November

NCSL Board of Directors Meeting- November 13, 2000

Meeting called to order at 7:35PM.

Roll call shows a quorum.

Clubs not present: Arundel, Baltimore Football, Bowie, Calverton, Eastern Panhandle, Falls Church, Freestate, Manassas, Soccer Club of Baltimore, Stafford, Takoma Park, Waldorf and Winchester.

Minutes are approved from last meeting.

Secretary -Anne Maynes- With no objection, the BOD will let Kathleen e-mail our U15-U19 teams to see if interested in being ball persons for WUSA league games at RFK for the Washington Freedom Team. There are no objections.

Treasurer-Roger Ney- Passed out a handout which shows a 3 year chart on referee and assignor expense, actual vs. budget. Do we pay assignors for people who step-in on game day? Probably do not but not sure, at some times it must happen. When the game card comes in we do not have a good check and balance. Sending an e-mail to Kathleen saying you had a fill-in referee, will help us keep track. Do not have a database that compares cards with assignor's list. Demonsphere does track # of referees by the scorekeeping process. Re-scheduling for the lack of referees was probably worse than usual last season.

Va. Commissioner-Jim Fraze- Within a couple of days the information will go to our teams that are disqualified. These teams can reapply and get on the bottom of the wait list.

R&D-Ray Greenberg- Red and yellow cards are at present called in to the scorekeepers, but this is not always accurate. The information on the game card is what R&D uses. He recommends that the information to the scorekeepers be dropped because misinformation sometimes gets to teams that are playing the next week. Cards are mailed in to the league office and it can take 7 days to get the information into the database. As long as we are dependent on mail-in system, we can not be existing in a real-time system. Coaches cannot find information about sit-out cards from the internet. We had 7 terminated games last season, received 11 protests and had 5 cases of referee abuse. Will need new members for R&D in Spring. Can be club reps, coaches or assistant coaches.

Dennis Quicker-Database manager of cards- Handed out sheet with the latest information on club points.

Scorekeeper-Jay Baker- U10's, some games are still missing scores. Should we publish the standings by division for the U10's since they are ranked in the spring season according to points and put into divisions? The consensus is yes. Some teams play 10 games and some play 11, that is taken into account when there is a tie in points. Scorekeeper is not getting accurate information on referee coverage.

Kathleen Sessions-All games were played, all standings finished, and trophies ordered. Entry materials will be mailed out not later than January 15.

President- Jeff Skigen- When teams advance in state cup, they sometimes forget to notify the opposing team or administrator that they have a conflict for the next weekend. State cup takes precedence, but please let the opposing teams know that you will not be able to make the game.
Virginia teams, NDODP tryouts will be the first weekend in December at George Mason, details on the web site. 
Capital Cup will be held Thanksgiving weekend at the Maryland Soccer Complex.

Consultant on Player Development-John Ellis- My hobbyhorse is soccer development. Don't allow standards to deteriorate, When you see volumes of cards, the clubs should develop a philosophy to respect the spirit of the game. Interview your coaches. In the winter months, encourage your players to improve and develop fitness during the winter. We have so many ligament problems, we need strength training along joints.

Motion made by Damascus and seconded by Bethesda.
Commencing with the Spring 2001 NCSL Soccer Season, the two opposing teams of all ages, shall be located on opposite sides of the field, with the home team coach specifying which side of the field is for the home team. The visiting team shall take the opposite field side for its location. The parents for each team shall be requested to sit on the same sideline as their team does. The coach for each team shall be restricted to remain within the area between the 18 yard lines, as bracketing the midfield line. The players shall remain between the midfield line and the 18 yard line to one side of the midfield line. The parents shall remain between the midfield line and the 18 yard line to the opposite side of the midfield line, away from the team players. All persons are to remain at least 3 yards behind the touch line. Motion by Fairfax Police and seconded by Sterling.
Motion to split the question. 1st motion moving teams and spectators and coaches to opposite sides of the field. 
Motion defeated.

Step-in AR, grade 14.
Motion made by VISTA, seconded by Braddock Road.
The BOD is to implement the step-in Assistant Referee program in no more than two age groups to be started in the Spring of 2001. Voluntary for teams in the spring, mandatory in the fall.
Motion passes.
A committee is formed to work out implementation. Committee members are: Steve Ruiz, Jim Fraze, Juli True, Dennis Quicker, Roger Ney with Mike Newman in an advisory role.

Meeting adjourned.