NCSL Board Meeting

January 11, 2022

Via Zoom

The meeting was called to order at 7:36 p.m.

I.          Roll Call

The following clubs were in attendance at the meeting: A3, Alexandria Soccer Association, Alliance Soccer Club, Arlington Youth Soccer Club, Bethesda Soccer Club, Blue Ridge United, Braddock Road Youth Club, Brookland FC, Burke Athletic Club, Calvert Soccer Association, Calverton Soccer Club, DC Soccer Club, DORADUS, Fairfax Police Youth Club, FC Frederick, FC Charles, FC Dulles, Fredericksburg FC, Fredericksburg Soccer Club, Front Royal Soccer Association, Gunston Soccer Club, Hagerstown Soccer Club, Herndon Youth Soccer Association, La Plata Soccer Academy, Laurel Soccer Club, Lee-Mt. Vernon Sports Club, Leesburg Football Club, Loudoun Soccer Club, Maryland Rush Montgomery, McLean Youth, Montgomery Soccer, Northern Piedmont SC, Northern Virginia Soccer Club, OBGC (Olney), Old Dominion Football Club, Potomac Soccer Association, Premier Athletic Club, Prince William Soccer, Real World Futbal Club, Severna Park Athletic Club, Shenandoah FC Elite, South County Athletic Association, Springfield South County Youth Club, St. Mary's Soccer, Stafford Soccer Club, Sterling Youth Soccer Association, Takoma Park Soccer Club, Team America Football Club, Thunder Soccer Club, Vienna Youth Soccer, Villarreal Virginia Academy, Virginia Revolution, Virginia Soccer Association, Virginia Valor, West Virginia Futbal Club, Woodbridge Soccer Club

Roll call indicated that the following clubs were not in attendance: Annandale Boys & Girls Club, Epic Soccer Club, FCVA Ashburn, Great Falls – Reston, Maryland Rush, Player Progression Academy, VISTA

Executive Committee in Attendance: Maureen Dalbec, Howard Kohn, Carol Montoya, Alan Paez, Doug Wall

Staff in attendance: Ryan Rich, Alison Smith

Approval of Minutes

Takoma Park made a motion to approve the November 15, 2021 Board Meeting minutes. Premier Athletic Club seconded. There were no objections, and the motion was approved by acclamation.

Ryan Rich – NCSL Executive Director: Ryan encouraged reps to provide feedback that can be used for division structure when registering their teams. He will also share a document that can be completed by club reps or teams to provide placement information.

The deadline for all applications, including SuperGroup, is January. Ryan gave a quick overview of SuperGroup, which is part of the USYS league championship platform, and a path to the Eastern Championship.

The Eastern Championship semifinals are scheduled to be held on Memorial Day on Long Island. There was discussion about the timing and location; the former prevents many teams from being able to participate because of tournament conflicts. Ryan said it was a USYS decision. The host location rotates among participating clubs/leagues and the timing is based on the facilities available. Ryan was asked to convey dissatisfaction with the choice of hosting the matches on Memorial Day weekend.

Maureen Dalbec – NCSL Commissioner: Maureen asked club reps to remind coaches and teams to submit division structure information. Ryan said the forms will be included in the weekly email.

Doug Walls – NCSL Commissioner: No report.

Carol Coulter – Virginia Registrar: No report.

Maryland Registrar - Jessica Hafer: No report (not present).

Alison Smith – NCSL Administrator: The deadline for registering teams is January 24. If anyone experiences issues during the online process, they should let Alison know.

The league will deconflict for two teams per coach. The team number for the other team needs to be included in each team record.

 

If teams that did not play US Youth Soccer in the fall are registered for the spring, they will be charged the US Youth Soccer fee on the spring invoice.

If you have a team playing up, let Alison know so she can invoice correctly.

Alison noted that U18/19 teams only play 7 games, and have a lower registration fee.

Alison plans to invoice clubs on January 25. If teams are registered earlier and a club wants an invoice sooner, let her know. Invoices are sent to the club alias. If someone who is not on that alias should receive it, let Alison know.

Eric Popiel – Vice President & Treasurer: No report (not present).

Alan Paez – NCSL R&D: Alan said he Sit Outs Owed list should be posted and circulated by next week. Ryan noted that the list will included in the weekly club rep email and posted on the website.

Richard Smith – President: No report (not present).

Carol Montoya – Secretary: No report.

Other Business

In response to a question, Maureen said that it is not guaranteed that the top teams will always promote and the bottom teams will always relegate. Structure is sometimes affected when teams that sat out the prior season are added to structure.

Dan Giffin reminded everyone that DC United’s home opener is February 26. Information will be forthcoming on NCSL Night and Champions Night. June 25 will be Play on the Pitch, under the lights, after a DC United game.

A motion was made by Olney and seconded by Takoma Park to adjourn. There were no objections, and the motion was approved by acclamation.

The meeting adjourned at 7:56 p.m.