The March board meeting for AYSO Region 337 was held on March 8,2007 at Faith United Methodist Church. Board members attending were: George Burgess, Amy Waller, Kellie Gilliam, Vickie Easterday, Drew Burt, Becky Burt, Becky Kaman, Jason DeRosa, Mike Horner, Tyina Barnes, Mary Davis, Bill Mize, Chris Mott, Liesl Harrison, Rick Roth, Laura Walters, Rich Guy, Teresa Guy, Angela Lister, David Lister, Mike Moody, Ron Gandy, Leanne Hinkle and Amanda Hart.

The Registrar was not present, but we have 1379 players for FS2006 season.

The Treasurer was not present, but we have approximately $45,000. Stan mulched the church as a thank you for letting us meet there. He also did the flowerbeds at the fields.

CVPA Report- Tyina and Mary reported that currently we have 229 registered volunteers. We have additional youth volunteers, but they cannot be entered in the system. Their forms have to be sent to National AYSO for processing. All soccer moms will fill out volunteer forms, so that will increase our numbers. There have been some concerns with a coach. The concerns have been addressed and will be handled in accordance with AYSO guidelines. It is important that we make sure our volunteer to player ratio is in compliance. Safe Haven records have not always been accurate, so it is important to check that all volunteers have the Safe Haven training. Some division coordinators have really been helping CVPA; some have had the attitude that “it’s not my job”. Those who have been helpful are greatly appreciated. Let Ty know if a person is both a coach and a referee. She may only recognize as one or the other.

Field Manager’s Report- the fields are ready to go for Saturday’s games. Chris was disappointed by the amount of people that came out to help. Only six people offered. The Intermediate Coach Course, Referee Course and others were scheduled at the same time, which interfered with turnout. The goals are heavy and need to be moved. We need as many people as possible to meet at the fields at 4:00 p.m. to move them. Chris also reported there is a chance of rain. If it pours, Field 5 will have to be closed. It takes 2 days to drain.

Uniform Manager’s Report- Angela sold about 50 jerseys at the new player clinic. Will be there this Saturday at 8:00 a.m., selling jerseys for 20.00 each, which is allowing us to make a profit.

Referee Administrator’s Report- Jason said the referee sign up page is up. The first Saturday will likely be rough until we get everything established. Tell all coaches to sign up at the fields on Saturday. Rick Roth asked what happened to the rule about coaches having referees. Coaches should not expect to go to Tournaments without referees. All teams should have two referees. The coaches should get parents to volunteer to become referee and do games. Mike Horner asked what we could do about new referees getting abuse. We train new refs each year and it is such a thankless job that oftentimes they do not come back, or do not want to. Can the board members help police this? Board members will wear their blue region shirts and keep an eye open for any referee abuse, youth or otherwise.

Chastity Hueser has made a flyer, for Soccer Moms. George passed around a copy, along with the AYSO Shorts newsletter.

The Coach Administrator was not present. The U6 division has 42 teams. U8s are full. All 25 teams have 8 to 10 players each. The U10 division coordinators were not present. The U12s can take a few more girls. All boy U12 teams are full. The U14s have three boys’ teams and three girls teams. Both can take a few more players. We are in need of U16 players. The U19 team is full. They have moved their practice to Halls Elementary School. We only have two size 5 balls. It was reported we are in compliance of volunteer forms, but we are lacking on Safe Haven training for some coaches. It was also reported we will need to buy balls in all sizes.

Assistant Regional Commissioners Report- Amy Waller has an estimate for the gutter replacement for the pavilion of $810.00. Someone is coming tomorrow to look at tearing out the steps. We will have to bust out the concrete.

Regional Commissioners Report- George informed us the Angela has found an assistant- Amanda Hart, who is also a U8 coach. Becky Kaman has volunteered to be the Public Relations Director. Leanne Hinkle has volunteered to be the Regional Newsletter Editor. Ron Gandy has volunteered to be the assistant game day coordinator and Chastity Hueser has volunteered to take over as Soccer Moms Coordinator. Ty made a motion to accept the new board members; the motion was seconded and approved by the board.

Sharon Wise asked George to bring up the idea of Advanced Training teams for U10s and U12s for consideration. Teams would be formed based on try-outs. They could only practice and play on Sundays. Players could still play on regular team. They will be required to practice off-site. No practices will be allowed at Rifle Range. Advanced Teams cannot come back as a pre-formed team. Players would have to be disbursed into other teams. Blount County and Ball Camp have them currently. Sharon wants us to be thinking about this for future discussion and possible vote at the next meeting. Chris pointed out that the coaches would have to be Advanced Coaches.

Russ Wise and George Burgess attended the County meeting regarding the County’s plans for our expansion. We will not be getting the large soccer fields as we thought. The project is way over budget so the County has had to trim some areas. There will be no lights and no water or sewer, no concession stand or bathrooms. Three more multipurpose fields and additional parking are planned. BMX track, Frisbee golf, cross-country tracks are planned as well as a dog park and baseball field. Additional paved parking spaces will be built where the power lines are, and more spaces around the cemetery. George has talked to the people at the Rifle Range, and we may be able to work something out from the water and sewer at their buildings.

May elections are coming up for the positions of Coach Administrator, CVPA, Safety Director, Referee Administrator, Registrar and Treasurer. Names can be submitted to the Nominating committee or Kerry Patterson. All six currently in their positions will be on the ballot, for a one-year term that begins in June. George’s term as Regional Commissioner runs through 2008. All board positions except the Regional Commissioner are for one-year terms

We are out of Kid Zone forms and need to order some. The old uniforms were delivered to Central Baptist Church for use in the Upward Soccer program. We have started putting jerseys in plastic tubs to prolong their “shelf life”. A suggestion was made to buy two lockers and store jerseys in one and referee supplies in the other. We can store jerseys in freezer bags, marked with the number and the size.

We need to establish guidelines regarding a refund policy. If a youth plays a game, there will be no refund. More players have requested refunds this year than in past years. Most of our complaints have been that the child never received a call from the coach.

The list of registered volunteers was presented to the board. The board voted to approve the lists as presented.

Meeting adjourned at 8:40p.m.

Respectfully submitted
Teresa Guy
Assistant Regional Secretary