Minutes – FC Bozeman Board Meeting – February 4, 2004
Present: Bill Robinson, Rick Sojda, Dick Prugh, Jen Gummer, Bill Locke, Russ Walker, Sue Manfredi, Kerry Hatcher, Mary Anne McGuire
Also present: Terri Murphy, Tim Owen
The meeting was called to order at 7:08 pm.
It was Moved, Seconded, and Passed unanimously that the January7, 2004 minutes be approved as written.
Bill Locke introduced Terri Murphy as a nominee for treasurer.
Mary Anne discussed the need for some sort of protocol when addressing coaching/head of coaching concerns that are brought to board members by parents/players. The Board agreed to forward concerns to Tim Guenzler and Jen Gummer to decide whether there would be a need to involve the coaching committee. By doing so there will be consistent procedure followed for all matters.
Micro Report: Tim Owen discussed the "Program Report"
�Tim O. thanked the Club for the great support given to the Utah Blitzz at last weekend's training session. 110-115 players participated
�Stacey Enos (All American and a member of the National Team) of the University of North Carolina will be in Bozeman during spring break to offer a clinic. Tim O. stated that Tim G. will use Stacey more for the girls' teams since she is an "awesome role model". Tim O. will inform the members of the specific dates soon.
�Spring Micro 2004: Lisa Prugh and Jenny Martin will continue to run and organize Micro on Wednesdays and Sundays. Registration will be in the middle of March. The Club will add Kindergarten (4v4) to micro this spring. Wallis Bryan has generously agreed to be the referee assignor for Micro this spring. Micro generates between 10K-15K for the club annually. The Club needs to find someone to run the program next season (2005) as Lisa and Jenny will not be running the program then.
�Fall Micro 2004: Tim O. discussed his ideas for creating a Fall Micro program. Registration would be on the Spring Micro form. Tim Guenzler and Mike Rivas are in favor of the program to develop player skills while making the experience fun for the young players. Tim O. stated that the goal of Fall Micro would be to "Develop a micro player for competitive FC play." Tim O. feels that this program would also generate revenue for the club. Before approving Fall Micro for FC Bozeman, Bill L. proposed tabling the discussion until next month's meeting. Kerry expressed the need to decide before the March meeting since registration would be on the Spring Micro forms. The Board then decided to have a special Board meeting on February 18, 2004 to further discuss the issue of Fall Micro in 2004. At the meeting, Bill would like Tim O. to have a written proposal for his plans for the Fall Micro program to give to the Board. The written proposal needs to address issues such as player ages, team sizes, along with where and when teams would be practicing and playing games. Board members are to contact Tim O. between now and the February 18, 2004 meeting if more thoughts arise regarding the program. Kerry and Tim O. also agreed that the Club may need to change the names of Spring and Fall Micro to tie them more closely to FC Bozeman for public awareness.
Web Report: Bill L. received a call from Bernie Green who is interested in being the Webmeister. Bill L. stated that he hopes Bernie will be able to build additional functionality into the web page.
Registrar's Report: This report was given by Jen Gummer. She stated:
�The Club now has approximately 290 players registered.
�There are 16 AA teams
�2 teams in the Big Sky League (both a 6th - 8th grade girls and boys team). The advantages to this are that this keeps more kids playing and Bozeman is centrally located for the Big Sky League. There are additional teams in towns such as Belgrade, Lewistown, Whitehall, White Sulphur Springs and Billings. The girls play 8v8 while the boys play 11v11 in the league. Both teams are open to more players. The Big Sky League Tournament is in conjunction with the Montana Cup.
�The U11/12 Tournament will be held June 26, 2004.
Head Coach Report: This report was given by Jen Gummer since Tim Guenzler was attending the U11 Boy's tryouts tonight.
�Tim G. wants a decision made by the Board regarding Utah Blitzz affiliation soon.
�All coaches are hired except the U14 Girls' coach. This will be done soon.
�Jen G. showed the reversible red/black warm up jacket that Tim G. wants for coaches and recommends for Club players for comformity. Rick Sojda moved and Russ Walker seconded a motion to support Tim G. on his decision to have the warm up for FC Bozeman coaches. Teams are not required to purchase the warm up.
Committee Reports:
A. Budget: no report until Treasurer hired
B. Annual Calendar, Operations &General Members: no report
C. Facilities & Equipment: Russ Walker reported on the proposal that he and Dick Prugh outlined for Field Layouts and Equipment Purchases. A new line painter is desperately needed. After considering the proposal, discussing how many games the Club could schedule based on referee availability per weekend, and taking into consideration the fact that the Club already has some goals that are in good shape the Board authorized Russ to purchase the following:
�Nets as needed
�3 small pairs of 7' by 21' Kwik Goals ($4500 total plus shipping)
�Up to 2 sets of 8' by 24' large AYSO/Sator goals (up to $3000 plus shipping)
�New line painter ($1545)
With these purchases the arrangement of Club owned goals will be as follows:
�Sacajawea: 2 old steel pairs, and possibly one old Kwik pair (depending on how many new pairs of large AYSO/Sator goals are purchased)
�Babcock: 3 new small (7' by 21') goals
�Bronken: 2 old steel and 2 other goals that are a combination of large old or new aluminum goals (depending on how many new pairs of large AYSO/Sator goals are purchased)
D. Head Coach Supervision and Development: Rick Sojda reported that the Committee is currently working in conjunction with Tim G. to finalize a packet of Club policies, safety issues and contracts for coaches. A discussion regarding coaches as independent contractors or employees took place. Terri Murphy offered insight as to considering the coaches as independent contractors since they are not paid monthly salary. Dick Prugh emphasized the fact that the coaches are covered under the Club's liability insurance and the Board is greatly concerned about their safety whether coaches are classified as employees or independent contractors. Bill Locke stated that by calling the coaches independent contractors the club is not violating any laws only simplifying the treasurer's job. Bill L. asked Rick to have the coaches fill out an Independent Contractor Affidavit, along with having Rick S. include a statement to the coaches that "You are an independent contractor ..." in the contract. The Board will defer the employee vs independent contractor status of the Club Administrator (Jen Gummer) and Head of Coaches (Tim Guenzler) to the new Treasurer, once elected.
E. Referee Liason: Rick Sojda stated that 25 people showed up on Tuesday evening, February 3, 2004, for the first night of the re-certification clinic. For new certification there is one person signed up for level 9 training and six people signed up for level 8 training. Rick Sojda talked about the new state minimum for paying referees. The pay ranges from $35 (center) and $20( assistant referee) at the U17-19 levels to $20 (center) and $10 (assistant referee) at the U11/12 levels. Rick stated that this would cost our Club approximately $7200. Sue Manfredi moved and Bill Robinson seconded a motion to approve that FC Bozeman accept the state minimum pay for referees. The proposal was unanimously approved.
F. Team Manager Coordination: Report given by Jen Gummer. The Club will enforce that every team has two field marshals. Two field marshall vests will be given to each team as part of their equipment to be distributed to field marshals via the team manager. The Club is looking for a referee to do field marshal training. There will be a 3 game minimum suspension (state requirement) for any parent/coach in violation of good sportsmanship regulations.
G. Scholarships: no report
H. Player Recognition/Promotion/PR: no report
I.Fundraising: Kerry Hatcher reported that he is looking for Club fundraising opportunities. Kerry stated that the Board and members should contact people they know to help raise funds. Members of the Board asked that Kerry write up a script for Club members to use to let community members know what FC Bozeman is fundraising for. Dick P. stated that he will not ask the community for donations.
J. Risk Management: Jen Gummer reported that the safety packet would be distributed and thoroughly discussed with coaches. Jen emphasized that the Club will not tolerate coaches and players moving goals at any time! She stated that this is a severe safety violation. Jen will speak to Tim Guenzler and make sure that he emphasizes this to the coaches. There will be disciplinary actions taken against coaches/players who move goals. Kerry Hatcher proposed placing a sign on each goal to warn the public not to move the goal.
K. Policy: Bill Locke emphasized that when policy issues arise, Sue Manfredi divert the issues to the end of the season when change in policy is discussed.
New Business: Bill Locke made a motion to elect Terri Murphy as the new FC Bozeman Treasurer. Dick Prugh seconded the motion and approval was unanimous to elect Terri as Treasurer.
Unfinished Business: A reiteration of the Saturday January 31, 2004 meeting was led by Dick Prugh regarding Utah Blitzz affiliation. Dick stated that there are about 18,000 people in Utah affiliated with the Utah Blitzz. These people have the opportunity to attend coaching and player clinics. Dick stated that Tim G. wants the Board to decide whether or not FC Bozeman will affiliate with the Utah Blitzz. Some of the misinformation that Club members have is that cost will go to Utah. Dick stated that FC Bozeman benefits from:
�Coach/Player clinics
�Unification of coaches and families to see what goes on in soccer outside of Bozeman
�Obtain connections and education in the soccer world
�FC Bozeman does not have to pay a specific fee for affiliation
�Utah Blitzz will help get our teams into bigger tournaments. Rick Sojda mentioned that this would be a great advantage seeing that no Montana teams were originally selected for the 2004 President's Cup in Phoenix and only one Montana team was accepted on the second try.
Dick also stated that we would not be told to obtain different jerseys. We may want to consider changing our name to something like "Bozeman Blitz FC" or obtaining a Utah Blitzz patch if we become affiliated. Dick emphasized that "This is an opportunity to connect readily and consistently with a bigger entity in the soccer world." Rick Sojda stated that we could phase into the affiliation. Bill Locke stated that this would move us in a direction of giving kids something to strive toward. The only downside that Bill L. sees is the distance required to bring coaches to train and possibly send players to train. Dick P. will talk to Chris Agnello and find out for sure if the affiliation would be with the Blitzz FC (competitive) or the Junior Blitzz (recreational). Dick will also obtain more specific information from Chris regarding affiliation. Rick Sojda moved and Kerry H. seconded a motion to foster an association with the Utah Blitzz by having Dick Prugh draw up a proposal to the Board for Blitzz affiliation. The motion was unanimously accepted.
The proposal will be discussed and voted on at the special meeting on February 18, 2004.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:43 pm.