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Minutes from September 8, 2014 KLA Board Meeting
(Conference call meeting)
Greg opened the conference call meeting at 6:02 pm.
KLA Board Members present by phone: Brandon Davis, Ann Fleming, Sean Fox, Mike Havill, Wayne Coffey, Dean Walker, Chris Niblock, and Greg Schuler.
Approval of August 9, 2014 minutes: Motion was made by Wayne Coffey to accept the minutes as read, and seconded by Sean Fox. Motion carried unanimously.
Review of Retreat Meeting: Greg thanked everyone for the work that was accomplished at the August Retreat. He reiterated how important it is for the Board to keep its eye fixed on the overarching priority that we have selected for this year: to manage the growth of the game. We want to accomplish that by working on the organizational structure of the Board, by communicating effectively with our constituents, and by working to recruit and develop both coaches and officials.
Report from Nominating Committee: Ann reiterated to all the Board Members that all of us are responsible for the identification and recruitment of new Board Members. Greg added that there should be a form for those who apply for Board openings to fill out so that we can better understand the candidates’ interests and therefore make decisions about whom to elect. Sean reported that there were some folks from Madison Co. Lacrosse Association who were considering putting their names in for nomination. Ann is hoping to complete the list of possible candidates in the next couple of weeks.
KLA’s 2015 USL Budget Report: Chris went over the budget that was submitted by the KLA to USL on September 1, 2014. That budget not only included financial information that also included our 2015 initiatives as well. Greg will be taking this budget to Austin, TX in late September to discuss with the other USL Chapter Presidents from our region.
Report on KLA HS League: Greg reported that he attended a meeting with Eric Johnson, the AD from Sayre School, and Taylor McCoun, the head coach from Henry Clay HS, concerning the administration of the HS Boys 2015 season. Eric has been doing some work to align the league with the KHSAA by-laws prepare teams for the eventual takeover of HS Lax by the KHSAA. There is also a movement to have the coaches administers the League but there is more discussion and input needed from the coaches. Eric and Greg will continue to meet to discuss the situation with the other coaches and the league Administrator, Andy Tarter.
Report on the MS Boys’ League: Ryan Smith, the administrator of the 5th and 6th, and 7th and 8th grade leagues, has resigned from both that position and from the Board for family and personal reasons. In the next couple of weeks Greg will be meeting with some of the coaches who assisted Ryan with the administration of those leagues to discuss issues that arose last season and to discuss the administration of the League. It is obvious that some changes have to be made as the amount of time and energy needed to administrate both these leagues is more than any one person can handle. Greg will report back at the October meeting.
Report on the KLS Youth Girls League: Edie Fullerton, the league administrator, has resigned and Tom Boucher (girls’ coach from Kammerer) is taking her position. One of the issues that we faced last year was the lack of qualified officials to handle all the girls’ leagues throughout the state. Greg and Dean will be working with the Girls Coaches Association, KLUB and the girls’ assignor to address this problem.
Report on the 3rd and 4th grade Bantam League: Coordinator Mike Havill reported on the success of the league and tournament last year and said that he would be getting a letter out to the coaches in the next 30 days to discuss and changes, updated information that they will need for the 2015 season. He also asked Chris Niblock to start looking at possible alternate sites for league games. Chris said that he would contact Parks and Rec to start negotiations for field site s next year.
Education/Training Report: After the reports on the Leagues administered by the KLA Dean led a discussion concerning the requirement for all teams in KLA leagues to have at least one coach for each team be Level 1 certified for the 2015 season. He announced that the Level 1 coaches’ clinic will be held on Nov. 15th and 16th (site TBD). Dean is also working on an alternate date sometime in Jan/Feb.
Coaches clinic subsidies were discussed, and after one motion was made and seconded that the KLA pay ½ of the fee for each person attending the clinic for both Level 1 and Level 2, after discussion that motion did not pass. Then a second motion was made by Dean that the KLA subsidize ½ of the fee for Level 1 coaches (not for level 2). That motion was seconded by Ann and after discussion this motion passed with unanimous vote.
Program Development: Sean reported that he continues to meet with the folks from Madison Co. They have hired Mike Riley as coach of the HS boys conglomerate team. Also 3 Middle Schools in the county have been awarded the USL soft stick program. MadLax (Madison Co. Lacrosse Association) has requested a grant from the KLA. That grant has been sent to Chris.
Sean also reported that in the Lexington area EJ Hayes is looking for a MS girls coach, and Sean is in discussion with Crossroads Church to develop their fields for Lacrosse use. He is waiting for some return of initial costs to get the fields in playing condition.
Sean also met with the Shelbyville School Board concerning the resources (PE Soft Stick) available for their MS programs.
Greg reported that lacrosse is expanding in Hardin Co. There is a possibility that Hardin Co. will have 2 HS boys Teams in 2015 (North and South) and Elizabethtown will have 1 HS boys team. There is also interest being expressed by the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College to begin a program.
Hall of Fame Banquet: Ann has contacted USL and they have put her in touch with other Chapters who run Hall of Fame banquets. A committee, consisting of Board Members and other interested person, has been formed and will meet at Ann’s home on Monday September 29th to discuss the details of this event.
KLUB: No report as John Slider resigned as KLUB rep and no replacement has been assigned. John Worthington has accepted the KLA’s invitation to be at the October meeting to discuss girls’ officiating issues.
BLOA: Wayne reported that BLOA had met to begin discussion of boys’ lax officiating issues. He also reported that he was considering a Fall training session for new officials but was having a difficult time finding fall scrimmages for them to work. Mike Miller, the new BLOA president has been invited to attend the October meeting as well to talk with the Board about officiating issues.
New Business: no new business items were brought forth to the Board.
October Meeting: The next KLA meeting date is October 6, 2014 in Louisville. Site TBD.
Adjournment:Motion was made by Greg to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Wayne and vote was unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Greg Schuler, acting secretary for meeting