New Hartford Travel Soccer Coaches Meeting MinutesAugust 27May 27, 2014 7:00 15 PM Barkhamsted Town GarageChatterly’s

Attendees: Bryan Sautters (President), Kathryn Itter (Registrar), Rob Lewton,Scott Whalen, Mike Langer,Julie Hamel, Jen Prelli-Hester (Secretary), Rob Lewton (VP), Jay Daigle, Mike Langer, Rob Persechino, Scott Whelan, Troy Mogielnicki

Approval of Minutes from the July meeting.

Election of Officers – all officers remain, we are looking for a new Registrar.

President – Bryan Sautters

Vice President – Rob Lewton

Treasurer – Laurie Persechino

Secretary – Jen Prelli-Hester

Registrar – open

Social Media Position – Jen will try to set up a FaceBook page or try to link our website to FaceBook somehow.

Fundraising Position – Rob will also take on this responsibility.

By-law change to the uses of any money we collect was discussed and passed. The new language is written below:

Monies acquired by registration fees and fundraisers can be used for any of the following:

  • Field space, field maintenance and improvements, field fees and field rental
  • Equipment, first aid supplies, registration and/or administrative supplies
  • Professional trainers for coaches and/or players, coaching licenses and training courses
  • Refunds, district fees and uniform or player expenses if needed and any other soccer related items approved in a coaches meeting.

Team Registrations, rosters, photos, and payments were all discussed.

Uniforms have been ordered and are being worked on at Soccer & Beyond.

Team practice scheduling. Julie has e-mailed requesting practice times at Browns. Teams can begin practicing now.

Fundraising efforts – KC Dubliner fundraiser scheduled for 9/27. There will likely be a raffle. Rob will be sending out a flyer for review. Rob also suggested a bowling fundraiser that we may set up at the end of the season to both raise money and for fun for the players. Website is looking now to see what items we want to have available.

It was discussed and decided that premier players will need to pay 50% of registration fee per season and will still pay their full uniform cost.

Tournaments – The league will allocate $100 per year for season to play in tournaments to assist in paying for the tournament. Coaches should send tournament information to Bryan.

The NW District coaches meeting for the fall season is on Wednesday 8/27. Girl teams will meet from 6:30-7:30, boy teams will meet from 7:30-8:30 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Southbury.

Filling open positions: The positions and responsibilities of Secretary and Vice President were discussed. The Secretary will be responsible for meeting agendas and minutes and assisting with setting up meetings. The Vice President will assist with the President’s responsibilities.

Jen Prelli-Hester was nominated and voted in as Secretary.

Rob Lewton was nominated and voted in as Vice President.

Since board positions are voted on in June, the position of Secretary and Vice President will stay the same.

Try-Outs: There was a discussion around having spring try-outs and who should be included in them (new/returning players).

The following will be voted on June 3, 2014 at 7:30 at the Barkhamsted Town Meeting Room. (in town garage, route 44 next to landfill)

Propose that, if there are multiple teams at the same age and gender, there will be a full try-out for that group of players every spring for the following school year teams. Kids that are currently on a team can be moved to a higher or lower team, but, will not be cut.

In addition, try-outs will be required in order to double roster players.

We are looking into bringing in outside evaluators for try-outs. The information regarding try-outs will be posted at all town elementary schools and will begin on 6/8/2014.

Uniforms: There were some issues with uniforms arriving on time and correctly. In the future, we should place a larger order for sizes and quantities for the league early, then send in specific numbers/sizes several weeks prior to the first game. All new uniform orders will be the standard uniform. Girls teams can discuss alternatives for fit. We will continue to order through Soccer & Beyond. Coaches need to notify Bryan now if they will be ordering new uniforms for the Fall and an estimate of the number per size they will need (add a couple extra per size just in case).

Fundraising: There was a suggestion to look into holding a fundraiser at KC Dubliner. Rob will look into this option, possibly scheduling it for the last weekend in August before school begins.

Late game changes/cancellations: There have been quite a few late changes and/or cancellations to games. There is no way to stop this entirely, but coaches need to be planning ahead and making sure they have enough players to avoid cancelling late on the refs and at times needing to pay them per the guidelines.

Additonal business: Travel soccer will reimburse Barkhamsted for the line paint. A bill will need to be submitted to Lori.

Jen will look into coaching courses with CJSA again to try to schedule something prior to the fall season. Julie will talk with the YES coaches who run the summer camp in New Hartford to see if coach or player clinics can be scheduled with them while they are here.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Prelli-Hester

Secretary