Welcome to sonomasoccer.org

7:00pm, March 4, 2009
At Common Bond. 172 West Napa Street, Sonoma

Directors Present (11): Lynn Abaté-Johnson, Vikki Griggs-Demmin, Jean-François Ducarroz, Sam Honey, Teri Miller, Edwin Richards, Dino Rossini, Stacey Schoeningh, Deidre Verdu, Mike Verdu, Phylis Wakefield. Not present: Antonio Alvarez, Rick Hicks, Karen Cline, Jim Van Sickle.

Also Present: Renée Caruso

Public Comment

None

Apologies for Absence: Karen Cline, Rick Hicks, Jim Van Sickle

Mission Moment

Teri reported that the U16B Sonoma United and the U15B Sonoma Crush had both played in a jamboree. Relations between the two teams are generally perceived as tense. After the tournament Teri had gone to a fastfood restaurant with two players from her team. Presently two players from the U16B entered the establishment. Teri anticipated mutual hostility between the rival players, but instead they had warm exchange. Teri concluded that the “problem” between the two teams lay with the adults, not the kids.

Approval of Minutes

The motion to approve the minutes of the Special Board Meeting held 2.25.09 was proposed by Phylis and seconded by Jean-François. Prior to the vote, Dino reported that the two proposed co-coaches of the U12G had met each other as planned on 2.26.09. They had got on well and were happy to be co-coaches of the U12G. Motion carried without dissent.

The motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board Meeting held 02.04.09 was moved by Vikki, seconded by Dino and carried with 6 in favor and 3 abstentions.

President’s Remarks

Sam reported that his personal circumstances had changed and this might result in a need for him to delegate responsibility for some SVYSA matters. His ex-wife was suffering from cancer and had moved back into his home. Sam was involved in her care.

Vice-President’s Report

Vikki noted that the School District would allow their fields to be used for select team try-outs scheduled for the weekend of March 14 and 15 provided there were 5 dry (rain-free) days prior to the try-outs.

Secretary’s Report

The Secretary said he’d received confirmation from the California Secretary of State’s office that the SVYSA (as a non-profit corporation) was in good standing.

Edwin again pointed out to members that he was required to circulate the agenda 72 hours prior to board meetings. If nobody contacted him with items for the agenda, it made it difficult to structure the meetings so that everybody’s time was used to best effect.

Report on Meeting of Sonoma Youth Sporting Organizations; Vote on Whether to Collect a “Facilities Fee”

Sam reported on the meeting of Sonoma youth sporting organizations held on February 17. Sam had called the meeting in response to the School District’s stated desire to charge sporting groups for using school facilities (fields, etc.). Sam had invited members from every sporting group that he knew about. In between the date that the meeting was called and the date the meeting was actually scheduled to take place, the School District had backed down from its demands to charge. Nevertheless the meeting had gone ahead. (In addition to Sam, Dino, Vikki and Edwin had attended from the SVYSA.) There had been a good flow of ideas and a good atmosphere. Those present had felt that sport had been under-represented in the local political arena. Partly for this reason, those at the meeting had decided to form an organization to represent the collective interest of local youth sport. The possibility of enlisting the support of a local political figure had been broached and the name of August Sebastiani mentioned. Other ideas had included incorporating the organization as a non-profit, working to build a sports facility and perhaps taking over the management of Arnold Field (when the contract with the Sonoma Men’s Athletic Association expired). There was a proposal to try to work with the School District to improve the existing school facilities. To that end the meeting had expressed interest in levying a “facilities” fee and Sam had said that he would approach the SVYSA board about this idea.

Regarding enlisting a politician to help with the group, some Board members wondered whether or not it was necessary and if, irrespective of who the politician was, whether having a political figurehead might pull the group further into politics than it might want. Other members envisaged advantages of the group having someone with political clout. There was general support for the proposal to form a group of youth sporting organizations. It was suggested the High School Boosters be approached and Stacey said a swimming group had expressed interest in attending the next meeting. Sam reiterated that he had invited everybody he could think of and invited board members to give him further names.

Members also saw the positive possibilities of managing Arnold Field and working together to build a sports facility. However, when it came to the $5 facilities fee, the Board had a number of concerns. The Board had already moved to reduce the amount of money available for scholarships and everyone was aware that the economic outlook for the year was not bright. To ask for an additional $5 per player against that background seemed harsh to some. Moreover, the other sporting organizations (basketball, softball, baseball) had already had their registrations, so the SVYSA would be the first to levy the fee. The other organizations had indicated a willingness to “chip in,” but some Board members questioned whether this would actually happen and certainly the onus was on the SVYSA to be the first to take practical action.

Although members were broadly sympathetic to the idea of raising a fee to improve facilities, some were troubled by the lack of specificity – both in itself and as a way of raising funds. The money raised would be kept in a separate bank account, but what specifically was the money for? Some members felt that not being able to say exactly what the money was for would make the levy a tough sell. Other questions: Would a family with four players have to pay $20? Would players playing different sports get levied throughout the year e.g. $5 for soccer, $5 for softball?

At the last meeting the Board had voted to charge a $5 facilities fee on all players. The intention of this vote had been to give Rick (Fields and Insurance) some negotiating power with the School District. However, as noted above, since the last Board meeting, the School District withdrew its proposal to charge the SVYSA and other organizations for field use. This was because, without a change in the legal code, to do so would be illegal. Therefore, for this year the Board did not need to worry about raising the $5 per player fee. The board could decide to levy the fee, but put it in a separate bank account for use in conjunction with the group of youth sporting organizations or it could decide to drop the fee.

There was the suggestion that the money could be used to improve the existing School District fields with the SVYSA/ youth sporting organizations doing the work or having it done. However, although Vikki pointed out there had been some indication that the School District was willing to allow the SVYSA to undertake field improvements, some members felt that while this might have been said in theory, in practice the School District would not allow non-Union work on its fields. A number of members expressed the view that any fund-raising efforts needed to be carefully planned before seeking to raise cash.

Lynn argued that the SVYSA was trying to make it easy for kids to play soccer and that therefore the $5 fee should be dropped. Motion: to reverse the previous motion levying $5 on each player. Proposed by Lynn, seconded by Stacey. The motion was carried with 8 in favor, 2 against, 1 abstention.

A second motion to add line items to the registration form enabling registrants to donate to the scholarship fund and/ or a facilities fund was proposed by Phylis and seconded by Vikki. In brief discussion it was remarked that these items would serve to raise consciousness about the issues. It was also remarked that at the select level, our teams were less competitive because they didn’t have the year round practice facilities that other teams did. The motion was carried unanimously.

Update From Registrar

Training

Renee reported that she had the manual for the CYSA League One registration system and was following the training program. There was no District 5 Registrar Training Meeting (Renee’s contract stated she should attend a Registrar training session, but since there wasn’t a session to attend she was unable to comply with this stipulation.)

Online Registration

Renee was awaiting the return of the edited version of the program from the provider company. March 15 was the target start date.

Walk-In Registrations

The dates and times had been set for this year:

Tuesday April 7 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday April 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Saturday May 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

All registration was to take place at Sassarini Elementary School, 652 5^th Street West, Sonoma. Sam reminded board members that they were expected to attend at least two registration sessions. He would also be contacting all last year’s coaches and AGCs via letter. Renée announced there would be a meeting of the Registration Committee along with an orientation/ training meeting at Gramma’s Pizza on March 24 starting at 7:00 p.m.. Those unable to attend that meeting should turn up to their first registration 30 minutes early to get a briefing on procedure. Everyone was urged to bring their own stapler to the registration sessions.

Advertising

The Communications Committee had laid out an extensive advertising campaign, including newspaper advertisements, public service announcements in English and Spanish on the local radio (KSVY 91.3 FM Sonoma Community Radio) and promotion on the SVYSA website. In addition emails would be sent to everybody on the email list and mailings to those who played last year. There would also be banners and flyers and Sam and Lynn would be hosting a table at the Farmers’ Market and Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Other Registration Related Matters

Sam said he had spoken with Bruce Weaver, CYSA District 5 Commissioner, about advertising for players. While Mr. Weaver was comfortable with the League advertising for select players in other Districts, it was not appropriate to recruit recreational players in that way.

JF asked if we were charged a $5 per player fee for online registration. Nobody knew. Sam said he would find out.

Gear Exchange would take place after registration, but there would be a drop-off bucket at registration.

Outreach Committee Report

Lynn said that the Sonoma Sun newspaper would let their office by used as a gear exchange drop off point. Items appropriate for exchange included cleats, shinguards and uniforms.

Lynn will record a PSA (Public Service Announcement) announcing registration. Some KSVY presenters would read out announcements themselves and members who knew such broadcasters should give them the information they needed.

Sam and Vikki will be on radio KSVY with Ken Brown

Lynn was on the look out for somebody to be on the Spanish radio station. Gaudencio Becerril and his wife were proposed.

Tuesday April 21 is a Farmer’s Market day. It is also Ben & Jerry’s “Free Cone Day” in which the icecream company gives away free icecream, with recipients encouraged to make donations in return. The donations are divided between two benificiaries: the SVYSA and the Mentoring Alliance. All Ben & Jerry’s were asking in return was that the League provide people to serve the icecream. Sam and Vikki had already volunteered and additional board volunteers were required to fill two-hour slots between 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Scholarships

There is $10,000 budgeted for scholarships; there will be half- and quarter-scholarships. The eligibility criteria will be based on the school lunch assistance program. There will be an attempt to verify parental/ guardian income of scholarship applicants and those who receive food stamps and/ or school lunch support will be asked to provide their case number to substantiate their claim. All scholarship recipients/ their parents will be required repay the scholarships in kind by doing volunteer work for the SVYSA. Teri has a plan to train the volunteers who will disburse scholarships on registration nights. There will be a cap for each registration session. Scholarship requirements will be published in newspaper articles.

Fundraising

Lynn will place a minimum order of 250 keychains. Attached to the keychain will be an attractive miniature soccer ball embellished with the SVYSA logo. Furthermore, the ball will contain lipbalm with an SPF of 20 and a shelf-life of two years. The cost for the initial order will be c.$3 per item. The proposed selling price is $5.

There was also talk of selling left over shoebags.

Any Other Business

Rudy’s letter

Rudy Bryson, former Board member and coach of the U16B Sonoma United had sent a letter to the Board which had been circulated online by the Secretary. Rudy’s basic point was that referees were subject to unfair criticism from people at games because these people did not know the rules of the game. His proposed solution was that all coaches, assistant coaches and “team managers/ parents” should be encouraged to take coaching classes and referee courses.

In addition, he suggested:

“1. Coaches need to observe at their games and coach during practices. The coaches shouldn’t need to yell instructions the whole game.

“2. Coaches shouldn’t worry so much about whether they win, lose, or end up in a draw. Coaches should worry more on teaching their team better soccer.

“3. Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Team Managers, and spectators, should let the KIDS play soccer, by watching, listening, and only cheering, and not constant coaching.”

Also in his letter, Rudy said he was concerned about the way a particular coach and team manager had behaved over the season in reaction to refereeing decisions.

Phylis felt that Rudy’s general points concerning the need for knowledge of the game and appropriate conduct were valid. She was reminded of a poster which read something like “coaches coach, parents cheer, respect the ref, let the kids play.” Dino pointed out that Select coaches were required to take coaching and referee licenses. Mike said that in his “Coaching 101” course he would include some explanation of the rules as well as coaching suggestions.

There was broad agreement with the general philosophy expressed in the letter and summarized above: the more knowledgeable people involved with the SVYSA were about soccer, the better off we would all be. However, some felt that Rudy’s issues with the coach and team manager (unnamed in the letter) needed to be viewed in a context where, regardless of various rights and wrongs, there had been a history of mutual antagonism between Rudy and the presumed coach in question.

More Other Business

Sam reported that there had been no further communication from the CYSA on the proposed rule changes regarding cancellation/ forfeit of games.

Lynn said she had letters available to be sent to potential donors to the League.

The meeting adjourned at 8.47 p.m.