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Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association
Minutes for the Board Meeting

7:00pm, July 1, 2009
At Common Bond. 172 West Napa Street, Sonoma

Directors Present (11): Lynn Abaté-Johnson, Jean-François Ducarroz, Vikki Griggs-Demmin, Sam Honey, Teri Miller, Edwin Richards, Dino Rossini, Stacey Schoeningh, Mike Verdu,Jim Van Sickle, Phylis Wakefield. Not Present: Antonio Alvarez, Karen Cline, Rick Hicks, Deidre Verdu. Also Present (at least some of the time): Renee Caruso, Jennifer Rochlin, Greg Volker

Public Comment

None.

Apologies for Absence

Karen Cline, Rick Hicks, Deidre Verdu

Mission Moment

Sam went to the South Lake Tahoe Tournament. He was very impressed by the natural surroundings and the spirit of the U19G team from Sonoma, Team Excel. Excel won three games, and tied a fourth. They had their tournament victory taken away on a technicality. Coach Brian Wirick had asked to transfer a player on Saturday night from another team as he was faced with the prospect of having ten players for two halves in hot weather for the final on the Sunday. He was given a player by the coach of another team; this player was not of exceptional ability. However during the game, opposition team parents referred to the tournament rule book. The rules state that players cannot play for two teams in the same tournament. After the game, the tournament organizer held a meeting between the two teams; Sonoma players voted to concede the game (and thus the tournament).

Approval of Minutes

A motion to approve the June 3 Board Meeting minutes, proposed by Vikki and seconded by Mike, was carried with none opposed. Jean-François, who had not been present on June 3, abstained.

The Secretary announced that he had received the necessary notice of consent to the April 5 Closed Meeting having taken place from Antonio Alvarez. The board was thus in a position to approve the minutes if it saw fit. Jean-François proposed the April 5 minutes be accepted. Stacey seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.

President’s Remarks

Thanked the Secretary for his work in regard to a pending PAD Committee hearing. Sam also announced he looking for his “big black bag,” which was missing.

Vice-President’s Report

1. Bookkeeper Position

Lynn, Vikki and Edwin met with two candidates for the bookkeeper position. Although recognizing the qualities of both candidates, they had decided to go with Jennifer Rochlin of Abacus Bookkeeping. Jennifer is a professional bookkeeper. In the meeting with Lynn, Vikki and Edwin, Jennifer had said she was willing to work for below market rates for the SVYSA because of the networking opportunities she thought the organization afforded. She had asked to be able to meet with the board, and perhaps select coaches to publicize her business. In her contract, prepared by Vikki and reviewed by the board, it is stipulated that Jennifer is able to advertise her business on the SVYSA website. Jennifer lives in Vineburg, but is planning to get an office in town.

Sam suggested that the bookkeeper’s contract be amended to stipulate that prior to signing a check of $750 or more, the bookkeeper must obtain email approval from an officer with check-signing authority (currently the President, Vice-President and Secretary).

2. Field-lining

Vikki noted there had been some confusion over the compensation of Gaudencio, the field liner. He has been going to Becky (current bookkeeper) directly and telling her what fields he has lined for what teams. Vikki suggested coaches notify the bookkeeper when they had requested that a field be lined, so the bookkeeper could anticipate and verify Gaudencio’s request. Lines last for one week. There was agreement that the matter of field lining and field liner compensation needed to be more organized for next year’s spring season. (This issue was also addressed later in the meeting during the Select Coaching Coordinators’ Report.)

3. Hanna Boys Center

Vikki announced there would be a July 14 meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Notre Dame Room at Hanna Boys Center. Scott (of Hanna) will present the plan for Hanna’s field development, which include putting in an all weather soccer field. SVYSA members who used Hanna were invited to attend the meeting to show support for Hanna, which has allowed many SVYSA teams to use its fields, in addition to making its rooms available for coaching and referee classes. The SVYSA presence at the meeting would make it clear that Hanna’s field benefits the wider community, not just the Center.

4. Tatton Case

Vikki gave an update on the forthcoming Tatton case. The charges against Mr. Tatton have been increased to 31 from 10. Apparently Mr. Tatton’s lawyers were petitioning to unseal the alleged victim’s educational, health and psychiatric documents.

Nominee Bookkeeper Presented to Board

Jennifer Rochlin, owner of Abacus Bookkeeping and nominee for the position of bookkeeper was presented to the board. Jennifer confirmed that it was likely she would have an office in the Sonoma Plaza, although paperwork had not been finalized. Irrespective of where her office was, she said she would be able to designate a pick up/ drop off point for coaches. She described her hours as Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and declared that on Saturday and Sunday she needed a break. She stated she would be accessible and responsive, but wouldn’t necessarily respond instantly, since she had other clients. Jean-François encouraged her to put a process in place. Lynn noted that Jennifer’s web advert would go in contributor column of the SVYSA website, with placement to be mutually determined. Jennifer reiterated that she was looking to network with people and was excited to be taking on the position. She had spoken by phone with Becky (current bookkeeper) and was intending to meet with her early the following week to make the handover. Board members introduced themselves.

A motion to approve Jennifer’s contract with the amendment discussed (consent needed for checks in excess of $750) was proposed by Lynn and seconded by Stacey. It was carried unanimously.

Phylis tabled a motion of thanks to Becky for persevering with the bookkeeper’s job. Seconded by Vikki, it was carried unanimously. There was talk of giving Becky some flowers as a token of thanks; Lynn said she would give Becky some flowers from her own garden.

Registrar’s Report

Renee reported that as of June 30, 1,194 players had been registered. It would still be possible to late-register rec players, she thought.

Almost half of the select teams’ paperwork had been processed. Other teams had incomplete paperwork. Renee had emailed the coaches/ team managers telling them what was needed to finish their applications and cc-ed Jim and Dino on all communications. She was aiming to have most select teams compiled by July 27.

She reported that District V registrars had been exchanging emails. Most were reporting a 10 to 20 percent reduction in players. Towards the end of June, SVYSA registrations were down only 3 percent.

Concerning Division 4 (i.e. the rec teams), Renee had met with Mike (Coaching Coordinator) and the Age-Group Coordinators and emailed a list of coaches. She was hoping teams would go out by the third week of July. All coaches will get 1601’s this year. Renee thanked Teri, Sam and Phylis for their help in data entry and was in turned thanked by the board

Secretary’s Report

Edwin reported that in the absence of Rick, the PAD chair, he had communicated with Eran regarding a PAD Committee hearing and read the letter that he had sent to Eran.

Edwin had been following up on hotline calls, but this was now to be delegated to people with volunteer hours to work off. Edwin gave the information on the hotline to Teri and Lynn, who said they would try to work out a volunteer schedule.

Additionally, Edwin noted that he had coordinated with Deidre so that the hotline now contained a message inviting people with concerns to leave a message in a separate voicemail box for the Risk Management Officer.

Bookkeeper’s Report

None.

Referee Coordinator’s Report

Karen asked that people be notified that an additional referee refresher course would take place from July 11 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Hanna. The course is open to all already licensed referees 12 years and older that did not take the referee licensing course this year. All referees are required to take 5 hours of continuing education annually. The cost is $10.00 per player. Interested parties should contact Karen at phone number 935-6742.

Outreach/ Fundraising/ Scholarships

Lynn reported that production of the code of conduct signs was under way. She had ordered “wind-signs” which would be in English and Spanish. Cards will also be printed up. They will be distributed at the team parent meeting on July 28.

Sam took a donation form to Sonoma Market, Lynn is hoping for enthusiastic support.

Fundraising

On June 15 a “Dine and Donate Day” at the Mary’s Pizza Shacks in Sonoma and Boyes had raised approximately raised c. $325. Sonoma Market had given out fliers publicizing the event. Thus far about $5,500 has been raised towards scholarships.

Select Coaching Coordinators’ Report

The Select Committee is to meet July 7 to review their code of conduct for players and coaches.

At that meeting, the Committee also will discuss a development program for coaches.

Two more assistant coaches are being interviewed.

At present there are problems with coaches leaving goals out at Prestwood and the High School after practices. Currently, select team coaches practicing at Prestwood and the High School have the key to a lockbox which contains the key to the goals. The goals need to be returned to the storage area and locked up after use to avoid inconvenience to other users of the field. The plan is that coaches who fail to return goals to the correct place after use will receive a warning. If they fail to return the goals to the correct place a second time, they will have their lockbox key taken away from them.

There will be a coaches’ meeting on July 28.

Jim and Dino had not been present for the earlier discussion about the field liner’s pay requests. They proposed that a coach needing a field to be lined fill out a request form and email it to Gaudencio (field liner) he would have to turn it in to Jennifer (bookkeeper) to be paid. In the event Jennifer received an unsigned form, she would need to confirm with the Select Chairs prior to issuing a check.

Risk Management

There had been talk at the previous meeting of inviting Jeff of “We Print You” (and formerly of the FBI) to give a talk on Risk Management. After discussion it was proposed that Deidre invite Jeff to speak at the Select Coaches’ Meeting on July 28 and again during the week of September 14 for the broader community. Deidre would be notified of what the board wanted her to arrange.

Hiring of Guest Coaches and Trainers

Sometimes coaches bring in outside coaches/ trainers with special skills or greater experience to train their team for a few sessions and/ or to run clinics for more than one team. Sam was concerned that the League needed a policy in place for hiring such trainers/ coaches. He argued that if an SVYSA coach hired somebody to coach a team or run a clinic, that somebody needed to fill out a 1628, be fingerprinted and offer references. Similarly, if an outside trainer/ coach wanted to do a clinic for SVYSA players, the board needed to approve. Sam also felt that if a team hires an outsider, the coach had to be there throughout the session(s).

Jean-François offered an opposing view, namely that if a coach got the opportunity to hire someone they felt to be competent, the coach should just be able to hire them. Provided the coach who did the hiring was present at all times during the sessions, there shouldn’t be an issue.

Another matter concerned whether the hired coach/ trainer was hired as an employee or as an independent contractor. Most leagues treat them as employees. There were also insurance consequences.

Motion: to develop a League policy covering risk management and general policy around the use of outside trainers. Formation of this policy would be the responsibility of the Rick (Fields and Insurance) and Deidre (Risk Management). Proposed by Lynn, seconded by Jim. Carried.

Any Other Reports/ Any Other Business

Stacey announced the team parent meeting would be held Tuesday July 28 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The meeting would cover the responsibilities of the team parent, information on uniforms and the photo packet would be handed out. It might also be possible to do fingerprinting.

Equipment Manager’s Report

Greg said that he had talked with Eric Muller of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD). The SVUSD’s Maintenance Department was losing one man as a result of cuts. Greg reported that Eric was very open to the League making improvements to fields. Additionally, Greg reported he (Greg) had a contact at the Sonoma National Golf Course and was trying to get some consulting on how field improvements might best be made. He noted that watering of fields was governed by the City and that some improvements might have to wait for winter. However he thought some things could be done sooner and he raised the possibility of having volunteer work days, first at Prestwood, then at Adele.

Other comments from Greg:

He had sent stakes and a mallet to Altimira and wondered if they were still there. He noted that to secure the goal nets, light pressure to partially bury the stake was sufficient; driving stakes way into the ground is not necessary.

Sonoma Developmental Center – there was a potentially good field surface there. However there were a number of issues: gophers and ground squirrels were damaging the playing surface, nets cannot be left out on goals and the lack of restrooms and trashcans poses problems. Greg wanted to see if the Developmental Center was able to help with any of these matters.

Field arrangements: the U6, U8 and one U10 field would be at Adele. The designated fields need to be noted in the SVYSA Handbook.

There was a brief discussion on whether to buy T-shirts for coaches this year and it was decided that in the current economic climate, this was not necessary.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 10.13 p.m.