BETHEL PARK SOCCER ASSOCIATION

Board Meeting

May 8, 2007

Tom Vater, President of the Bethel Park Soccer Association (BPSA) called the meeting to order at 8:10 PM in the Caucus Room of the Bethel Park Municipal Building. Also present were Matt Scott, Bill Wolf, Jim Huber, Donna Orsini, Don Snyder, Jim Rhoades, Tony Bruno, Bill Boehner, Scott Bradley, Dan Saffer, Matt Yee, Jeff Hulbert, Dave Conely and Larry Shaw.

Secretary’s Report: The minutes were posted on the website and distributed at the meeting. The changes that were noted were updated on the website. There was a motion to pass the meeting minutes as posted by Don. Matt Scott seconded the motion. The meeting minutes passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report: Jim Rhoades gave a balance of $12,019.93. No money received from the Bethel Park Recreation Department at this time.

President’s Report: Tom received a letter from PA West advising the shortage of referees in PA West. They are monitoring the number of referees and would like 7 referees for each 10 teams. Tom noted BPSA has over 60 referees and does not have a shortage of referees. There is a Presidents meeting on July 17th that Bob Monte will attend because Tom is unable.

Registration - Wednesday, May 23rd is the Fall registration at the Council Chambers from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Early bird ends June 7th. Registration ends June 14th for travel players and August 3rd for Flights.

Communications – Donna has sent out the 2nd newsletter. Jim will update the website with a newsletter page.

PR/Fundraising – Community Day deposit is due by 5/15. Tom provided Jim a check for Bethel Park Recreation for the deposit. Community Day will be Saturday September 8, 2007.

Player/Coach Development – Bill Wolf advised that the Wednesday practice is gaining momentum. There are about 40 players weekly for practice. We are asking the High School girls to get involved to volunteer their time for the practice. Tuesday practice is up to about 20 players with the other flight players joining. MLS Camp will be the week of July 30th. BPSA qualified for a MLS camp this summer. The camp will be held 8/20 through 8/24. Two to four coaches are needed to facilitate the camp. The camp will run in the evening. It will be for U10, U11 and U12 boys and girls. The format will be decided on how to split the camp either by age or between the girls and boys.

Flights – Matt Scott asked what action can a coach or commissioner can take if a flight player displays inappropriate conduct. The board agreed that the player can be benched for inappropriate conduct. Larry suggested take the player aside and advise them of the proper conduct and encourage them to abide by the proper conduct. The Flight Commissioner will speak to the parent of the player displaying the inappropriate conduct. It was also noted that some parents leave their children on Saturdays. Last week due to the rain, the flights played the game after a short practice and some parents were not at the field when the games were complete. Tom asked Donna to add parent conduct to attend to their children or ask another parent to watch their child in case of a schedule change. Matt Scott suggested to have a coach and player evaluation at the end of the season or at player appreciation day.

Travel Commissioner & Registrar – Travel teams must be registered by 8/4 at California University. New cards and pictures are required for the Fall. Tom suggests that the travel coaches take pictures before the end of the Spring session. Travel player evaluations will be happening over the next few weeks. Flight 4 boys will be held 5/19 from 8:30 am to 9:30 am prior to the regular games by Bob Monte and Matt Yee. Tom Boss and Tom Page will hold the flight 5 girls evaluations. Dan will speak to Mark for the older boy evaluations.

Referees – It was mentioned that some of the younger referees at flights do not blow the whistle loud enough nor at all. Larry says he will speak to the referees before each flight. It was also mentioned we received some praise for the job the referees do at the travel games by the opposing team coaches/parents.

Fields – The High School field will be closed for two weeks while the new track is being placed and should be opened on June 3rd. June 10th, the High School field will not be available due to graduation. Ben Franklin field needs the grass cut shorter than it has been. Tom mentioned we can speak to the school principal about this request.

Equipment – Tony advised he ordered a larger Sweden shirt for Flight 5 girls. Jeff said he would speak to the shirt company to get the shirt.

Website - Jim advised the website was updated with Larry's information. The newsletter was added. The Soccer Kicks for Cancer information has been added, Dan Saffer will work with Jim to get the information out for SKFC. No one has sent any recent pictures in to be posted on the website. Larry advised he will post any information on his My Space site as well.

Player Appreciation - Flight and Travel Player Appreciation Day will be held Monday, May 28th at Millennium field. Snacks and refreshments will be provided to the players and their sibling. Most games will be played at Millennium on Monday , May 28. Flight 4 boys will play in the lower ball field. Anyone interested in helping out Sunday night , May 27th may stop at Millennium to assist. Dave Conely will lead the set up. The trophies are in and will be distributed on May 28th.

Old Business – Dan spoke about a separate Player appreciation for the Travel players but it was decided to combine both Flight and Travel on May 28th. The goalie clinic was a success. We wish more players could have attended. The Soccer Kicks for Cancer envelops are due May 12th. Five players have already turned in their donations.

New Business –Dan was able to get permission to use the high school field on June 2nd for an all night soccer activity. Players will have to get parents permission to stay all night or they can leave at 10:00 PM. Food and refreshments will be provided. There will be tents for the players. The players will need picked up in the morning. Volunteers are needed to assist with this event. We need 1 adult for every 7 players that decide to stay overnight. The information will be posted on the website on how to contact Dan Saffer about this event.

Congratulations to the Yee family on the birth of their new son Matthew William.

Matt Scott put a proposal together on how registration should be handled and handed it out to the BPSA board. Tom had some points to make on the registration process: 1. The flight and travel process must be the same, 2. the lag time between registration and playing - PA West does not allow players after week 1, 3. Tom proposed a committee, made up of board members, to look into the registration process. Matt Scott made a motion to pass his proposal, Bill made a second motion. 3 member were in favor of the change, 5 members voted against the change, 2 abstained from voting. The motion failed 5 -3. The existing registration process will remain in place.