Tallahassee United Futbol Club Board Meeting
Thursday, October 30, 2008 @ The Meadows
Submitted by Tanja Clendinen, Board Secretary
Present:
· Tanja Clendinen, Rob Hayes, Tony Kidd, Eric Lipman, Pam Nobles, Jim Parker, Garland Sandel, Phil Sandon, Laura Sullivan, and Aly Joslin (for Andy Warner)
· Guests included: Teresa Bender (U12/U16), Annette Garrigan (U18), Tim & Lori Gillis (U18), Donna Son (U14)
Meeting called to order @ 6:30pm.
Minutes from October 2, 2008 Board meeting distributed—will also be circulated by email for any changes and final approval.
Director of Coaching Report:
Distributed by Aly in Andy’s absence (out of town)—copy attached.
· TUFC players being requested to guest by other clubs—pat on our back
· Pam: 3 or 4 families on U12Red team have expressed frustration about not being able to play—are opportunities being relayed? Aly: has been communicated—maybe a team communication issue?
· All teams schedules will be wrapped up for the fall by the Columbus Tourney in early December--select teams will probably start back up 2nd week in February
· Tony: any ODP scouting at recent tourneys? Ally: not that know of—maybe Blue Angel Tourney; Phil: what is the club position re: ODP? Aly: not comfortable speaking for Andy—Aly feels is an experience and opportunity to improve your play—6 weeks ago an email went out with dates—our region is not given a lot of opportunity/respect; Garland: son had good experience; Rob: should we pursue or not?; Aly: better for ODP scouts to observe in game rather than tryouts; Tony: no expense to club and no other alternative—participation up to parent and player; Phil: does ODP matter to college coaches? Should we promote more? Donna Son: structure/details confusing—Board should promote more; Tony: maybe include dates and explanation in select player packet
Rob moved to table ODP issue until next meeting when Andy will be present for further discussion—Tanja second—all in favor
Board Vacancies:
President:
· Rob: per his understanding of the by-laws, by virtue of his position as President-Elect, he fills the President vacancy; Jim: asks if others familiar with the bylaws concur; Eric: bylaws unclear, however, Rob making a reasonable interpretation
Phil moved that Rob fill the position of President—Garland second—discussion:
· Pam: Rob completing Bill Modrow’s term? Rob: no definitive end to term as Board members currently have option to “reup” at the end of each year/term until choose to rotate off; Eric: need to revise bylaws to make more clear in this and a number of other areas
Phil amended/moved that Rob serve as President for remaining period of current term, i.e., one year after last President “renewed”—Garland second—majority in favor with Jim opposed and Tanja abstained
President-Elect:
· Rob opened nominations—nominated Phil; Jim nominated Eric; Rob: can Eric be Registrar and VP? Phil withdraws name from nomination; Garland nominates Pam; Pam: asks Eric what he would do in the event of a conflict of interest with CSA; Eric: would resign from CSA; Tony: suggested wait until bylaws are fixed to elect VP/President-Elect; Garland amended nomination of Pam for “Interim” President-Elect; Jim amended his nomination of Eric similarly; Tanja requested dual count secret ballot
Votes cast--counted by Theresa Bender and Garland—Pam Nobles elected Vice President/President-Elect by simple majority.
Board Vacancies:
Phil moved to amend bylaws to reflect Board of 9 members total including 2 coaches’ representatives—no second—discussion:
· Pam & Tanja: changes parent-to-coach ratio; Eric: goes against club’s reasons for founding plus need additional involvement, not less; Theresa: would require a bylaw change; Tony: see no difference with number of board members and gets unwieldy with more and factions form; Phil: problem getting quorum of 6
Motion withdrawn.
· Rob: will circulate names and bios for next meeting—Theresa Bender, Mike Hunter, Ed Clark, Jason Byer, Donna Son; Eric: request all nominees to attend
Coaches’ Expenses/Contracts:
Garland: update on plan for club to cover coaches’ expenses:
· U9/10—one event for up to 2 nights at up to $100 per night
· U11/12 and up—up to 3 events for up to 9 nights at up to $100 per night
· $387.27 has been paid out and about $500 more expected—should only total around $900 for fall because most of the teams are done—managers doing a great job minimizing costs
· Tony/Laura: teams pickup hotel—club covers rest through stipend--comp rooms or add-on to parents’ fees but don’t want to charge parents more; Tony: use club members with fundraising experience; Rob: have a Board member as a point person—first need is to take care of the coaches—also need a fundraising policy; Theresa: previously no recognition of sponsors—many fundraising opportunities within the club
Tanja moved that the discussion regarding contracts with TUFC coaches be tabled until next meeting—Eric second—all in favor
· Tony: consensus of coaches that this needs to be done—spells out amount, etc.; Eric/Phil: will look at proposal and discuss next meeting
Treasurer’s Report:
· Garland: approximately $46,000—will cover spring expenses--$8,000 earmarked for scholarships for spring but probably won’t use—Eric: players trying out now for spring can go ahead and apply for scholarships now?
Facility User Group:
· Garland attended Facility User Group meeting—TUFC Board has “not been good neighbors”; Eric: don’t take user group comments at face value; Garland: have a new President [TUFC] and need to open dialogue; Tony: problem with Kamal at TOPS due to Coaching Director conflict, not Board conflict—Kamal leaving and Quentin new President—need contact to be between Boards, not Coaching Directors; Eric: this is already happening in the recreational league
Phil moved that Board form Facility User Group Committee—Tony second—all in favor
· Rob asked Garland to serve as Board Facility User Group representative
Board Committees:
Board members volunteered and appointed to serve on events, merchandise, and fundraising—Jim will continue to handle uniforms:
· Events: Tony, Laura, Garland—banquet, tourney next year, etc.—FSU School of Hospitality a possible resource
· Merchandise: Eric, Tanja, Rob
· Fundraising: Tony, Garland, Phil
Feasibility Study:
Rob distributed copy of email outlining proposed study that was sent to workgroup members (Garland, Phil, Tony, Pam)—copy attached.
· Tony contacted 4 clubs with 200-300 players—respondents open with sharing format/structure of clubs, however, some reluctant to share financial details—Kerri Amadon reviewed re: statistically valid
· Tanja requested prior notification of this type of activity be sent to all Board members even if not actively involved in project
Open for Discussion:
· Tim Gillis: here to observe—wanted to see what’s going on because have been involved in the club for a long time—want to make sure the girls are being taken care of
Phil moved to adjourn the meeting—Eric second—all in favor.
TUFC Director of Coaching Report October 2008
(Given by Aly Joslin)
1. Technical Sessions
We are into the last week of technical sessions in the club. All teams have completed the majority of their sessions with no more than 3 left across the board. The sessions have been well received by the coaching staff and parents. There has been an expression of thanks and appreciation from parents and staff. I have personally received comments from opposing coaches and parents about the technical ability of our players.
2. Academy Events
We have two academy play dates in the last two weekends. Again, our teams have been performing fantastically well. I, along with Andy, have been able to see and work with all teams that we have in the academy. The event in Valdosta went very well. We have allowed several of our academy players to play with the other academy teams in the play dates where teams have been short of players. This is the strength of academy programs and our academy in particular. We are able to seamlessly share players for the benefit of the player, the team and the club as a whole. Our own play date in Tallahassee went very well. All games stayed on time. Through my contacts I was also able to bring in Columbus Football Club – who we hope will participate more going into next year. We are also talking to a few other clubs about getting some academy play dates together to provide our teams with new challenges. The U12 boys red squad has been invited to Jacksonville to take part in a play date. Coach Sullivan and I both agreed that it would be in that team’s best interest to raise the level of their competition. We are looking forward to the possibilities with some of these new academy contacts.
3. U13 / U14 Teams
Girls U13 – Attended top gun. Played in a U14 bracket and won the tournament against some good U14 teams. Their hard work and training is paying off. Their next event is the Jekyll Island tournament
Girls U14 – Had a very strong showing in Top Gun. Have had praise from other coaches around the area about how this team has improved. – Nike Cup next tournament
Boys U13 – Played very well at Adidas. They have secured a guest goal keeper for major events and Kevin and Alex have been able to secure a full time keeper and potentially a second keeper. Next tournament is Top Gun this weekend.
Boys U14 – have become a very strong disciplined side. Won the Blue Angel Classic in Pensacola beating Norcross Soccer Academy out of Atlanta (who have teams in the national league) in the final.
4. Coaches Education
We have hosted both a NSCAA Diploma and USSF “E” License in the past month. Both have been very well received and attended. We are glad to say that all TUFC coaches who were in attendance passed the courses. We have made available the development by age criteria’s – which has been on the website. We are also putting together the 1st part in our new USYSA / FYSA coaching curriculum which will be distributed to all coaches in the near future.
5. Spring Dates
We are looking to Kick – Off the season with a weekend event. The weekend event will be Academy teams on the Saturday and Select on the Sunday. We will hold a coaches clinic in the mornings and then a training session and club wide game in the afternoon. The date we have provisionally selected is February 14th/15th. The academy will start its 4v4 “Dutch” style tournament on February 3rd with the annual World Cup taking place on February 21st. We do not want to run into the same problems as last year when no other academy started until March. The SSA academy dates have been selected. Tallahassee will be hosting on the 21st March – with the first event in Albany on March 7th 2009.
6. Christmas opportunities
Warner Soccer will be hosting its regular striker/goalkeeper camp. This year Warner soccer will be bringing in ex – Brazilian national team player and world cup star Zequinha, . Zequinha played with Pele and was a member of the Brazilian national squad between 1970-74. As always, TUFC members are welcome to a 15% discount for the chance to work with “Z”.
