Georgia Adult Coed Soccer League

Georgia Adult Coed Soccer League

Captains’ Meeting

March 15, 2011

The meeting was called to order at 7:44 p.m. by GACSL President, Jen Erdmann.

14 GACSL members were present.

1 former league officer and player was present.

8 7-a-side teams were represented.

3 11-a-side teams were represented.

Introduction of GACSL officers, captains and players present.

President’s Report

Jen Erdmann, President, reported on temporary appointments that were made to replace officers.

Todd Mackall was appointed as 11-a-side VP to replace Jim Vadino, who stepped down.

Kathy Phillips agreed to serve as 7-a-side VP until the elections could be held when Deborah Phillipeck had to step down.

Maureen Torkos was appointed as Treasurer to replace Jessie Beyer.

Jessie Beyer agreed to take the D & P VP position over from Missy Bowers, who moved to Florida.

11-a-side Report

Several factors led to the fact that the winter 11-a-side season was cancelled for Winter 2011. There were only four teams registered, the fields we were being offered were in very poor condition, and it was not financially viable at the time.

Todd Mackall expressed his opinion that the requirement to have five female field players was making it difficult to get enough players for 11-a-side teams.

7-a-side Report

Kathy Phillips reported that there are 10 teams registering for spring season.

A compromise has been reached on changing the start times for 7-a-side. Our contract allows us to start as early as 6 p.m. After input from the captains and referee scheduler, it was determined that a 6:30 p.m. start time would work best. We will see how this works out before determining if this change will continue for summer games. One factor that needs to be considered for summer is that later starts will mean cooler, more comfortable temperatures.

Captains and players involved in the early games need to make it a habit to be there early in case goals need to be moved. A late start means a shortened game as the second game must start on time.

If the first game starts late as a result of the fields not being lined on time, Captains should tell the referee that they expect to play a full length game.

Joel Phillips prepared the spring schedule under an enormous time constraint. Although there are some complaints about teams having to play other teams three times, the schedule will not be re-done with the exception of the final week which is being re-worked.

Some of the difficulties in preparing a schedule involve teams that request not to play certain other teams. It was the consensus that in the future, no exceptions will be made in preparing the schedule. If a team chooses not to play another team, they will need to contact the other team and the referee scheduler to let them know that they will not be there at least one week in advance. If a team is finding that very many teams do not want to play them, it is hoped that they will realize that something is wrong and try to correct the situation.

There was discussion as to whether referees are being too casual in the way they call the games and whether that might be contributing to some of the difficulties that lead teams not to want to be scheduled against each other. It was decided to ask the referee scheduler to remind referees to call the games more tightly to avoid problems developing.

It was also decided that it would set the tone for the game if the referees checked the rosters before the game. This would also protect us from a liability standpoint as we would know that all players on the field are registered.

Joel and Kathy have agreed to assist the new 7-a-side VP for a brief period as he becomes acclimated to the position.

VP of D & P Report

Jessi Beyer reported that there no cards issued for the winter 2010 season. There were two red cards issued for summer 2010 (1 for 11-a-side Caliente and 1 for 7-a-side LOL). The LOL red card involved an assault on a referee which had to be sent to the state level but has been handled. There was one yellow card issued for summer 2010 and two yellow cards issued for Fall 2010.

The captains from each team must make a report of cards issued during a game. They should also be sure that any injuries are recorded on the game card. The referee assignor needs to remind all referees to report all cards issued.

Treasurer’s Report

Maureen Torkos discussed the current GACSL Financial Statement.

Due to numerous changes in treasurers, there was some confusion regarding which bills had been paid. It was discovered that some large expenses that we thought had been paid had actually not been paid yet. This, combined with our decrease in income due to free seasons, etc., led to our having a deficit of $1,293.73.

GAWSA extended a $3,000 loan to GACSL which is due to be paid back by September 30, 2011. Currently, GAWSA is only asking a $5 per month payment. It is anticipated that the slight increase in fees will quickly allow us to recover financially and pay back our loan.

Maureen has found a new bank account at a credit union which will not charge us monthly fees.

All staff has been informed that any invoices must be submitted within 30 days in order to be paid.

Sam Khahki is going to charge ½ price for field lining temporarily in order the help the league financially.

Secretary’s Report

A motion was made and passed to approve the minutes of the last GACSL meeting.

Marguerite Radatz reported that we need everyone to join the Facebook page and to contribute pictures and/or videos of their teams. She indicated that she also puts free ads in the local paper each season and on Craigslist. There was some discussion of other ways to advertise the league such as paid ads in local papers or in youth league tournament brochures. Currently there is no money available for advertising.

Jen reported that she attempts to keep the website current.

Registrar’s Report

Tammy Lerner will be providing captains and officers with copies of all teams’ rosters so that they will all know who is supposed to be on which team.

If a new player is being added to the team, he must be registered and paid by noon on the Friday before his/her first game participation. Tammy will be issuing new rosters as needed for each game week.

Tammy is going to check into getting online payment set up. This will add a slight fee for each new player but the convenience should more than offset the extra cost. There will be no expense involved for the league.

Old Business

There was no old business to discuss.

New Business

The practice field for spring will be Mud Creek 3, which will be available to us on Wednesdays from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Karon Beyer presided over elections for officers. She announced the slate and called for any nominations from the floor. The following officers were elected:

President – Jen Erdmann

11-a-side VP – Todd Mackall

7-a-sideVP- Jurgen Hastor

Treasurer – Maureen Torkos

Secretary – Marguerite Radatz

VP D&P – Jessi Beyer

A motion was made and passed to destroy the ballots.

Karon Beyer gave updates on GSSA and CCSA. She encourages our teams to enter the Atlanta Cup in September. It will be held at Noonday this year. Info can be found at gasoccer.org.

Karon reports that GACSL is part of Georgia State Soccer Association which is associated with USASA which is a regional division of US Soccer. We are in Region III and can find tournaments on their website at and also on gasoccer.org. All of these tournaments will be affiliated with these organizations.

The sponsorship that Publix gives to soccer leagues also affects the adult divisions. There is something in the works for sponsorship from AT & T also.

The Georgia Director of Coaching is willing to conduct player training sessions for leagues that can get enough participants.

CASL is offering six week training courses for new players. They have a certified coach and referee at each session. Some of these players have already registered with GACSL after participating in these courses.

There will be a 3 v 3 “Score for Sod” tournament June 10-11. 3 games for $150. This will be held at Noonday Park and will be to help pay for having the fields sodded this year. There is sponsorship involved. Volunteers will be needed throughout the weekend.

Some ideas were discussed and tabled for future consideration. Captains are asked to think about the issues and present them to their players for input. Some of these would simply involve stricter enforcement of rules that are already in place. Others would require actual changes to our bylaws and could redefine the type of league GACSL will be in the future and the basic philosophies we have operated by.

1. Should the age for female players be lowered in order to get more women in the league?
2. Should the required number of female players be lowered?
3. Should a female player who is under 30 by a year or so but married to a player who is of the correct age be allowed to register with her spouse?
4. The following suggestions were submitted by Karon Beyer and the Ohana team:

OFC Honu's would like to make a proposal(s) to the playing rules.
If a team has the minimum number of players at the field at kick off they may only "pick up" a minimum of two registered players - one male & one female.
If a team has less than the minimum number of player they may only "pick up"players to reach a minimum number so the game may be official.
If a team has the required minimum and have "picked up" two additional player sthey may not add more or substitute "new" players at half time.
If a team has less then the minimum required number of women they may not add additional men to the field.
If a team does not have three women registered on their team that they not be allowed to join the league.
Rational:
GACSL schedules teams and currently OFC is playing more "pick up" teams. We continue to play against the same players every week and the opposing teams will pick four or five men that are not registered on their teams even though they have the required minimums.
If the league allows teams to "pick up" players than the incentive to fill their team rosters is diminished. This reduces the money to the league while still costing the league the same amount.
Respectfully,
Karon Beyer
OFC Honu's

Because we are now able to conduct a good deal of our business through email, we have not had the need to have as many meetings. We do need to have at least one physical meeting per year, perhaps at the field between games.

We will not know where summer games will be held until the last minute. Team declarations will be due May 1, 2011 and registration/payments by June 1. The season tentatively will begin the first week in June.

The meeting was adjourned at 10 p.m.

Submitted by: Marguerite Radatz, GACSL Secretary