NASL Meeting Minutes - December 10th, 2003

FINANCIAL STATUS:
     The first order of business was the Treasurer’s report. Irene provided detailed financial statements for the league – in particular she provided budgets showing breakdowns on how the NASL fared in hosting the Division I and II tournaments. Currently our bank balance is $22,377.97. We still have an outstanding invoice for the tournament programs of about $3,000 and outstanding deposits from FOSNA ($1,300) and one NASL team ($75). That leaves a balance of about $21,300.
     The net income earned from parking (parking proceeds less payments for parking attendants and field marshals) was approximately $6,465.
     The net income earned from t-shirt sales (sales proceeds less payments to Pete’s for the shirts) was approximately $8,114.
      There were a lot of additional expenses associated with hosting the tournaments. Those included water for referees, food for refs and volunteers, postage, programs, chair and table rental, maintenance/repairs and some other miscellaneous items.
      Irene outlined the actual income from each age group of teams (91 total NASL teams) and how that income compared to other age groups and which age groups “cost” the league and which “financially benefited” the league.

DONATION:
The NASL Board agreed by a voice vote to donate $5,000 toward the cost of lights for John Hunt Field #4. It was noted that this money was only to be used for that purpose (lighting) only. Suggestions were made that we should publicly donate this money so as to show that the league is willing to help out in the pursuit of facility improvements. It was undecided exactly how to do this as it was agreed that we should not put the city council “on the spot” by just showing up and offering the money to the city at a council meeting.
After some discussion it was agreed that we would contact Johnny Childress at FOSNA and Ron Evans at the Huntsville Sports Commission and request their guidance in the matter. In addition we agreed that Ken should write a letter to Ralph Stone, Ron Evans and Greg Patterson expressing that NASL has set aside $5,000 for the use in procuring and installing lights at John Hunt #4. That money will be available when the work begins.

DISTRICT COMMISSIONER:
       Marty Eaton explained that he would be attending the State AYSA meeting this coming Saturday night in Birmingham. At that meeting the new state director of coaching, Scott Spencer, will introduce himself and discuss several topics.
       One of the main discussions will concern how to put into effect new rules concerning both legal and illegal recruiting that are clearer that the existing rules. One thought is to provide a period before tryouts to allow recruiting so that all clubs and players are on equal footing and so that players have a period of time that they can evaluate clubs. Existing rules and tryout dates are obscure in some areas and conflict with each other leaving some question as to whether there is any time during the year that a player can be legally recruited. In addition, Marty expected that the new rules would be clarified to apply to coaches, managers and club officers BUT not to players and parents.
        Marty noted that the tryout date may be moved to right after the AHSAA high school championship games – second week of May. This is an earlier date and there was much discussion of the pros and cons including the downside of holding tryouts during a period when many players would be taking final exams and the upside of eliminating the conflict that the existing dates have with family vacations.
         Marty talked about the possibility of adding a “Winter Transfer” period for players to allow them to move from team to team. While this is done in Tennessee and other states it was noted that they have different high school soccer seasons than Alabama and that our spring season is so limited compared to the fall season that it might not be of any real benefit. It also would not apply to players playing on teams going to Regionals because roster are frozen.
       Jim Wesseling asked that Marty suggest to the AYSA that they make it easier for players on Division II and Division II teams to transfer than for Division I players.
       Christy suggested that NASL put out a flyer with the tryout dates for all NASL teams and that it be mailed out to all area players – using mailing privileges through the city so that our cost was limited to the cost of the paper copies and envelopes.
        David Ghoja asked Marty to request that AYSA address the issue of “Guest Players”. David suggested that the first contact for guest players be “Coach-to-Coach” so as eliminate the awkward situation where a coach may not be inclined to allow a player to guest play.
        Ed Turner and Jim Wesseling noted that a possible solution is to include in the recruiting rules that a player cannot transfer (that same year) to a team that he/she guest plays on. That might eliminate the need some coaches feel to use “guest playing” as a recruiting tool.
        The board members asked Marty to convey our feelings to Scott Spencer and the AYSA Board and to report back on the decisions made at the state meeting.

REC-PLUS
Belton discussed the changes for 2004 for U9 and U10 teams. Below is the chart from the May 18^th State Board meeting provided by Tom Goodman from USYS with his recommendations for small sided games. According to this U10 and U11 teams in 2004 will be playing 8v8, while U8 and U9 teams will be playing 6v6. District Commissioner, Marty Eaton, will try to confirm with AYSA if this timetable is still valid and whether it starts in the fall or spring seasons. Our current understanding is that the changes occur each year in the fall season.

	2003	2004	2005	2006
U6	4x4	3x3	3x3	3x3	(3x3 is with NO Keeper)
U8	6x6	4x4	4x4	4x4	(4x4 is with NO Keeper)
U10	8x8	8x8	6x6	6x6
U11		8x8	8x8	8x8
U12		11x11	8x8	8x8
U13		11x11	11x11	11x11

We voted and agreed to institute an NASL roster freeze date for the U9 and U10 teams that is the same as whatever roster freeze date that AYSA sets for the Governor’s Cup each year. Also the Board agreed that if a Rec-Plus “End of the Season Tournament” is held that no guest players would be allowed on any teams. There is a question whether an End of the Season Tournament can be held in a timely manner in 2004 and we agreed to table that vote until a board meeting after AYSA releases their calendar for 2004. The reasons were that a “crunched” calendar such as the one the U9s and U10s used in Fall 2003 left little time for a Rec-Plus Tournament and caused several teams to shut down for the season after Governor’s Cup - which was long before the tournament could be held.
Irene said that she did not have final costs for the U9 and U10 fall season due to the fact that the cost of the Rec-Plus Tournament was not finalized. Belton noted that she had paid for the medals for the tournament out of an old U9/U10 bank account and that there might still be enough to pay for the tournament medals for the 2004 fall season also.

2004 STATE CUPS
       In 2003 Huntsville (NASL, Huntsville Sports Commission and the City of Huntsville) was in year 3 of a three year contract for the Snickers State Championship. That means that AYSA will decide where all of the 2004 tournaments will be hosted.
        There was discussion about the difficulty of getting volunteers for the tournaments. It was noted that we could add a requirement on the sign up forms (that each team turns in at the start of the fall season) that each team must supply a certain number of volunteers for the tournaments in order to be a member of the league. Jim Wesseling motioned that the NASL levy a fee for the Division I NASL teams and use that fee to offset some of the costs of hosting the tournament – food, parking, field marshals, etc. He suggested a $50 per Division I team and $25 per Division II team or even a $100 per team fee noting that the $100 is far less than the cost of a team traveling to and staying at the tournament if it were held in another part of the state. Jim recommended that we charge everyone and pay the ones that actually volunteer. Ken Gamble recommended that the NASL Board put together a formal timeline for hosting the tournaments with dates and instructions. Jim suggested manager’s guidelines and statements for each area. Jim’s motion was tabled until the next NASL Board meeting on January 7^th, 2004 at which time we would have more information from the state as to where the State Cups would be held.
        Craig provided a somewhat tentative offer to be the local tournament coordinator for 2004 if we should be selected as host for either the Division I or Division II State Cups.
       After some discussion it was decided that we should express our (NASL) interest in hosting the 2004 Division I and II State Cups. Craig made a motion that the NASL offer $10 and one tournament t-shirt and other good consideration to host both tournaments. Included was a recommendation that we eliminate the current tournament program and substitute a new format. The motion was seconded, voted on and passed.
      Here is a copy of the e-mail Ken sent to each of the ASA State Board Members on 12/11/2003. While I did note the NASL’s interest in hosting the 2004 State Cups, I was purposely vague on details since we had not discussed anything concrete other than the fact that we did not want to include programs (as they are currently being done) as part of the hosting.

To the Alabama Youth Soccer Association Board:

At our most recent NASL Board meeting we discussed next year’s state cups and wanted to let the state board members know (in advance of this month's ASA meeting) that the North Alabama Soccer League (NASL) is interested in hosting the 2004 Division I and Division II State Cup tournaments.
If AYSA has any interest in holding the tournaments in Huntsville please let us know what our next step should be. Thank you for your consideration.
On behalf of the NASL Board of Directors,

Ken Gamble
NASL Secretary

The reply I received from Martha Disko on 12/11/2003 noted that the big package would be mailed out to us and that some general discussion would be held on the matter this coming weekend at the ASA Board Meeting.

SPRING 2004 SEASON
Craig has set the MANDATORY Manager’s Training Meeting for February 9^th, 2004 at the Braham Springs Rec Center with the scheduling meeting set for the next night (February 10^th) at the same place. Both meetings will start at 6pm.

DONATION to LOCAL PARKS
Craig Hardwick proposed that the NASL donate $100 to each of the three local parks (McGucken, Fern Gulley, and Bell Mountain) where the U9 and U10 teams play. It was seconded, voted on and approved by the Board. The suggestion was that we contact each local park board and ask what they would like done with the contribution.

DISCIPLINARY REVISIONS
Craig proposed that the NASL put some “teeth” into its handling of coaches who are ejected from games. The proposal was that any coach or manager of an NASL team who was ejected from any game in which he/she is coaching or managing would face additional sanctions from the NASL. This applies to all games (tournament, out of state, NASL, AYSA, etc.) where the NASL receives a report. The punishments below are immediate and are to be in effect upon the next game after the NASL receives the report. The suspensions can be concurrent with any punishments provided by the state (AYSA). These will apply - even in cases where the state delays or does not require a punishment. These are automatic penalties but may be increased upon the recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee.

These sanctions were seconded, voted on and approved.
Marty Eaton added that the board should include a small amount of time for disciplinary hearings at every monthly board meeting. In addition Marty suggested that the board should reserve the right to sanction coaches even it they are not ejected.

DISCIPLINARY NOTES
Several other notes were recommended for consideration in regard to the disciplinary committee. These were discussed but not voted on. David Ghoja recommended any member of the disciplinary committee recuse himself/herself in any discussion of a player, coach, manager in which his affiliation with a team might disqualify him or provide a prejudicial appearance. It was noted that this would be difficult due to the small number of clubs in the league. Jim W. and Ed Turner recommended that there be a place on the NASL website where coaches who are sanctioned are listed for all to see. David noted that there appears to be a conflict between rules 2.2.2 and 4.2.3 in the NASL bylaws and constitution.

KEN’s NOTES:
Ken asked that every board member re-evaluate the job description of their current office and revise it so that the job description more accurately meets what they feel the job should include. Each board member should, as soon as possible, send their revised formal job description to Ken at dsports@hiwaay.net so that it can be included in the revised bylaws and constitution.

5.2 (Board of Directors) The Board of Directors shall be comprised of thirteen members: (1) the President , (2) Executive Vice-President, (3) Vice-President Coach and Player Development, (4) Recreational Youth Soccer - Liaison, (5) Scheduling Director, (6) Treasurer, (7) Past President, (8) Secretary/Communications Director, (9) Registrar, (10) District Commissioner, (11) U-12 Age Group Coordinator, (12) U14 Age Group Coordinator and (13) U16 - U19 Age Group Coordinator.

2.1 At each AGM the League shall elect among themselves a Board of Directors to comprised of a (1) President , (2) Executive Vice-President, (3) Vice-President Coach and Player Development, (4) Recreational Youth Soccer - Liaison, (5) Scheduling Director, (6) Treasurer, (7) Past President, (8) Secretary/Communications Director, (9) Registrar , (10) District Commissioner, (11) U-12 Age Group Coordinator, (12) U14 Age Group Coordinator and (13) U15 - U19 Age Group Coordinator as provided in the following paragraphs.

2.1.1 The (1) the President , (2) Executive Vice-President, (3) Recreational Youth Soccer - Liaison, (4) Scheduling Director, (5) Treasurer,

(6) Secretary/Communications Director, (7) U-12 Age Group Coordinator, (8) U14 Age Group Coordinator and (9) U15 - U19 Age Group Coordinator shall be elected to one-year term.

2.1.2 The (10) District Commissioner, (11) Registrar and (12) Vice President Coach and Player Development Director shall be elected to two-year terms at AGM’s.

2.1.3 The immediate (13) Past President shall be an automatic member of the Board of Directors.

2.1.4 The President shall cast the League’s vote(s) as approved by the Board to elect the AYSA District 8 Commissioner as provided by the applicable AYSA requirements.

2.1.5 This Board of Directors shall take office immediately after the completion of Spring Season league and tournament games.

2.2 The Duties and Responsibilities of the Board of Directors shall be as follows:

The President is the Chief Executive Officer of this Organization. The President shall chair all meetings of the Board of Directors and shall cast a vote only in the case of a tie vote. The President shall appoint Standing Committees and their Chairpersons, unless membership and/or Chair are specified by the Constitution, By-Laws or Rules and Regulations, at the beginning of each seasonal year with the approval of the Board of Directors. The President shall be a member of all Standing Committees. The President shall be the official representative to AYSA for the League. In the event any other officer is unable to fulfill his or her term of office, the President shall, with the approval of the Board of Directors, appoint another to fill the expired term. The President shall submit an annual report in writing to the membership at the NASL AGM.

The Executive Vice President shall chair meetings in the absence of the President and shall assume the office of President if that office is vacated. The Executive Vice-President shall serve as Parliamentarian, Chair the Fields & Facilities Committee and Credentials Committee and other duties as directed by the President and the Board.

The Treasurer shall maintain records and receipt of all Moines to be deposited in a recognized bank in the name of the League. The Treasurer shall assure that all accounts are paid by check and all checks for amounts greater than $250.00 shall bear two (2) signatures: The Treasurer’s and the President’s or Executive Vice- President’s. The Treasurer shall produce all financial records when

required by the Board of Directors and shall provide a quarterly financial report, in writing, at the August, November, February and May Board of Directors meetings.

The Immediate Past President shall be a voting member of the Board of Directors. The Past President shall provide a continuity between the past administration and the new Board of Directors. The Immediate Past President shall chair the Rules & Revisions Committee.

The Age Group Coordinators shall supervise and coordinate the development, administration, management and conduct of their separate age bracket and shall provide Liaison with Scheduling Director and shall be members of the Scheduling Committee and the Disciplinary Committee.

The Vice President Coaching & Player Development Director shall work with potential, new, or reorganizing Clubs as directed by the NASL Board of Directors to help them develop the administrative, coaching and player resources to be a viable Club within NASL. The Vice-President Coach and Player Development shall coordinate Coach development resources to provide opportunities for coaches from existing clubs to improve their skills. This individual shall be responsible for Premier and Classic. The Vice President Coaching & Player Development Director shall chair meetings in absence of the President and Executive Vice President.

The Secretary/Communications Director shall maintain an accurate record of all meetings, handle correspondence, provide notice of meetings and maintain files of the League. The Secretary/Communications Director shall mail copies of the Board of Directors Meetings within fourteen (14) days following such meetings. The Secretary/Communications Director shall be responsible for preparation of the League’s Annual Report. The Secretary/Communications Director shall submit a status report at the AGM.

The Registrar shall keep a complete accurate record of all teams and players for the purpose of player registration and team affiliation. The Registrar shall keep records as are required to verify Dates of Birth.

The Registrar shall coordinate registration and establish procedures to assure accurate registration materials (including dates of birth) for league and tournament play. The Registrar shall publish the number of votes each Club is authorized to cast at the AGM. This Registrar shall review credentials of all League representatives to the AGM and, in cases of conflict, shall make recommendations to the Board of Directors. The Registrar shall review all applications for membership from new clubs and submit recommendations to the Board of Directors.

The Scheduling Director shall be responsible to coordinate the scheduling of all NASL games and maintain a master field schedule. The Scheduling Director will coordinate with each age group coordinator to support the development of league schedules and to handle the rescheduling of games as provided in the League Policies and Procedures. The Scheduling Director shall chair the Scheduling Committee and Chair the Special Events Committee.

The Scheduling Director shall serve as a communications link between NASL and the organization providing officials for NASL league and tournament games.

Honorary Board Member - Voting. Shall Liaison between various recreational entities

NASL CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS:
        Ken recommended a complete re-write of the existing NASL Constitution and Bylaws to bring them up to date to be more relevant to 2004 and volunteered to do the “re-write” himself. He will provide that re-write to Board and the Board will announce our NASL AGM (Annual General Membership Meeting) for May 2004 as stipulated in the bylaws and constitution. At the May 2004 meeting the general membership would vote on acceptance of the revised laws which will include a change of our AGM date to August or September of each year (exact wording to come).  This is in line with the way the AGM and General Election have actually been done in previous years (in contrast with the Constitution and By-laws stipulations).
        This has to be handled in this manner because we have a Catch 22 in our existing bylaws which state that changes to the Constitution and Bylaws can only be accepted at the AGM and the date for the AGM is currently in May of each year (per the existing Constitution and Bylaws). Ken will provide revised Constitution and Bylaws well in advance of May so that we can work out all the proposals to everyone's satisfaction. At the May 2004 meeting we can vote in the revised changes as the first order of business. This will allow us to move the elections legally to the August/September date we are actually using.
        Marty Eaton suggested including some leeway for the President, upon approval of the NASL board of directors, to appoint duties that might normally fall under the job description of one officer to another person in case that board member cannot or will not do his/her duties in a timely manner. This seems a reasonable way to get things done when for one reason or another a board member is unable to attend the board meetings.   Currently, in certain matters, the Constitution and Bylaws require certain committees to be run by a particular officer of the board. If for any reason that person fails to perform his/her duty there is no current legal manner for the board to resolve the matter quickly. This will be up to the discretion of the board and by requiring the approval of the board, we have included a "checks and balances" to eliminate any political maneuvering by the president or board.

FIELD AND GAME SCHEDULER
      It was proposed, motioned, seconded and passed on a voice vote that the NASL reimburse Craig Hardwick for his excess cell phone expenses that were directly related to his job for the Fall 2003 season as NASL Game and Field Scheduler. The amount approved was $471.11.
      The board agreed that the new field and game scheduler would not be expected to pay his/her own cell phone bill as it is related to his/her NASL job. Due to expected changes in the cell phone industry it was agreed that it would be advantageously beneficial for the board to wait until the February 2004 Board meeting to set a monthly (or seasonal) amount that the NASL would pay to cover those expected expenses.
      It was agreed that with the expected retirement of Craig Hardwick the NASL Board needed to post the scheduler’s job on the website and in an e-mail to the general membership with the job’s requirements. It was noted that currently we charge $25.00 per team for the scheduler which meant the scheduler earned about $2,000 for the fall season and much, much less for the spring season. The scheduler has to be available by phone at most hours and has to be able to deal with cities, park and rec boards, AYSA, AYSO, etc. – all of which have different objectives. It was also proposed that a selection committee be formed to recommend a list of three candidates to take the job and that those three candidates be voted on at an upcoming board meeting. Christy noted that the scheduler needs to be unbiased toward any club and that any candidates who are taking the job to provide a prejudicial benefit to their own club not be selected.
     Ken noted that we needed to either made the scheduler’s job easier (i.e. by splitting it up into several jobs) or more attractive (i.e. more money). Ken asked Craig to give us an accurate job description of the job and that at the January meeting we try to break the job into several smaller jobs if possible.

CHARLIE ZARZOUR NASL SCHOLARSHIP
A motion was made, seconded and passed to provide a $500 NASL scholarship to a boy and girl again this season in the same manner as was done in the previous two years. The deadline for nomination by a coach AND submitting an essay for this year is March 31st, 2004. The board prefers the nominations be made as soon as possible. Actual essays may be turned in anytime up until midnight on March 31st, 2004. Votes will be taken the first week of April and a final decision will be rendered no later than April 15^th with the actual scholarships to be awarded during the AHSAA championship games.

REFEREE RATES
NASOA expects to raise NASL rates to match those paid for AYSA state league games. NASOA also expects to provide only one referee for smaller sided games 6v6 and 8v8. It was proposed that we include in the next NASL/NASOA contract that each NASL team provide an adult “club linesman” to call balls in and out of touch for all of their games. This was agreed to in principle although no vote was taken.
It was also recommended that each team provide a training clinic on rules and laws for parents at tryouts. Discussion about the logistics of trying to do such a thing at tryouts was discussed and although it was agreed that it was a good idea no formal vote was taken.

DISCUSSION OF $20 PER PLAYER FIELD FOR FACILITY DEVELOPMENT

After much discussion it was requested that Johnny Childress of FOSNA attend the January 7^th, 2004 meeting to answer the many questions the board has concerning the implementation of the proposed $20 per player fee to be paid to NASL and then passed along to FOSNA.

GOALS
Craig noted that FOSNA will be paying NASL $550 per set for two sets of soccer goals. Craig noted that we need to let each club/team know that they need to permanently label any goals that belong to their club to avoid confusion as goals are being moved around. IT was requested that Marty find out if any official recommendation or requirement had been made regarding which size goals should (or MUST) be used for 6v6 or 8v8 games. Can either 7’ x 21’ or 6’ x 18’ goals be used – as long as both goals on one field are the same size.

I have included a copy of the AYSA Spring Calendar for informational purposes here:

NEXT NASL BOARD MEETING:
The next NASL board meeting will be held Wednesday, January 7th, 2004 at 6pm at John Hunt Soccer Central.