BETHEL PARK SOCCER ASSOCIATION

Parents/Coaches Meeting – January 8, 2002

Terry Bove, President of the Bethel Park Soccer Association (BPSA), called the meeting to order at 7:10 P.M. in the Community Room of the Bethel Park Municipal Building. Also present were Bill Harvey, Mike Hurley, Jack Kun, Rick Paglia, Dave Porco, Stan Sbei, Russ Spicuzza, Scott Talbott, Theresa Vescovi and Eric Young. Mr. Tim McCoy, a representative of PA West, also attended the meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: Jack Kun reported a checking account balance of $19,115.27.

Guest Speaker: Tim McCoy, the Director of Member Services for PA West, spoke at the meeting concerning many upcoming PA West programs, as well as the status of PA West Membership. Mr. McCoy announced that the AGM Workshop is Sunday, March 17^th and will be held at California University. Administrative and coaching workshops will be held throughout the day beginning at 9:00 a.m Mr. McCoy advised of the new “Club of the Year Award”. Clubs will be rated on player development, coaching clinics, referee programs, etc. He also described new programs such as the Street Soccer Program, Magic Moves Program, and Soccer Leaders. (More information on all of these programs can be found online at http://www.pawest-soccer.org.) Mr. McCoy stated that PA West’s membership grew by 13% last year to include over 60,000 members. The 2001 membership growth in PA West was one of the highest in all of US Youth Soccer affiliated associations. He also urged members to go online and vote for one of four new PA West soccer pins. Mr. McCoy’s comments were followed by a general question and answer session.

PR/Fundraising: Russ Spicuzza announced that Bethel Park groups are again welcome to partner with the BPSA to use the concession area at Village Green for fundraising purposes. All inquiries can be directed to Russ or Terry Bove.

2002 Committee Chairpeople: PR/Fundraising, Russ Spicuzza; Website Administrator, Eric Young; Field Coordinator, Brian Wassel; Tryouts, Dave Porco; Tournament Information, Scott Talbott; Golf Tournament, Rick Paglia; Flight Coordinator, Mike Hurley.

Web Site: Eric Young advised of changes to the online registration form. The form is currently available for use on the website. A counter will be added this month to gauge the use of our website.

Registration: Table registration for Spring, 2002 will be Wednesday, January 23 in the Community Room at the Municipal Building from 7 to 8 p.m. "Early Bird" registration closes February 22, 2001. Registration deadline is March 1. Registration forms will be available on the web site. Travel coaches should contact Mark Bowman as soon as possible to find out who on their team needs to get registered and to notify Mark of any changes (adds/drops) in their rosters for the Spring.

March 17: PA West Annual General Meeting and Workshop at California University. All coaches (Travel and Flight) are encouraged to attend. See the PA West web site for details and registration for the workshop.

March 30-31: Spring season "starts" (per PA West) - but it is likely that no one will be playing that weekend. It is believed a vote will be taken on this issue at the Spring Scheduling meeting to be held at California University. There will be no Bethel Park Flights that weekend. Travel coaches should discuss whether or not they will be playing at their respective spring season organizational meetings.

Tournaments: The Bethel Park Rockets (U10G) participated in the Norwin FAST Tournament at Penn State-New Kensington on January 5. After losing their first game, they went on to win the remaining 3 to qualify for the playoffs but lost in the semifinals. In the consolation game for third place, the Rockets played Norwin to a tie and, only after regulation play plus SEVEN overtime periods - with only 2 field players for each team remaining on the field - did they finally settle for fourth place in a field of 10. Team members included Brittany Boss, Moran Campbell, Alexandria Hay, Katie Kelly, Samantha Sbei and Maria Serafini.

Shoot to Score Tournaments: February 17, March 10 and March 17, 4 v. 4 no keepers, for U8, U10 and U12 boys and girls at Pitt’s Cost Center. Call 412-648-8217.

Floor-Runners Indoor Soccer Tournament: January 19-21, 4/5 plus keeper, for U-8 through U-19 and Open for boys and girls. Call 724-864-9330 or 724-861-0507.

2002 Kelme Classic: U-11 Boys and Girls, February 7 and 14, CCAC S. Campus $125.00 per team; Registration date: February 6.

Coach/Player Development: Mike Hurley reported that the PA West "Y" license coaching course will be held the last week of February or the first week of March.. This course is geared to coaches for the youngest Flights. This is a great way to learn about the basics of soccer and how to make it fun for even the youngest players. All interested coaches and parents should contact Mike at (412) 854-4149.

Referees: 18 candidates are signed up to take the entry level referee course in Building 1 at the High School, Thursday, January 10, 2002, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. This course will run for 7 weeks on Thursday evenings. Check the PA West web site for other course sites/times if you cannot attend our Bethel Park course.

Flights: A lengthy discussion was held concerning how to better utilize Bethel Park fields to support the large increase in the Flight program. Considerations such as times, fields, nets, team sizes, etcetera, are being reviewed. Decision made to work out cost and time structures for various alternatives for the next BPSA meeting.

Monthly Meetings: Regular monthly meetings take place on the second Tuesday of each month in the Bethel Park Municipal Building. Meetings start at 8:00 p.m. during the fall and spring seasons and 7:00 p.m. otherwise. EVERYONE IS WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THE MEETINGS. YOUR VOICE AND IDEAS ARE IMPORTANT TO THIS PROGRAM. The date and place for the next meeting is Tuesday, February 12th, 2002 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room.