Winchester Soccer Club (WSC) Monthly Meeting
January 23, 2013 – Winchester Library
Attendance: Charlie Stackhouse, Robb Kneebone, Brian Koss, Katie Bosco, Ben Paul, Fritz Hofheinz, Eric Keough, Rich Crawford, Ed Bush, Marty Mahoney, Michelle Ross, Bob Kiely, Dan Daglio, Joop Grevelink, Lex Dimatteo, Peter Scarpicchio, Jonathan Christmas, Mike McGeehan, Chris Cipro, Mike Drew, Ted Preston, Art Staffiere, Alex Blumsack, Kevin Sardinha, Anthony Forcione,
Start of Meeting: 7:33 pm
Initial comments:Charlie Stackhouse welcomed all to the New Year. Many new nominees and existing board members were present. Charlie noted that the following individuals are stepping down from the Board in 2013: Chris Scanlan, Kip Garlow, Art Staffiere, Dan Dagglio, Roseanne Sauer, Mike Drew, Todd Shegog, and Bob Kiley.
2012 Coach of Year Awards: Bob Kiely presented the 2012Carl Ockerbloom's Coach of the Year awards. There were 63 nominations (35 nominations for boys’coaches and 28 nominations for girls’ coaches) this year. There was lots of enthusiasm for the chosen winners including many nominations from youth in the Program. Two or more nominations are required to win the award. The awards recognize the promotion ofsportsmanship and commitment to coaching amongst other positive virtues. Winner #1 -Caroline Foote, Boys U12 coach. Caroline and her team won the MTOC championship and the MTOC sportsmanship award – a unique duo and feat! Winner #2: Jamel Bacarri, Girls coach. Jamel received 14 nominations from adults and players on his team. Of note, nomination quotes included: Jamel leads by example with referees, patience during practices, and careful practice planning every week. One nominee noted that Jamel “watches too much soccer”! Pictures were taken for the local paper. Marie Ockerbloom and her daughter were present during the award presentation and photos. They thanked the Board for remembering Carl and they look forward to this every year.
President’s Report: Charlie Stackhouse indicated that he will remain President for 2013. Alex Blumsack will be the Vice President. A full list of 2013 Board members is attached at the end of these meeting minutes. Motion:Charlie asked for the new slate of Board members to be approved by the existing members. 14 members were identified for a quorum (12 or more existing members is needed) and the new slate of Board members was approved. Charlie stated the following facts about the club and Club overview comments: the Club has been around for 40 years; there are 1,500 + kids in town every year that participate – this is the largest club in Winchester. The club is good for the Town of Winchester and the club gives back to the community (i.e.the Glen Doherty Foundation was mentioned as a recipient of donations from the WSC in 2012). Charlie discussed the Spring 2013 season ahead. He expects 15 to 18 Sachem FC teams and some field concerns for the Club overall. The Winchester Community Park (WCP) will have many milestones in 2013 – the WCP is slated to be located on land off of Cross Street – behind Leonard Pond.The Club is still looking for a few new members to fill the vacant Communications and Asst Communications Directors roles. How do we market the Club in 2013? An important topic ahead…The Club had a very successful Veterans Day Tournament – the 11th year of the tourney. The Tournament had more teams than ever before. This year is somewhat of a “transition year” and a year to expand the Club. Should Sachems FC merge with other local programs is a question ahead. Maintaining primary and backup roles in every Board position is critical to accomplishing goals. In addition, it is important to always add new members. Some side committees need to be formed and staffed, they include: Sportsmanship committee, Nominating committee, Sachems Executive committee, and an Operations Committee (fields, lines, referees, and equipment). At the end of the President’s report, there was a question about enough field space for the Club due to the size of Sachems FC and the Bays teams. Will the club be renting space? Will some Sachems FC games/practices be moved out of town? The responses were that these are decisions that need to be made by the Club and it is not a “bad thing”to have too many participants. This boosts the Club revenue.
Treasurer’s update: Ben Paul, Treasurer handed out unaudited a 2012 Financial summary. Ben gave an overview of the Club. The club is a 501C 3 organization and financially stable / “well run”. The 2012 Veterans Day tournament generated approximately $27,833 for the club. If you would like to see any breakdown or further information on some of the financials, please call Ben (his cell phone is preferred). The Club is audited every year by Harnett and Company. Harnett has audited the financials for the last 8 years. The Club is in discussions with Michael Harnett about making WCP, a separate entity from the WSC. Another action item in 2013 is the financing package for the Winchester Community Park (WCP). Ben stated that the club has no credit or debit cards. Board members can be reimbursed quickly with a request for payment and invoice. Ben noted that the Soccer Club is paying roughly 70% of field maintenance fees in Town. A question was raised regarding the large increase in 2012 in “Professional Services” on the financial statement. The services were related to the WCP project (environmental and design fees mainly).
Girls Coordinator Update: Art Staffiere spoke on 2012 and 2013. Art mentioned that Brian Koss will be the Girls Coordinator in 2013. The winter 2012 update was that Indoor clinics coached by Coach Scanlan have been successful on Sundays at Lincoln school. The most popular session is Girls ages 8-9. A Spring 2012 wrap up was presented. 26 girls’ teams in the spring of 2012 were placed in 5 different age groups. Coerver training was provided in the spring for U8 – U12. Art recommended that Coerver should be continued “somehow /someway” – the group size can be big but tweaks should be made to continue the program. During June 2012, there was a mid-year evaluation for all the Girls. AGC made evaluations and placed teams. There were 34 girls’ teams in the Fall of 2012 – all kids were placed. The recommended plan for 2013 presented was: assist our great volunteers, support the Sachems FC program, stay the course on the midyear evaluations (successful), Coerver training should be moved ahead, effective Goalkeeper training improved upon, work more on “set pieces”, and the Spring session typically has less numbers – add in one “coach led” training session a week for each age group.
Sandlot Program: Alex Blumsack presented a summary for the Program. There typically have been 620 kids in the Sandlot program – U6, U7, and U8. There are typically 60 teams and at least 30 volunteer coaches. There has been a 10% attrition rate for boys though. The Wolf Den games/ sessions on Saturday have been a success – the kids enjoy playing. Katie Bosco and Jonathan Christmas will run the Sandlot program in 2013.Alex commented that we should continue to have a good relationship with Sachem FC in 2013. Lastly, he stated that the transition period/training from Sandlot to Travel at the U8 age group should be improved.
Boys Coordinator Update: Chris Cipro provided a summary. Chris thanked Jeff Hibbert and Mike Drew for their years of service. In the spring of 2012, there were 282 players and 22 teams. Lacrosse and baseball conflicts in the spring were noted as a contributing factor to the reduction in numbers for the boys. The Boys U-12 team coached by Caroline Foote won the MTOC tournament and the MTOC sportsmanship award in 2012. The Wolf Den winter sessions had some openings for players mainly due to the fact that these hours/sessions were thrown together last minute. The facility opened in late 2012. The Wolf Den is a great facility and the ongoing sessions have gone well. Future sessions should occur at the Wolf Den. BAYS rosters are due on Friday, January 25th.
Training update:Michelle Ross reported that Coerver sessions may be a possibility for the spring. One of the complaints about Coerver was that the sessions take away parent coaching time from their teams. Michelle stated that one solution was to flip flop weeks and times so that Coerver and more team time can co-exist together.Coach licensing courses (E and F licenses) were popular. U9 and U10 head coaches are encouraged to have an F-license. All U11 and U 12 head coaches must have at least an F-license. Lastly, Michelle stated that one of the goals WSC training is to improve parent coaching.
Registrars’ update:Marty Mahoney, Registrar, had handouts which updated 2012 registration numbers and 2013 Spring registration. Sachem FC and some of the Wolf Den winter sessions were popular. 2013 Spring registration numbers are down which is not unusual for January. Early bird registration is popular among travel registrants but not among Sandlot. Sandlot numbers are low (-48% at this time). This should improve in February. There was a discussion about the club’s Constant Contact database and using it to increase the registration numbers. Additional help is needed and this is tied to the two open Communications positions. There was a discussion about the President council’s survey results. The results indicated that “yearly fees” instead of per session registration was unpopular. Also, it was discussed that registration could be improved if parents were aware of the spring schedule and times in advance.There are complications with this solution (fields, travel schedules made by BAYS, etc).
WCP update:Charlie Stackhouse gave a high level summary on the Winchester Community Park (WCP) project. The purchase and sale agreement was signed in August 2011. Environmental issues (former tannery / gel plant) with the property allowed for a lower purchase price. The environmental issues can be resolved. The proposed field is a great solution for this impacted piece of land. The proposed development will be a field house, two turf fields, and a grass field with lights. The facility would allow for sporting events all year round, and help relieve the town field shortage. There are important meetings with the Town coming up in February regarding zoning and special permitting.
WCP Marketing Update: Dan Daglio shared details about the financial side of the WCP. Mass Development will play a part in the deal. A tax free municipal bond will allow donors to earn interest on their money tax free. Donors will be allowed to contribute in $100,000 slugs or more. If you know of any interested donors, please let Dan know. In addition, four local commercial banks are interested in the financing needed for the project. Dan mentioned that an April 27th event is in the works to help raise funds. A silent auction will occur. Donations for the auction are welcomed.
Open forum: No issues were raised in the open forum. Charlie did have a final comment to all members to try to identify volunteers for the Communications and Marketing part of this WSC.
Motion to adjourn approved by all at 8:55 pm.
WSC Board of Directors - 2013
President Charlie Stackhouse
Vice PresidentAlex Blumsack (new position)
Boys CommissionerChris Cipro (new position)
Assistant Boys CommAnthony Forcione *
Girls CommissionerBrian Koss (new position)
Assistant Girls CommTed Preston *
Sandlot CommissionerKatie Bosco (new position)
Assistant Sandlot CommJonathan Christmas*
TreasurerBen Paul
Assistant TreasurerPeter Scapicchio *
SecretaryMichael McGeehan *
RegistrarMarty Mahoney
Assistant RegistrarFritz Hofheinz (new position)
Communications DirectorTBD
Assistant CommunicationsTBD
Field SchedulerEric Keough
Assistant Field SchedulerLex DiMatteo *
Equipment ManagerRich Crawford
Assistant Equipment Mgr.Robb Kneebone
Referee CoordinatorEd Bush
Training CoordinatorMichelle Ross
BAYS RepKevin Sardinha*
TOPS CoordinatorJeff Calnan
Sportsmanship ChairJoop Grevelink(new position)
* New member