Minutes

Eclipse Board Meeting 7-25-2004, 4-6 pm

Farthest North Girl Scout Council meeting room (Old Steese Hwy)

 

Meeting Started at: 4:05

Members Present: Larry Bright, Kathy Port, Barb Stockwell, Hope Swoffer, Sara Alden, Sherina Anderson, Gary Bender, Colleen Kowalchuk, Brian Luoma, Rick Port, Jennifer Templeton, Karen Binkley, Linda Colang, Mark Gramstad, Beverly Luoma, Elizabeth Styers, Sandra Templeton, Cindy Vredenburgh, Marcia Bernier

 

Review of Minutes: Sara Alden moved to approve the minutes as written. Kathy Port seconded. Motion passed.

Financial Update: Income received for membership dues, clinic fees, the RST fundraiser, and uniform orders. Expenses included clinic expenses, coach travel reimbursement to Far North and Ina K, goalie training, equipment, tournament fees, and uniforms.

 

Old Business:

 

1. Summer Clinic – wrap-up: The clinic went well despite some unforeseen obstacles. Two coaches were not able to attend; the remaining coaches worked well together and with their assigned teams. One team decided to drop out of the clinic after the first day. They received a prorated refund; there were several circumstances involved in this decision. The refund will not set a precedence for future clinics. This clinic should be used as a learning experience to be better prepared for unexpected problems that may arise at future clinics. One suggestion is to increase the fee by $10 per player and include a goalie coach that could also cover for other coaches in case of another coach shortage. Unused airline tickets may be used at a future date, by the same person; they are not transferable.

The clinic coaches extended their thanks to their host families and to the Riverboat Discovery.

Larry Bright would like to receive additional comments, both pro and con concerning the clinic. (Larry_Bright@fws.gov)

2. Raffle Update: Linda Colang – today was the deadline to turn in all money and unsold raffle tickets. The drawing will be held on Saturday at 2:00 pm at the FYSA fields.
3. Juggling Patches: Kathy Port reported that patches and an explanatory letter have been sent to all coaches. A patch from each level was passed around. Any coaches needing additional patches should contact Kathy. The patches should be placed on the player’s bags.

 

New Business:

 

1. Tryouts: After considering the 6 v 6 tournament, ODP, Labor Day, and other personal schedules, it was decided to hold the try-outs on Friday and Saturday, August 27 and 28.

Discussion on the need for two days included the desire to have fitness testing, technical skills displayed, game/scrimmage situation, and goalie skills reviewed. Also, some players do better on the second day and some players may not be able to attend both days. A committee was formed (Kathy Port, Sara Alden, and Sam Templeton) to determine the advertising and logistics. Greg Gibson requested that all coaches be notified prior to the ads or flyers being distributed.

Try-out fees were set at $10 for all players trying out for an Eclipse Soccer Club team. This includes all current team members and all players trying out at other times throughout the year.

2. 95 teams: Brian Luoma sent the Board a letter requesting to be considered the coach for the Phoenix 95 team. His coaching history includes coaching in rec for four years, is the assistant coach for Eclipse 91, the assistant coach at Randy Smith Middle School with Gary Bender, has attended U6 through U10 Youth Modules, and holds an ‘E’ coaches license. He described his coaching philosophy and answered questions from the Board. Kathy Port made a motion to accept Brian Luoma as the coach of the Phoenix 95 team. Gary Bender seconded. Motion passed.

The Board then discussed how new coaches are acquired: Basically ‘word of mouth’ within the soccer community and the FYSA Board. We are currently looking for an Eclipse 95 coach.

3. Fitness Testing: Gary Bender asked where the results of the Spring Field Day Fitness testing are. Barb Stockwell said she had the data and would enter it into an Excel spreadsheet. She needs to know what type of information is wanted by the coaches. Greg Gibson said he would like nameless results by age/group. Marcia Bernier said she could compare the Eclipse results to the ODP and national results. She also said that Alaska ODP scored above average except for the vertical leap. The idea of testing the players is to see where there is improvement and where there needs to be improvement. It gives the coaches a good idea of how the players compare to others their age. The Try-Out Committee will determine if the fitness testing can be incorporated with Try-Outs. Also, coaches could test their teams during their practices.
4. Dues: Hope Swoffer provided the Board with items from the past year that should have been covered by membership dues. Dues are used primarily to pay for tournaments and coaches travel. There was not enough collected this year to pay for all expenses. Part of the shortfall is due to increased tournament fees. Hope is not sure that all new players have paid the fees. She has not received updated rosters from the teams. If dues were increased to $125/player, a surplus of $1400 would have resulted this year. Dues at other clubs are in the $200 to $300 range. Kathy Port made a motion to increase the dues to $125/player. Gary Bender seconded. Motion passed.

Indoor fees will be decreasing this coming year, so overall, there shouldn’t be an increase to the players.

Refunds were discussed. Many felt that refunds should not be given to players deciding to quit the team – a spot on the team was given to that player, possibly turning away other players. Appeals could be made to the Board for special circumstances. Parents could be requested to sign a form stating they understand the commitment involved. Section 2-6 should be reviewed for refunds and parental commitment forms. It was suggested to place the general procedures on the Try-Out form.

5. Indoor Session Proposal: Greg Gibson, Bruce Gard, Gary Bender, Kathy Port, and Larry Bright met informally to discuss the indoor season. They created a draft proposal and distributed it to the Board members in the same email as the agenda for this meeting. The proposal is for an indoor season to be run by Eclipse during the winter/spring months. This is experimental; goals are to improve the indoor season and make it work better for competitive teams. If the Board approves, the school district will be contacted to see if gym time would be available. Other comp clubs would be approached only if accepted by the school district. Discussion included the need for a break to avoid burnout. Currently, soccer goes from summer straight to the school season and then to indoor with a break in the winter/spring. Having a comp indoor season in the winter/spring would be better preparation for the summer season. The biggest conflict would be gym time with IYB. Competition was a big concern as well as alienating FYSA. Marcia Bernier feels that FYSA would not be adversely affected. Administering the program would require additional volunteers and could be difficult to keep it going from year to year. Gary Bender made a motion to have the Board adopt the Indoor Session proposal. Kathy Port seconded. Motion passed. Larry Bright clarified that adopting the proposal means we would pursue with the school district and then proceed if feasible.
6. Coaching Burnout and Training: Some coaches feel they do not possess enough experience and background to take their teams where they will need to go – to move the team to the next level, especially into high school soccer. Larry Bright said it is a long term goal for the club to develop a cadre of coaches, experienced with specific age groups, and have the teams pass on to the next level of coaches. National guidelines on training and skills are used by the club. There is no structure in town and the state is developing the structure to help coaches. One suggestion is to have a paid club trainer go to the individual teams to fill the gaps the coaches do not have the skills or experience to develop. Larry Bright turned the issue over to the CRAD Committee and the coaches meetings for further consideration.
7. Olympic Development Program: Brook Bender and Jessica Luoma provide the Board with an overview of the recent ODP training sessions they attended (87 and 91). Their major points included getting more girls involved; the Mental Aspect of the game, confidence, imagery, ACL injury prevention; bringing in sports psychologists and nutritionists for learning sessions; outside referees; going Outside; and encouraging more girls to try out for ODP next year.
8. Goals at Randy Smith Middle School: Jim Curry said Eclipse could use the RSMS goals if one of them was repaired. The repair is not difficult. Kathy Port mad a motion to reimburse Peter R_____ for expenses to repair the goals at Randy Smith Middle School. Hope Swoffer seconded. Motion passed.

 

The next meeting was set for August 22, 2004.

 

Bruce Luome moved to adjourn. Bev Luoma seconded. Motion passed at 6:20.