committee appointments were announced.
Adjudication Committee
Tom Halstead - Chair
Luis Granados - Vice Chair
Dennis Blackmore
Joe Baxter
Jim Guynn
Larry Monaco
Walter Owings
Jim Rodman
Kathy Zupan
Olympic Development Program
Bob Medarios - Boys Chair
SRC REPORT
Gil McAllister reported that referee camp went very well this summer and may be expanded next year. Just over 5,000 referees were certified last year. Recertifications will be completed earlier this year. A complete presentation from the SRC will be made at the next Board meeting.
The Board went into Executive Session.
TRAVEL LEAGUE SUMMIT
Larry Monaco distributed a proposal (Attachment E) concerning the Travel League Summit. A motion was made and seconded to hold a travel league summit in order for the travel league representatives from around the state to get to know each other, to share ideas, to discuss their problems, to propose solutions and to find ways VYSA can help its Travel members. VYSA Board members will be invited to attend. The motion was approved.
EMPLOYEE POLICY MANUAL
A draft of the employee policy manual was distributed to Board members at the July meeting. Julie Caramanica reported that she had received a few comments about the proposed Employee Policy Manual. She will meet with Larry Monaco to review all comments and will notify the Board of any changes. She asked that a vote be taken on the Employee Manual at next month’s meeting.
REGISTRAR’S REPORT
The Registrar’s Report (Attachment F) was distributed. Linda Sadler reported on two tournament complaints: the Sterling All-Star Tournament was still being investigated; the Virginian Tournament had complied with all their rules and there was no violation of policy on its part.
Linda also reported that three Regional Registrar meetings have been held. She noted that RosterPro registration is ongoing.
Linda is considering a proposal to allow a club to request data of its travel teams from the RosterPro database. She noted there will be a fee to cover costs. She will bring a motion to the Board next month.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
George Sadler reported that Bernie McHale had been suspended by a unanimous vote of the Board per US Youth Soccer Bylaw 252.
George explained the process, according to VYSA Bylaws, for taking a vote during a time other than a Board meeting. He noted all Board members must consent to the vote, in writing; then the actual vote can be taken.
George reported that Central Virginia Soccer Club, in Fluvanna, VA had applied for membership in VYSA. He recommended approval. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Central Virginia Soccer Club for membership in VYSA. The motion passed.
The Virginia Beach City Sports Club, Inc., also applied for membership. George recommended they be approved for membership. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Virginia Beach City Sports Club, Inc., for membership in VYSA. The motion passed.
VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Larry Monaco reported that his address and phones numbers have changed.
He asked that the State Administrator send a memo to Board members one week before each Board meeting to request any items they would like included on the agenda for that meeting.
Larry reported that memos have been sent to all Committee and Program chairs regarding budgets and procedures.
Larry noted concerns he has in regard to the Technical Department and ODP.
- A hearing is being held next week regarding an incident that took place at ODP Camp. Since that incident, one player involved has been selected for the Region I ODP and District ODP.
- The revised code of conduct approved by the VYSA Board should be used for all ODP players.
- Several complaints have been received about ODP procedures.
- A former ODP coach had been recently arrested, but the State Administrator was not notified. The State Administrator eventually learned of it from the SRA.
- Questions regarding Small-sided games referred to the Technical Department have not received responses.
The Board of Directors oversees all VYSA activities. Board members agreed there needs to be more coordination between the Technical Department, the ODP program, and VYSA. The Board is responsible for the Technical Department and manages it through policy. An ODP Policy Manual which includes discipline and hearing information should be developed as soon as possible.
The Board acknowledged that the strengths of the Technical Director are in coaching, player selection and player development, but there are administrative responsibilities as well.
There was discussion concerning the Board’s responsibility in giving guidance concerning what is expected from the Technical Department, and also what the Technical Department should be reporting to the Board. It was agreed that one member of the Technical Department attend each Board meeting in order to get a sense of what occurs at the meetings.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Denise Edwards reported that none of the US Youth Soccer proposed amendments were approved at the USSF AGM. The proposals that the Rules Committee did not recommend for approval were withdrawn by US Youth Soccer and recommended they be sent to the USSF Governance Task Force, but none of the remaining proposals passed.
US Soccer established a Governance Task Force that will deal with the US Youth Soccer proposed bylaw amendments and a second task force that will deal with the overall structure of the Federation concerning equality of votes. At the US Youth Soccer AGM, a litigation committee was formed to hire independent counsel to let US Youth Soccer know whether to proceed with a grievance to the USOC. State Presidents and Associations will be contacted to decide whether to incur the expense. If US Youth Soccer loses before the USOC, the case may go to arbitration.
Denise reported that Dennis Brumfield of West Virginia and Region I Treasurer, was elected as US Youth Soccer Treasurer; Evelyn Gill was re-elected Vice President; and the Bylaw amendment concerning Board term limits did not pass.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:37 pm.
Prepared by
Julie Caramanica
VYSA Administrator
Next Meeting is September 17, 2003 at 7:30 pm at the Sheraton West in Richmond.
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