Date: 6/23/13
Time start: 8:09
Time end: 9:26
Members Present:
R.Campbell, D. Seekings, J. Ostertag, J. Bores, A. Dumke, A. Leach, S. Reigh, M. Callahan, S. Akhavein
President’s Report: Randy Campbell
- Chris Billstrom has agreed to be one of the registrars for the club as Amy Leach has resigned her position. Jenny and Amy will train him on his duties as registrar.
- Season ends Friday, June 28th for most teams. Girls U15 continue to play until July.
- Teams did well in the standings. Yet to be decided if U13 Boys will play Classic 2 or continue playing in Classic 1.
- Parents / Families / Players seem pleased with how things are going. No major issues or complaints. Receiving positive feedback.
- Oshkosh Tournament went well. Members discussed how to increase the number of teams participating in our tournament. Suggestion was made to participate in tournaments with teams who can reciprocate. Another suggestion was made to notify the Oshkosh Northwestern about the United Tournament before the tournament in order for them to be there to take photos or have an article in the paper about it.
- UNIFORMS - Randy will contact Meredith from Soccer.com. They will discuss options as far as whether or not to continue to replace jerseys with logos peeling or go with a different type of jersey ( with a patch) starting in the spring, etc. Cost will be more for jerseys with patches and the color green is not a common color so that may also affect cost.
- Waterfest is set for August 8th. Will discuss more about this at August meeting.
- East Central has proposed having a pool roster of players. One coach is assigned to 12 players. Roster size is limited. No fixed rosters. Allows players to play with other teams. Concern is that scheduling game and practice times may be difficult for players in the pool.
- Coaching staff for the fall and spring season is set. Toby Barres will be the state team coach. We have coaches continuing their training and obtaining higher level of licensures. We currently have a highly licensed staff.
- September 7th, 2013 - Fall League starts and goes until the end October; 8 games / team.
Vice President’s Report: Andy Dumke -
No meetings held during the summer for East Central League.
Treasurer’s Report: David Seekings
- Coaches need to be paid and reimbursed for their expenses. We are also waiting for final invoice from the Y.
- Estimated profit will be between $3000 and $4000 from Tournament.
- Teams sponsorships was an excellent idea - worked very well. (Also all teams attending the same tournaments was a good idea.)
- We are in "good shape."
Director of Coaching: Matt Callahan and Sohaila Akhavein
Sohaila Akhavein - No report
Matt Callahan - See Coaching Report below:
Should we continue to have the academy?
• Designed for U8 and U10 players, runs in the fall
• Had issues with organization last year, this spring East Central created a league
• +++ We did gain an entire team from the academy
• +++ It is something Neenah and WC is not doing
• +++ I've received multiple emails asking if we are going to do it again
• - - - It was difficult to manage as both Sohaila and I have a busy fall, the program is supposed to be ran by "professional" coaches. We provided guidance and ran once practice a week and had a parent coach run the other practice
• - - - If we do it again we probably need to hire someone to help run the practices, this could be done but then we would need to up the cost of the program
• - - - If we are going to host home games we probably need to have fields lined and purchase a set or two of small-sided goals
• - - - We could also run a hybrid program in which we offer training to young players with
scrimmages but never go out and play anyone else (we wouldn't officially be an academy)
Board members discussed all of the above concerns. We decided that the Academy should not be run unless it is run by a well respected and qualified coach. Matt will contact Toby Barres and other coaches to ask if they would be interested in coaching for the Academy. Otherwise, Matt and Sohaila will offer to run weekend soccer clinics and not have the Academy.
How should the sponsorship program be improved for next year?
• It has been suggested to me that we didn't charge enough this year because we "sold out" ofsponsorships in a few weeks. Should we raise the cost to sponsor a team? If so, to what amount (itwas suggested to me to be $425 instead of $350).
Suggested amount by board members was to increase to $375 for silver sponsor.
• How do we deal with teams that play in the fall in terms of sponsorship? Do the sponsors of thoseteams get a bonus, do we not have teams wear sponsor shirts in the fall, or do we charge more tosponsor a team fall and spring?
It was decided that sponsorships should be offered in the spring. If someone wants to sponsor a team for the fall, it should be at a lower rate.
• I think we should change the structure of the sponsors. Currently the "Gold" sponsor gets a bannerthat is hung up by the fields and the "Silver" sponsors get a team. Everyone wants to sponsor ateam....so I think the gold sponsor should be a banner and a team. The cost of the banner isapproximately $130. What should we charge for the gold sponsor?
Suggested that gold sponsorship should stay at $500 and include a team and a banner.
• Whenever we get new jerseys, what should we charge to be a club sponsor in which the logo wouldbe put on all the game jerseys (most likely for 3 years or however the jersey lasts).
Suggested amount by board members was between $2500 - $3000; however that amount was not finalized. We will have more discussion on that at future meetings.
• Should we build the cost of a sponsor shirt (approximately $12) into the jersey fee so the
Sponsorship money is all profit?
Yes.
Coaching Survey Results...
• Mostly positive
• Sunday practice change???? Surveyed if we should all train at once or go two back-to-backpractices. Should we keep them the same, switch it, or do a combination of both?
Board members discussed all possible options. It was suggested that Matt and Sohaila run two back to back practices where they each take turns leading groups.Groups would be divided by age.
Some parents were concerned that their child did not get to practice twice a week because practices were not held on a few Sundays when the teams had tournaments. It was suggested that practice nights be held on Tuesday evenings instead of Sunday evenings.
Fall League Teams
• U11 Boys White: 9 yes, 1 maybe, 1 no
• U11 Boys Green: 6 yes, 1 maybe, 4 no, 1 no word
• U11 Boys Silver: 5 yes, 4 no, 4 no word (Pool registration, form two U11 boys fall teams)
• U12 Boys: 8 yes, 1 maybe, 1 no, 4 no word (Should have a team)
• U13 Boys State: 10 yes, 5 no, 2 no word (form one U13 boys team)
• U13 Boys Green: 12 yes, 1 no, 1 no word (move some players up, what to do with the rest?)
• U14 Boys: 12 yes, 1 no, 3 no word (should have a team)
• U11 Girls White: 10 yes, 1 no, 1 probably not, 1 no word (one team for sure)
• U11 Girls Green: 7 yes, 1 maybe, 1 no, 1 no word (still looking for a few players, wait???)
Matt and Sohaila will go to some OYSC games to observe and possibly recruit some players.
Additional spring teams:
• U15 Boys
• U16 Boys
• U17 Boys State
• U15 Girls
• U16 Girls?
Toby is BACK!!!!!-Board Members feel this is very positive for the club.
Chance to bring in Sam Schroeder
Matt will contact him soon.
Secretary: Sonya Reigh - No Report
Field and Facilities Director: John Bores
- Paul from the Y made stripes wider on the fields.
- Fields are good; parents are pleased. However, fields 1 and 2 are getting beat up. YMCA programs also utilize those fields. John asked Paul if we could revive field this fall by either shifting the fields and marking new lines or moving goals/closing off fieldsfor awhile to reseed, etc.
- Nets on goals: Some have large holes; Paul is looking into investing in better nets.
Registrars: Jenny Ostertag and Amy Leach
Will set up a time to train Chris (new registrar).
Amy suggested that communication should be strong between coaches/team reps and new families, especially for those who start in the fall. Many families who are new to the club would appreciate as much information as possible regarding the club, their coaches, the tournaments, etc. They are just learning what United is all about and we want to make their first impression of the club positive and have their first experience with OU enjoyable.
Next Meeting scheduled for:
August 4th, 2013 at 6:30.