MEETING MINUTES September 2007
Posted by cathyn 103 days ago
PIMA COUNTY JR SOCCER LEAGUE
MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Meeting called to order 6:30 pm., Room 4, Randolph Center, Randolph Park.
Present: Pat Dunham (President), Detlef Lange (Vice President), Charlene McConnell (Treasurer), Cathy Nicholson (Secretary), John Norton (Referee Commissioner), Cheryl Copeland (Fields Commissioner), Jeff Welliver (Communications Commissioner), Shari Myoraku (District II, Registrar), Rob LaMaster (CDO), Randy Westmoreland (Sabino Vista), William Biagi (VSC), Lisa Chase (Randolph), Pablo Policroniades (Tucson Aztecs), Steve Jackson (TSA).
1. The minutes of August 14, 2007 meeting were read and approved.
2. President’s Report – Pat Dunham reported Western Tires is again donating soccer balls to PCJSL players. Pat also discussed an issue that emerged earlier this week concerning a letter written by a referee referencing Referee Commissioner John Norton. The letter was sent, in addition to Pat, to a group of referees. Pat responded to the letter on behalf of the board, and has sent a copy of her response to the referees. Jeff Welliver moved that the Board make a formal statement of support for John. Cheryl Copeland seconded. The following discussion centered on Pat’s response, which articulated the board’s support of John, and Jeff withdrew his motion. Current assignors Maggie Barton and Karen Phillips expressed interest in the role of assignor at the time the position was open, work well together and back each other up, and have a plan for increasing referee assessments and education using the resources PCJSL makes available. The first weekend of play (last weekend), three observations were conducted. A total of five assessments were conducted all season last year. Cheryl Copeland moved that PCJSL give Maggie and Karen a one year contract for the 07-08 season. Charlie McConnell seconded the motion. The motion passed. Cathy Nicholson will draft a contract providing for the right of either party to cancel with 30 days’ notice.
3. Vice President’s Report – The first red cards of the season were issued last weekend. Cathy will check the web site regularly and when the cards are posted, she will contact the president’s of the clubs whose players were issued red cards. Pat announced that Detlef has been recognized by AYSA and is now heading up State Risk Management.
4. Treasurer’s Report – Charlie McConnell passed out Connie Gardner’s most recent financial reports. She also helped with scheduling and flighting and reports that two flights still need adjusting. Cheryl inquired how coaches are reimbursed for licensure; they are to send a copy of their certificate to Connie Gardner who will issue them a check. We currently reimburse up to “D” level licenses; Detlef suggested we should think about raising the level of support to “C” licenses.
5. Fields Commissioner – Cheryl Copeland reported that all fields were set up last weekend and thanked all the volunteers who helped. Clubs are responsible for their fields and are paid $25/field for set up. State League pays for their field set ups. Cheryl will send a field spread sheet to Tom McConkey of State League. Steve Jackson indicated that State League will be using Rillito and Brandi Fenton and on Sundays will use Silverlake and Lincoln. Ebie Aldaghi of TSA will make sure there are no black-out play dates at Rillito and Brandi Fenton on State League play dates. Tom McConkey will send PCJSL a copy of the State League schedule on a weekly basis. Also, with respect to fields, Pat talked with Detlef and Lisa Balcer abut unanchored goals; the City told Detlef not to anchor goals because they’re moved during the week for baseball. Pat would prefer that the city move and chain them to a fence during the week. Unanchored goals at practices constitute a huge liability. Cheryl reported that Barry Parks has concerns about the width of the fields at Silverlake with respect to the age groups playing there; Cheryl will address his concerns.
6. Referees’ Commissioner – John Norton reported that the first weekend went well. He was at Golf Links and the youth referees did a great job. There should be two more recertification classes coming up, October and November or December. This needs to be posted on the website. Detlef is trying to get a Grade 9 (recreational) 1-day class scheduled and is partnering with Wendell Babb.
7. Communications Commissioner – Jeff Welliver reported that the forms will be up on the website in approximately two weeks, although Rick Gardner has been stretched thin recently. Pat, Jeff and Charlie can access the site so anyone needing to post information should send it to them. They may not be able to put up tournament .pdf files as they have in the past, but can advertise them in one of the front page boxes. Concerning cancelled games, Jeff reports he forwards messages as they come in, but the schedules don’t change. Pat is working on getting club contact information to make available to teams so they know who/how to contact if they have to cancel. This can also be featured on a front-page box on the website.
8. District II Commissioner – Shari had no report.
9. Registrar Report – Beginning Monday, September 17 all requests for printing of passes must be submitted by noon on Monday to receive a pass to play the following weekend.
10. Old Business –
a. Game scheduling – there were some problems (a “series of unfortunate events”) that created scheduling errors. Too many restrictions (can only play afternoons, can only play at a particular location, etc.) makes scheduling difficult. There are so many demands the system is unworkable. Pat said if a team is scheduled for a double header, it needs to play. There was some discussion about some teams not wanting to play doubleheaders in the preseason. This is alright because the league isn’t offering a set number of games in preseason, but it is not alright in the regular season. Pat reiterated that if doubleheaders are not scheduled many teams will not get an adequate number of games. The USYSA rule limiting players to two games per day has been rescinded. The October 1 deadline for the regular season is firm. PCJSL is including 12/8 in its regular season until such time as the CDO tournament has adequate teams for us to black out that date. Pat also reported that when PCJSL schedules the regular season, late teams will not be accepted (this excludes “in house scheduling” of younger teams). Flighting will occur on 10/3. Schedules will be examined for correctness the week following 10/3, after which they will be sent to Jeff Leinwand. We will adjust availability up until the date schedules are turned over to Jeff.
b. Website – The website came down at a bad time (beginning of season) but it’s coming along now and will have much-improved functionality over the next several weeks.
11. New Business – There was general discussion that clarified when teams pay what penalties for canceling games: cancellations > 7 days teams pay fine plus assignor fee only; cancellations < 7 days teams pay fine, assignors fee and referee fee. This was confirmed by Maggie Barton, referee assignor.
12. Good of the Game – Pat received an e-mail from the parent of a youth referee commending the league on the assessments done last weekend and indicating that the referee benefited greatly from the constructive support offered by the assessor. Also, Jen Kline, former UA player and ODP coach has accepted the position of Assistant Coach at UNLV. Finally, those whose teams played 3 PM games last weekend are appreciate of the referees’ affording water breaks due to the heat.
13. Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Cathy Nicholson
Secretary, PCJSL
