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
Larry Monaco Vice President
George Sadler Secretary
Jeff Skigen Treasurer
Linda Sadler Registrar
Bob Maynes North Recreational Commissioner
Doug Strobel Central Recreational Commissioner
Ken Halloway Southeast Recreational Commissioner
Jim Bonfils Boys North Travel Commissioner
Roger Underhill Boys Central Travel Commissioner
Tom Halstead Boys Southeast Travel Commissioner
Anne Thompson Girls North Travel Commissioner
Board members John Livengood, John Singleton, Mark Walsh, and Jane Orem were excused. Also present were Julie Caramanica (VYSA Administrator) and Gordon Miller (VYSA Technical Director).
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS BOARD MINUTES
A motion was made and seconded to approve the October 1, 2003 Board meeting minutes. The minutes were corrected to indicate that Jeff Skigen was excused from the meeting. The minutes were approved as corrected.
TREASURER’S REPORT
The Treasurer’s Report (Attachment A) was distributed. Jeff Skigen reported that the Association came very close to breaking even this past year. As is typical in September, there was much more revenue than expenses. Jeff noted that the Board should look more closely at receivables particularly those that are very old.
STATE ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
The State Administrator’s Report (Attachment B) was distributed. Julie Caramanica reported that signed KidSafe, Conflict of Interest, and Confidentiality paperwork had been received from fifteen Board members. All Staff members have completed the paperwork, and the State Office is in the process of collecting forms from Committee members. Julie reported that background checks have been completed on the all Board members, Staff, and Committee members whose KidSafe forms have been submitted.
Julie reported that no nominations have been received for the awards that are given at the Workshop. The Coaches of the Year are normally selected at the October meeting. Saturday, November 1st, is the deadline for submitting the VYSA Boys Coach of the Year and VYSA Girls Coach of the Year nominations to the Region. The Board went into Executive Session to accept nominations and make selections for those awards.
Clubs and leagues that have not submitted Fall registration fees by November 1, 2003, will be placed in bad standing. Julie reported that numerous attempts have been made to contact clubs and leagues still owing fees. Clubs that have still not submitted fees by the deadline will be notified that they will be placed in bad standing and a list of those clubs will be posted on the VYSA web site. Julie noted that VYSA Bylaws state that data is also due on November 1. Clubs that have not submitted data by that date will be notified that their data is past due.
The Richmond Kickers have asked that their A League team be linked to the VYSA web site, in the same way that the DC United logo is posted on the VYSA home page with a link to their web site. The Board agreed that as long as VYSA is also linked to the professional teams’ (DC United and Richmond Kickers) web sites they can be added to the VYSA home page with a link.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Gordon Miller reported that he has visited three clubs this month. He noted he met with the Virginia Soccer Association regarding small-sided games.
Gordon reported on meetings he attended at the Region I meeting. He reported both the Boys and Girls ODP programs have decided to go to an all-scramble format for all age groups at camp, meaning all pools will consist of a mixture of players from different State Associations. He reported he attended a combined Presidents and Directors of Coaching meeting and found it to be productive. It was determined at the Rec Committee meeting that a questionnaire would be developed to determine the needs of each State Association’s Recreation Program members.
A Coaching Education Staff Symposium will be held Saturday, October 25 in Ashland.
Denise reported that she had heard from a club with which the Technical Department had met and the club reported the meeting was very helpful. Gordon noted that the meeting included the club’s Board of Directors as well as their coaching directors and it was very productive.
COACHING EDUCATION
Gordon Miller reported that he and Gary Allen are trying to educate more coaches through E and D License courses. He reported that 3 D courses and 11 E courses were canceled last year, which put a huge burden on the coaching and office staff. It was noted that last year was unusual for the number of cancellations, that the referee program experienced much the same.
Gordon showed average numbers of courses and attendance records for E and D license courses for the past 3 years. He and Gary proposed sending a letter to clubs and leagues, asking them to apply to host D and E license courses in order to fill courses for a set master schedule. By using this method, he hopes to have more participation in the courses. He believes setting up a master schedule will allow better promotion of scheduled classes and the promotion of instructors. It will provide better use of the staff and spread courses around the state. He would like to set the number of D and E courses scheduled and also set the minimum participation numbers for each course, which will vary by district based upon past number of participants. New clubs and clubs located more than 50 miles away from any scheduled course will be permitted to apply to host their own D or E courses. When looking over the applications, Gordon and Gary will choose ones that are located in various parts of each district. If not enough applications are received, they will ask specific clubs to host courses.
A question was raised regarding cost to the hosting organization. It was explained that there is no cost to hosting organizations unless they request a specific instructor from outside their location, in which case they would have to cover the instructor’s travel expenses. There was concern that fewer coaches would be educated if minimums of participants were not met, resulting in cancellation of courses. Gordon explained that he and Gary plan to be flexible and, if necessary, may change numbers in the future. A suggestion was made to implement the master plan, but still allow clubs to request courses on their own. A motion was made and seconded that the VYSA Technical Department be authorized to hold six D or E courses co-sponsored with local clubs or leagues. The promotion of the course, the assigning of the instructor, and the minimum number of participants will be determined by the Technical Director. The program shall be effective in the 2003-2004 seasonal year. It was agreed that this would allow the Technical Staff to implement their plan in conjunction with the current procedures. The motion was approved. It was suggested that coaches that have taken E courses be informed when and where D courses are scheduled.
PERSONNEL POLICY MANUAL
A final draft of the Personnel Policy Manual was distributed to all Board members after the last Board meeting. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Personnel Policy Manual. The motion was approved.
KIDSAFE/RISK MANAGEMENT
Doug Strobel reported that he has collected information from various organizations regarding their policies on background checks. He will have a policy ready for Board review at the December meeting for a vote in January.
REGISTRAR’S REPORT
Linda Sadler reported from the Region I Registrar’s Meeting. She reported that it was announced the proposed age-group change to be voted on in November at the US Soccer Federation meeting is for travel teams only. If approved, the change would take effect in 2005. Since this would only be a policy and not a bylaw change, US Youth Soccer is not required to and does not plan to implement the proposed change.
Linda reported that many states are considering allowing teams to obtain permission to travel forms on line. Some states have also implemented a notification of travel on line. She will investigate this possibility for Virginia.
Another discussion at the Region I meeting concerned whether Sub-Regional Leagues with 25-man rosters are eligible for Cup competition. A determination will be made by US Youth Soccer.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
George Sadler reported that the Southside Indoor Soccer League had applied for membership in VYSA. He recommended approval. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Southside Indoor Soccer League for membership in VYSA. The motion passed.
FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
Larry Monaco reported that the Finance Committee has authorized a new State Office staff position and is also in the process of drafting a Finance Policy Manual. A receptionist will be hired to manage the many phone calls coming into the State Office. The Finance Policy Manual should be ready for review in January for consideration for adoption in February.
VICE-PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Larry reminded Board members of the Travel Summit to take place November 1. He reported a Y-League coach has been invited to attend and he hopes to also have a US Club coach attend.
He noted his surprise that there was no mention of the proposed age group date change at the Region I meeting. He believes that to be an important topic and was concerned it had not come up at the general meeting. He also recommended reviewing the need for a Region I Fall meeting.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Denise Edwards reported that the US Soccer Federation Annual General Meeting has been changed to March and the US Youth Soccer AGM will be held in July at the National Championships. The Youth Council will meet at the Federation meeting in March. A decision needs to be made about how many representatives from VYSA to send to each.
Snickers is no longer the sponsor of the US Youth Soccer National Championships and therefore, State Cup. The name will be changed to the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series. Additional sponsors may help offset some of the costs, and fees may be raised for entering teams. The Region will contribute $20,000 to offset costs to Region I states.
Denise reported that several Region I Sub-Regional Leagues were approved. Application deadlines will be posted on both VYSA and Region I web sites.
As stated in the Registrar’s report, a proposal to no longer require permission to travel for teams traveling within Region I has been made. Efforts have been made to create a permission to travel form that will be applied throughout the country.
Denise reported that the Region I Fall meeting for 2006 will take place in New Hampshire and for 2007 in Virginia. Denise suggested that VYSA bid to host the Regional Championships.
Denise stressed that the age-group change has not yet taken effect; that the vote will be taken at the Federation meeting in November.
GOOD OF THE GAME
Bob Maynes reported that the Regional Recreational Committee will hold a National Recreational Summit at the next US Youth Soccer Workshop. Region I will be the host and will invite the other Regions. He would like two representatives from VYSA to attend.
Anne Thompson reported the State Cup semi-finals and finals will take place October 25 and 26 at Striker Park. She invited Board members to attend.
Gordon Miller invited the Board to the Coaching Education Staff Symposium taking place the same weekend in Ashland.
The Board went into Executive Session.
When the Board returned from Executive Session, there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm.
Prepared by
Julie Caramanica
VYSA Administrator
Next Meeting is November 19, 2003, at 7:30 pm at the Sheraton West in Richmond.
