SOUTH CAROLINA YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

STATE OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM, COLUMBIA, SC

November 7, 2004
The meeting was called to order by President Steve Ballentine at 10:07am.

The following members were present and constituted a quorum: 

Steve Ballentine, Jim Marczesky, Lisa Miller, Tom Pietras, Barry Bynum, Doug Gaddis, Lark Jamison (for Michele Jenkins), Sharon Bieber, Cathy Ballentine, Mary Bynum, Fred Bieber, and Bob Brantley

Board members not in attendance: Dawn Anderson, Michele Jenkins and Jane Simmons

Guests present: Nancy Shultz, SCYSA Administrative Assistant and Van Taylor, SCYSA Director of Coaching Development and Player Education

The minutes were reviewed.

Tom made a motion to accept the September 12, 2004 BOD minutes as amended.  Bob seconded the motion.

The motion carried unanimously.

COMMUNICATIONS: Steve

• Directors Cup 2005 (Boys and Girls) -Burns Park Complex in Little Rock, AR, June 17^th- 19^th. Cost to SCYSA is $1600 (last year $5000).
• Southern Regionals – Dallas, TX – 2005; Little Rock, AR – 2006; Oklahoma City, OK – 2007
• 22 man roster was proposed by Region I. Region III is unanimously opposed. The National BOD will vote on the proposal.
• US Youth Soccer Sponsorships – Negotiating with Hyundai and Saturn to take over Chevy contract. Kohl’s may take over the Tide contract at a reduced rate of $2500 per NSA, as compared to $4000.
• US Youth Soccer Grievance Process – A grievance was filed on voting rights.  As expected, it was dismissed by USSF. An appeal to USOC may take years. Bylaw change may be resubmitted to USSF and a new position with pro’s and athletes may be leveraged. Withdrawal from USSF as NSA’s may be considered, as a last resort.
• Region III ODP Web Site is available on the Region III Web Site
• National/Regional Committee Appointments:
  • Bob Brantley – National Chrm. Risk Management Committee
  • Fred Bieber – National Chrm. Mediation Committee
  • Steve Ballentine – Region Chrm Risk Management Committee

 VICE PRESIDENT: Jim

Risk Management

• Risk Management Committee met via conference call.
  • Reviewed 7 disclosure forms of potential volunteers who checked “yes” to 1 of 3 questions. 6 were approved; 1 was denied participation.
  • The decision was made to charge each applicant $25 who has, but does not provide their social security number on their volunteer disclosure form.  These applications will be run through SLED at an additional cost to SCYSA.
• Heather Frazier (from Choicepoint) advised that 9’s should be placed in the social security field for a volunteer who does not have a social security number or driver’s license. The default will be to use birth dates and names as the cross-references. At this point it will be up to SCYSA to determine if we have the correct person and may also result in multiple hits.
• The Risk Management Committee will be meeting to review 26 volunteer disclosure forms of potential volunteers who checked “yes” to 1 of the 3 questions.
• There are 2 clubs who do not have their required forms turned into the State Office. These forms were due September 1, 2004. North Augusta, Club 212, has not turned in their Club Risk Management Coordinator form and Hartsville Youth Soccer Club has not turned in their Field Safety Compliance form.
• Volunteer Compliance and Volunteer Disclosure forms continue to arrive daily.

CUPS & GAMES DIRECTOR: Barry 

• Director’s Cup – Floating roster of 25 players.
• Classic Cup and American Cup -Schedules are finished. We have 55 Classic teams and 14 American Cup teams. We will be using 7 lighted-fields at Lexington and 5 fields off the Lexington Complex. Registration and Coaches meetings will be held at the Lexington Leisure Center. Registration will begin on Friday at 7:00pm and end at 10:00pm.  Coaches meetings will be at 8:00pm for American Cup and 9:00pm for Classic Cup.
•  Directors Cup -We will have information for each Classic Cup winner and runner-up. If neither the 1^st or 2^nd place winner can go, we will have no representation in that age group.
• Score Shirts for BOD members are to be picked up today. Hats are also available.
• BOD members should read over the rules for Classic and American Cup as we have some changes this year.
• Challenge Cup – We are planning to use 6 fields. The Mayfield SC Mom of the Year will be announced at the Challenge Cup.

SECRETARY:  Lisa

Newsletter

• December Issue (Copy due by 11/15).
• Classic and American Cup photos will be in this issue. Challenge Cup photos will be in the March issue.

TREASURER: Tom

• Reviewed Standard Reports
  • Latest balance sheet – cash basis
  • Profit and loss – cash basis, comparison to previous year
  • Boys SST- detail of income and expenses from September 1 to date
  • Girls SST - detail of income and expenses from September 1 to date
• Discussed establishing written guidelines for travel by board and staff members in an effort to formalize 1) the requirement that the President make a determination as to whether the travel is required or desired and 2) the list of expenses that SCYSA will pay.

Tom made a motion to approve the travel guidelines as written below. Barry seconded the motion.

SCYSA BOD/Staff Travel Guidelines

Required Attendance: Individuals required to attend any official SCYSA event or functions, as determined by the SCYSA President. Properly documented and submitted expenses, as noted below, shall be reimbursed by SCYSA.

§         Registration fees

§         Travel Expenses

§         Hotels

§         Meals

Non-Required Attendance: Individuals desiring to attend SCYSA events or function, but not required to do so, as determined by SCYSA President. Properly documented and submitted expenses, as noted below, shall be reimbursed by SCYSA.

§         Registration fees

§         Hotels

§         Meals

SCYSA Staff Attendance: As deemed necessary by the SCYSA President, using the same guidelines noted above.

The motion carried unanimously.

• Discussed the development of financial policies manual. A copy of California Youth Soccer Association’s manual was emailed to BOD members for review. 

REGISTRAR: Nancy (for Jane)

• Registration has gone well. Lots of new club registrars.
• Some problems with tournament and guest rosters being sent to district commissioners.
• Numbers are down this year to about 16,000.
• Outstanding fee sheets were distributed to district commissioners.

PIEDMONT DISTRICT COMMISSIONER: Lark (for Michele)

• First Round of Challenge Cup – Greer Youth Soccer Association will be hosting First Round of Challenge Cup.  The venue will be Country Club Road Park.  The park has 2 lighted-fields. Would like the game schedule to be 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 7pm.  Teams traveling from the Mid-State would start playing at 9am and teams coming from the Coast would start at 11am.
• TOPSoccer - Carolina Elite Soccer Academy is having great success with their TOPSoccer program.  They are currently holding a session every other Sunday.  The sessions are being held at Carolina Indoor Soccer Complex.  Wendy Shockly has done a phenomenal job with this program.
• Darkness to Light -Would like to extend registration for the December 4, 2004 session in the Piedmont District until November 25, 2004. Discussed concerns over lack of interest in training. Steve will meet with Darkness to Light to talk about ways to better organize and present the training.
• Premier League - All the teams from the Piedmont District participating in the Premier League have submitted a Seasonal Notification to Travel.
• Foothills Premier Soccer Club - The FPSC U13 Boys Diablos classic team has requested that they be allowed to move down to play rec. in the spring.  One player is moving home to South America, two are going to CESA, two are not going to play next season, and one is only going to play middle school soccer. That would drop them from 14 to 8 players and no classic player pool in the Travelers Rest area. 

Lark made a motion to allow the FPSC U13 Boys Diablos to move down from classic level to recreation level in the spring. Barry seconded the motion.

A discussion was held. SCYSA Rule G-5 was referenced. It was noted that Recreational Championship includes Invitational Tournaments.

Lisa made a friendly amendment to the motion to allow the FPSC U13 Boys Diablos to move down from Classic level to Recreation level in the spring in accordance with SCYSA Rule G-5.

Lark and Barry accepted the friendly amendment.

The motion carried unanimously.

§         A discussion was held on the earlier topic of First Round games in the Piedmont District.

Tom made a motion that the board direct Steve Cothran to schedule First Round games in the Piedmont District with teams from the Midstate District starting play at 9:00am and teams from the Coastal District starting play at 11:00am, as requested by the Piedmont Commissioner. Jim seconded the motion.

The motion failed 3- 6, with 1 abstention.

MIDSTATE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER: Sharon

• Concerned about having enough fields and volunteers.
• Jim suggested using Summit or North Springs fields. Nancy offered to help. 

COASTAL DISTRICT COMMISSIONER: Cathy

• First Round of State Cup for the Challenge teams playing in the Coastal District will be held at the SSC Complex on November 20, 2004.  All plans are set and were reviewed by Barry with the exception of referees and medics. We are projecting 8-9 teams will play in the Coastal area.
• Notification to Travel has been an adjustment but we are making progress.  Received an excessive number of team rosters and guest player rosters that should have been sent directly to Nancy or Jane. Registrars have been asked to address this with the clubs. 
• Pullen Insurance claim forms routing through Bonnie Epperson with the State Office is going well.  We validate the claim and send to Pullen Insurance.
• It has been reported that the Charleston Thanksgiving tournament was cancelled.  Their website does not indicate any type of cancellation. A request for confirmation of the cancellation was sent to DOR.
• Hilton Head Island Recreational Department:  Talking with the HHI Rec. Center in regard to joining SCYSA in fall 2005.  The Recreational Board had a meeting on October 20, 2004 to discuss the pros and cons.  They are very interested and know they only have until approximately May to finalize their plans.
• Followed up with clubs on all outstanding registration fees.
• Requested a copy of cup registration forms to obtain e-mail addresses.
• Talked with Summerville YMCA and have planned a follow-up meeting. 2 YMCA teams played for SSC this year.
• Attended registration and some games of the Grand Strand Tournament. The tournament was very organized.
• Discussed medics at First Round games. Steve recommended that commissioners have medics on site.
• Lower State Soccer League is in the process of developing constitution/bylaws, but not yet approved.
• Bob is working with leagues and clubs in the development of constitution/bylaws.

STATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR BOYS: Van (for Dawn)

§         First round of Boys State Select tryouts went well. Thanked SSC for the use of their facility.

§         Second round of tryouts will be 12/5/04.  Two teams will be selected in each age group to attend a three way interstate event on Jekyll Island, Jan. 21^st to 23^rd.

§         Will be working with Steve and Mary in preparing guidelines for future scholarships for the two programs.

§         Working on collecting funds from last season.

STATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR GIRLS: Mary 

• On target for State Team Trials with 160 girls registered to try-out.
• State Select Teams will attend Interstate Games in North Carolina, January 21st-23^rd.
• Discussed a request for financial help from Serge Lipovetsky (State Select Girls Coach and Head Women’s Coach, Erskine College) to attend a licensing course.

Mary made a motion to provide Serge Lipovetsky with financial support as he has been selected to attend the Premier Diploma Coaching course at a cost of $1,000. Sharon seconded the motion.

§         A discussion was held.

Mary amended her motion to include $250 as the amount of financial support that would be provided to Serge Lipovetsky. Sharon accepted the amendment.

The motion passed 9 - 1.

• Bob asked that the finance committee develop a policy for financial support offered to coaches.

MEMBER AT LARGE: Fred

No report. Fred was called away on a business emergency earlier in the meeting.

RULES AND COMPLIANCE: Bob

• A discussion was held on temporary approval of clubs’ bylaws.

Bob made a motion to extend conditional approval of constitution/bylaws until each club’s AGM. Tom seconded the motion.

The motion carried unanimously.

STATE YOUTH RECREATION DIRECTOR: Doug 

• Will be submitting a document to Region III that reflects how the Recreational Program is administered by SCYSA and how the needs of target populations are addressed. This will be reviewed and presented at the follow-up recreational meeting in Salt Lake City.
• Would like the names of Recreational Committee members from District Commissioners in order to make contacts and develop a system to address local concerns within the recreational communities.
• Michele Jenkins has discussed with Wendy Shockly the possibility of her serving as Chairperson of the TOPSoccer Committee. The committee will be made up of a chairperson and a representative from each district.
• Would like for the TOPSoccer Chairperson to serve on the Recreational Committee.

DIRECTOR OF COACHING DEVELOPMENT AND PLAYER EDUCATION: Van
 

• National Youth Licensing Class was cancelled due to lack of cancelled due to lack of participation.
• Asked District Commissioners to let members know that the coaching committee is here to help.
• We have applied to host the “C” licensing class in May.
• Passed out information on “Silent Saturdays” where parents/fans are silent on the sidelines.
• SCYSA’s requirements for coaching licenses are being developed and will be discussed at the next meeting.
• TOPSoccer event in Greenville held during Youth Soccer Month/September was a great success.
• Van will be finishing up his Professional Coaching License in December.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

• Indoor Soccer Affiliation – Nancy, Jane Cathy and Jim will work on appropriate affiliation guidelines.
• Boys State Select – Reimbursements for camp fees have been made. Tom will follow up.
• Steve asked Tom to check to see if the fee from Tide has been received.
• Steve, Mary and Dawn are working on guidelines for State Select (ODP) Scholarships.
• 2005 Presidents’ Workshop- Embassy Suites is not available. A business convention has booked the entire hotel. Cathy will contact other hotels/conference centers.
• Club Financial Information - Bob will send clubs information on tax forms. A letter has been drafted but not sent.

• Darkness to Light

NEW BUSINESS:

• Planning Meeting – Feb. 11^th –13^th, Radisson in Myrtle Beach. Specifics will be coming.
• Referee of the Year – Rules/regulations discussed for Young Female and Male. Referee of the Year.

Sharon made a motion to select a SCYSA Adult Referee of the Year based on the guidelines presented. Lisa seconded the motion.

 The motion passed 6-3 with 1 abstention.

§         Discussed offering a Director of Coaching Pass in the next seasonal year.

Barry made a motion that SCYSA offer a Director of Coaching Pass in the next seasonal year that would allow the Directors of Coaching on the benches of teams from their club. The following stipulations would apply:

o       A maximum of 2 Director of Coaching passes would be issued per club.

o       Director of Coaching would be marked on the pass by SCYSA.

o       The maximum number of coaching members allowed on the roster remains at 4 (This includes the “DOC”).

Doug seconded the motion.

The motion carried unanimously.

§         Small-sided games – Concerns with changes in roster size at U11 and U9 were discussed. Cathy made a chart to show where the numbers currently fall.

§         Barry recommended doing away with the Sate Cup games for U11 and U12 due to small-sided games and the lack of field space.

§         A discussion was held.

Cathy made a motion for SCYSA to adopt the changes to the policy on classic and recreational level small-sided games as seen on the Small Sided-Games Chart for the 2005-2006 seasonal year. Jim seconded the motion.

(See attachment #1).

The motion carried unanimously.

Tom made a motion to eliminate the U10, U11 and U12 age divisions in the State Cup competitions in the 2005-2006 seasonal year. Festivals may be used to replace these competitions. Doug seconded the motion.

The motion passed 9-1.

FOR THE GOOD OF THE GAME:

Van commended the board for taking a leadership role on the issue of small-sided games.

Bob made a motion to adjourn.  Lisa seconded the motion.

The motion carried unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 3:15 pm.

Lisa Miller
SCYSA Secretary