BETHEL PARK SOCCER ASSOCIATION

Board Meeting

June 12, 2007

Tom Vater, President of the Bethel Park Soccer Association (BPSA) called the meeting to order at 8:08PM in the Caucus Room of the Bethel Park Municipal Building. Also present were Matt Scott, Jim Huber, Donna Orsini, Don Snyder, Jim Rhoades, Tony Bruno, Dan Saffer, Matt Yee, Dave Conely, Tom Boss, Ray Conway, Bob Monte, Jack Kun, Ana Guerrero and Brian Georges.

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 Bob Monte. Don Snyder seconded the motion. The meeting minutes passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report: Jim Rhoades gave a balance of $19,946.23. The check from the Bethel Park Recreation Department at this time was for $14,247.90. Jim Rhoades is working on the budget process and expected to be completed for August. The PA West fee was paid. MLS was paid for the Spring session.

President’s Report: Tom Vater commended all who were part of the player appreciation day May 28th. Dave Conely and team did a great job setting up the fields the night before, preparing for the games on May 28th and getting the fields cleaned up. Also, a special thanks to Liz Conely for her work for the day. Bob Monte will attend the 7/17 Presidents meeting for the south district. August 4th is the scheduling meeting at California, PA University at 10:00 AM. Dave Pcholinski has stepped down as the referee coordinator for PA West. Rick S of PFC wants to move toward a center of excellence and keep in-house (flights) soccer. Linda Backo, Baldwin, has advise the local soccer organizations that Baldwin does not have enough players to fields travel teams and is looking to get the Baldwin players the opportunity to play. Bob Monte asked if the available players are made known and if BPSA has the opportunity to pick up players to complete the teams. Tom Vater says the are 5 local municipalities that will try to get the players involved.

Registration - Don Snyder reported as of 6/12, there were 207 players registered for flights. There were 167 registered for travel..

Communications – Donna Orsini has sent out the 3rd newsletter and Jim Huber updated the website with a newsletter page.

PR/Fundraising – Jim Huber reported the check was submitted to the Rec department for the Community Day. Jim expects the same spot as last year but will advise once the confirmation is received. Community Day will be Saturday September 8, 2007.

Player/Coach Development – Bill Wolf was not present but sent this update:1 Length of sessions on Wednesday (1hr) was appropriate. Half hour of drills and 30 minute game was sufficient to keep most of the kids interested and focused. Games typically went longer when we has a large group of kids. 2. Fields were not damaged due to our presence. Grass surface recovered easily from one the we practiced when it was wet. Small kids really did not have the capacity to tear up the field in 1 hour. 3. Inability to communicate to parents whether practice was on or not was a problem. Solution was to assume was always on, report to the field and tailor sessions to the numbers that turned out. 4. Number of kids varies by week. Overall, aside from one rain out, weather did not play a big role in the attendance. During the colder weeks, we had similar number of kids attend versus the warmer evenings. Highest numbers: week 3 - 35 kids, week 6 - 38 kids (this was only warm night that had a big turn out). For the final day, we had approximately 14 kids. On average, we had 17 to 20 kids per week. 5. Help from the High School team was vital. Mike G should be recognized for his help filling in for Bill 2 times when he was out of town on business. 6. Unfortunately, as weeks passed the participation from players waned. The biggest turn out, we had no HS players (thankfully Dave Conely & Scott Bradley were on hand). The program's reliance on HS players will be a major detriment to the program going forward. 7. The focus on flight 2 is not correct. It has to be more age specific such as 8 and 9 yr olds. Too many 7 year olds who are not really focused came at this time. Despite best efforts, most are not ready to take advantage to the program. 8. Girls at this age took training more serious than boys. 9. Parents Bill spoke to like the Wednesday sessions. These parents seemed to like the idea of additional exposure to soccer beyond Saturday. Unfortunately, small numbers don't represent the opinion of overall associate. Overall, Bill says the experience was worthwhile. It illustrated the dilemma of multiple sports being offered at the same time. Thos who are committed to soccer came week after week. Those who were interested but had conflicts, came when they could. Those who didn't have a big interest in soccer, viewed this as something different to do and came sporadically. Moving forward, with out firm coaching commitment (parent or volunteers), Bill does not think the program is viable and should not continue.

Flights – Matt Scott says the player appreciation day was a nice wrap to the session. Flight 5 girls asked why they did not get any trophies and it was explained this has been the process for years. The flight 5 boys did not get trophies either. Matt Scoot will confirm the Fall commissioners as Flight 1 - Joe Johns, Flight 2- Kelly Mahalko and Heather Scott, Flight 3 - Scott Bradley, Flight 4 - Michele Friday, Flight 5 girls - Brian Georges, Flight 5 boys - Tony Bruno. Matt Scott suggests more nets for Neil Armstrong. Tom Boss advised not place to store nets at Neil Armstrong.

Travel Commissioner & Registrar – Tom Vater asked for everyone's help with the new player cards. There will be a draft meeting 6/26 after all are registered. The time will be determined.

Fields – Tom Boss advised all the fields will be available in the fall. Ben Franklin school nets need laid down after each use because there are no anchor.

Equipment – Tony Bruno says he is working on getting travel shirts back. He is working on sponsors for flight shirts. Tony says we need about 50 sponsors to cover shirt expenses. This needs to be completed about 1 month prior to flights. Tony asked for volunteers to solicit sponsors. Dave Conely made a motion to pursue the sponsorship, Bob Monte 2nd the motion. The motion passed unanimously. There was a request to look into home and away travel shirts. This shirt cost may be added to the travel fee. Bob Monte asked if there was any thought to buy soccer shorts to match. Tom Vater advised it was considered but due to budget constrains was not able to be complete. Tony Bruno will look into a shorts order. Donna Orsini suggested to contact where we get the referee uniforms. Jack Kun suggested to contact MLS.

Website - Jim Huber advised he added a newsletter page to the website with the 3 newsletters. The Soccer Kicks for Cancer information has been updated. Dan Saffer to provide a permission slip.

Player/Coach Appreciation - Dave Conely did a great job! The coaches appreciation dinner will be scheduled for November 3rd at the Bethel Park Community Center.

Old Business – Matt Scoot delivered the trophy to Emily Wagner from last season. Matt Yee needs a set of keys for Village Green for the Free Summer Session. Matt Yee is looking for volunteers to help on Tuesdays 6:30 - 8:00. Bill Harvey and Stan Sbei may volunteer. Tom Boss says at Millennium field on Thursdays at 6:00 - 7:30, it starts on June 14th and runs through he end of August.

Dan Saffer advised SKFC collected $1,250 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Dan is getting the schedule together for the June 15th Kicks for Cancer Overnighter.

New Business – Ana Guerrero made a request to have her son play up to U11. She made a formal written request to the board. Ray Conway made a motion that team formation will be determined on registration. The need for players will be based upon size and skills. Donna Orsini 2nd the motion. The motion passed unanimously. There was another written request for Mike Mamone to play up. These will be considered after June 26th. Dave Conely made a motion to use the Baldwin players to fill the Bethel Park teams if needed. Matt Scott 2nd the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Matt Scott provided an update that PA West will accept Flight players anytime during registration, there is no magic date at this time. Tom Vater advised the issue is closed as of last week.

June 19 starts FREE Summer Soccer program for Flights 1,2 & 3 at Village Green. It will run for 6 weeks each Tuesday from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM.

September 8 - Community Day at BP High School. Flight 1,2 & 3 will play at the High school field.-