NCSL Board Meeting

June 25, 2020

Via Zoom

The meeting was called to order at 7:39 p.m.

I.         Roll Call

The following clubs were in attendance at the meeting: Alexandria Soccer Association, Alliance Soccer Club, Antietam United Soccer Club, Arlington Youth Soccer Club, Arundel Soccer Association, Bethesda Soccer Club, Blue Ridge United, Braddock Road Youth Club, Broadneck SC, Burke Athletic Club, Calvert Soccer Association, Calverton Soccer Club, Chantilly Youth Association, Culpepper Soccer Club, D.C. Stoddert, DORADUS, Epic Soccer Club, Fairfax Police Youth Club, FC Dulles, FC Frederick, FCV Ashburn (St. James FC), Fort Washington, 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, Maryland Rush Montgomery, McLean Youth, Montgomery Soccer, OBGC, Old Dominion Football Club, Potomac Soccer Association, Premier Athletic Club, Prince William Soccer, Inc., Real World Futbal Club, Severna Park Athletic Club, Shenandoah FC Elite, Soccer Association of Columbia, 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, Waldorf Soccer Club, Washington Capital United, Warrenton Youth Soccer Club, Woodbridge Soccer Club

Roll call indicated that the following clubs were not in attendance: A3, Annandale Boys & Girls Club, Damascus Soccer Club, Future Soccer Club, Great Falls – Reston, Northern Virginia Soccer Club, South County Athletic Association, Southwestern Youth Association, VISTA, West Virginia Futbal Club

Executive Committee in Attendance: Maureen Dalbec, Howard Kohn, Carol Montoya, Alan Paez, Eric Popiel, Richard Smith, Dave Shannon, Doug Wall

Staff in attendance: Ryan Rich, Alison Smith

Approval of Minutes

The May 18, 2020 Board Meeting minutes were corrected after being circulated. The corrected minutes were accepted by acclimation.

Richard Smith for Carol Coulter – Virginia Registrar: Virginia registration is open. Registration for teams registered for the 2019-2020 season has been extended through August 31, 2020. Rosters from 2019-2020 can be used to play in August tournaments.

Mike Basileo – Maryland Registrar: No report.

Doug Walls – NCSL Commissioner: No report.

Maureen Dalbec – NCSL Commissioner: No report.

Alan Paez – NCSL Rules & Discipline: Alan announced that two New Team Admin Meetings will be held virtually. They are scheduled for August 27 and August 31.

The fall Sit Outs Owed list will carry over to the fall 2020 season. Sit outs must be served by the individual (they follow the individuals even if they change clubs).

Alan noted that the need for referees is great. US Youth Soccer is allowing states to extend referee registrations from 2020 through 2021. West Virginia has extended their referees, with no additional fees. Virginia has also extended, with no additional fees, but with some additional requirements.

Alison Smith – NCSL Administrator: Alison said that applications are due July 13. Teams must be registered in the system. No fees are due at that time; credits from the spring season will be applied. July 31 is the last day to drop a team and receive a refund. Clubs will be issued an invoice for amounts due, after the application of their credits. Payments must be made in full by August 7.

Division Structure will be held August 9 and any change requests for structure will be due August 12.

All dates are included on the calendar on the NCSL website.

Ryan Rich – NCSL Executive Director: A lot of teams are back on the field for summer practices. Ryan will start reaching out to clubs and coaches next week to get feedback on structure placement. The feedback can be provided by the club reps, club staff, or coaches; the goal is to have feedback from each team.

Ryan noted that the presentation regarding the path to the USYS League Championship is available on the website. He reviewed the pathway process. Richard noted that Ryan can meet with anyone/ay club that wants to review the League Championship Series and pathway.

Richard Smith – NCSL President: Richard reviewed the deadlines for the fall season. He noted that during the registration process, as each team is being added, a waiver will need to be accepted on behalf of the team.

Richard reviewed the refund/credit policy for using spring credits towards fall fees. Clubs will be asked to put down a 25% deposit of the fees due for fall teams. The credit from spring fees will be used for this deposit. If a club does not have enough credit to cover the deposit, they will be invoiced for the difference. Deposits are fully refundable if teams are dropped prior to the drop date. Richard encouraged reps to not wait until the last minute to load teams. The overall schedule is very tight, and the more information we have early in the process, the better.

Clubs will be invoiced on August 1 for their balance due and payment will be due by August 7. Credit card payments will be accepted, with a convenience fee surcharge.

If there is a cancellation of the season or a significantly shortened season, the league will again issue credit, which may result in a refund of fees paid in August.

Teams for which payment has not been received will not be included in the structure meeting on August 9.

There are many unknowns with the fall season, With schools likely to be open on a part-time basis, we do not know how permits will be issued. Currently, most jurisdictions are issuing field permits for summer practices. With so many jurisdictions making up the league’s footprint, there may be different levels of restrictions.

Forfeits and no shows will be addressed by the Executive Committee. Recommendations will be prepared for presentation to the Board at its next meeting. We do not want to disincentivize teams from playing, but also want to keep players, tams, and families safe.

VYSA fees will not be refunded at all. Richard urged clubs and teams to delay in registering with Virginia. VYSA fees will not be included in the 25% deposit charged to clubs. Once a team is registered in VYSA, an invoice is generated to NCSL to pay for that team. If NCSL receives an invoice for a team, that fee will have to be passed on to the clubs.

In response to a question, Richard said he expects one of the recommendations brought by the Executive Committee for the fall season will be more flexibility with club passes.

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m.