Urbana Soccer Association Minutes Tuesday November 26, 2002             Attendees:       David Ward Andy Keen Al Selwyn Karen Selwyn Bob Hajjar               Guest Attendee:     President David Ward called the meeting to order at 7:38pm. Review of Meeting Minutes: USA Meeting Minutes from October 15th were reviewed.  Karen made a motion to accept the minutes as they are and Andy seconded it. Registrar’s report (Karen Selwyn): Registration packets will be sent out to all current players in early January. In-person registration will be held Saturday January 18, 2003 and Saturday January 25, 2003 from 9:00 - noon at the Urbana Fire Hall (side entrance). Registration for Spring 2003 season will close on February 1, 2003. Any registrations received after that date are subject to a $10 late fee and will be placed on a waiting list. As per our change in the refund policy (see item below), refunds will only be granted until February 11 (except for special cases that will require approval by the Board). Treasurer’s report (Al Selwyn): Treasury currently contains $3,812. Remaining large items are the sod for the Upper Field ($1,200). Vice President's Report (Andy Keen): No report. Secretary’s Report (Open): Position is currently open. Coaches Education (David Ward): MSYSA is holding it's annual workshop on Sunday January 12, 2003. Admission is $15 for adults; $5 for kids. Lots of soccer vendors present, seminars for coaches, and games for the kids. There will be a 'D' license course at St. Michael's HS from 12-27 - 12/30. See the MSYSA web site at http://www.msysa/org for details on the workshop and all upcoming courses. Coaches Night: Will start up again before Spring 2003 season. Field Maintenance (David Ward): Big thanks to Chuck Woodcock who volunteered and slit-seeded the U8, Lower and Upper fields at Urbana Park as well as the fields at Oakdale ES and Oakdale MS. Fertilizer was applied to the U8 field and fields at Oakdale ES and Oakdale MS. Lime was applied (thanks FCPS staff) to the fields at Oakdale ES and Oakdale MS and FCPS also aerated both fields. Parks and Rec. have prepared 1,000 yards on the Upper Field for sod and we're just waiting for some drier weather so the sod can be cut and installed. We've spent over $2,200 this season alone on field maintenance (not to mention all of the effort involved) - please take good care of the fields. NOTE: ALL SOCCER FIELDS AT URBANA PARK (U8, LOWER, UPPER) WILL BE CLOSED TO ANY SOCCER USE STARTING ON OCTOBER 28 UNTIL MARCH 1. IF YOU NEED TO PLAY, YOU CAN PLAY AT URBANA ES. IF YOU SEE ANY PEOPLE PLAYING SOCCER AFTER OCTOBER 28, PLEASE ASK THEM TO MOVE TO ANOTHER FACILITY AND CONTACT DAVID (david.ward@acterna.com). Newsletter update/status (Carole Thompson): The next newsletter will come out in December. If you have suggestions, ideas, input, etc., please contact Carole at carol@beachbrosprint.com. Indoor Soccer (Clif Carey): We currently have several teams playing first session at both Frederick Sportsplex and Germantown Soccerplex. According to coaches, it seems like second sessions are already full at both facilities. If you are planning on registering a team, better call ASAP and see if anything is available. Pictures (Lenor Ott): All pictures should be delivered. If you have any problems, please contact the photographer: Bill Adkins (301) 694-6442.   Fall Tournament (David Ward): Congratulations to Donna Pike/Mike Dunn's U-8 Coed Strikers - 2nd place in the MAYAA U-8 Tournament. Also to Bob Hajjar's U-12 Coed - 1st place in FCYSL Division 1 tournament.   Bylaws vote - adding field request/etc. to duties of VP (Andy Keen): The change to the bylaws to add field-related duties to the list of responsibilities of the VP was passed unanimously. Andy will update the bylaws.   Bylaws vote - refund policy (Andy Keen): The change to the bylaws to amend the current refund policy was passed unanimously. Andy will update the bylaws. Refund policy (starting with the Spring 2003 season) basically states that refunds will only be given up until 10 days after registration closes (February 11 for spring; July 11 for fall). Special exceptions (for example, making the high school team) will be granted by majority vote of the board. It is hoped that this change in the refund policy will keep players from dropping out just before (or, in some cases) after teams have been formed and practice has begun.   First Aid/CPR course (David) - We will not be having a first aid/CPR course this winter (we held one last winter). We will hold another course in January/February 2004 to renew our first aid/CPR.   Withdrawing financial support for Middletown 4v4 (David) - By a 4-0 (one abstaining) vote, we decided to withdraw our financial support for the Middletown 4v4 tournament held each year in March. We still encourage teams to participate; however, the Association will no longer be paying the tournament registration fee for teams that enter. Last year, we paid $2,150 to Middletown and were unhappy with the tournament especially in regards to the number of other teams present. It is felt that the money would be better spent and is more needed in other areas. We discussed the possibility of holding an Urbana in-house 4v4 tournament for those who wish to participate in lieu of going to Middletown.   UK Elite Camp (David Ward): The UK Elite camp will be held July 7-11, 2003 at Urbana Park. Ages 5-9 will go from 9:00AM - 12:00; ages 10-14 will go from 5:00PM - 8:00. Cost will be $115 per player. The camp is open to all (not just USA players). Please mark it on your calendars - should be a great camp. Donna Pike will be the USA coordinator for the camp. We will be distributing flyers for the camp during the Spring 2003 season. Registration will also be available online through the UK Elite web site:                     http://www.ukelite.com   Friends School field construction: We have received an estimate for building a field at Friends Meeting House School on Route 75 (near WKMS). Estimate for enlarging the current field to a 70x90 yard field (large enough for U8-U12) is $15,000 (this includes moving 5,000 yds of dirt, topsoil and seeding). Friends has suggested that we split the cost 50/50 ($7,500 each). Field could be built in the spring and would be ready for limited use in Fall 2003. We have decided to continue to pursue this. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking for ways to reduce the cost as well as come up with a written field usage agreement with Friends. $7,500 is a lot for us, but it can be done. We discussed several budget items that may need to be adjusted to account for the money. It appears feasible at this point, and we desperately need the field.   Plugging Holes in U-10/12 Goals (Al Selwyn): We've had some bee stings lately and have bees in some of the goals. Al will look for rubber plugs to plug up the holes in the goals.   New Business: David has submitted a proposal to Parks/Rec for the construction of two shooting walls (one on the Upper and one on the Lower field). These walls would be regulation goal sized walls constructed from block, and would be a great aid to coaching shooting technique. We're currently waiting for approval from Parks/Rec. David distributed a first draft of the practice schedule for Spring 2003. Schedule included 2 new U-12 teams as well as a U-19 girls team. The schedule relies heavily upon usage at both Oakdale ES and Oakdale MS as well as our regular Monday/Thursday nights at Spring Ridge. We know these fields are a little further away than we would like; however, their usage is necessary given the growth we are experiencing as well as competition for fields from baseball, softball and lacrosse.   The meeting was adjourned at 9:35pm by a motion made by Al and seconded by Andy.             Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday January 21, 2003 at 7:30pm (NO MEETING IN DECEMBER!)