CT Chapter Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
6:30pm – 9:00 pm
East Lyme High School ~ 30 Chesterfield Road, East Lyme, CT
Present: Phil Schneider, Sean M. Peoples, Lindsay Jardine, Sean Cole, Drew McElroy, Rich Heritage, Ralph Mayo, Will Mraz, Mitchell Felton. There were two guests present from East Lyme Youth Lacrosse: Rich McCaffrey and Shawn Pierce.
The Meeting was called to order at 6:55 p.m.
· Phil stated this will be the last meeting before August. There followed brief introductions.
· Review of meeting minutes from February 10, 2016 meeting, no further discussion.
· Committee Meetings – based on the small group, Phil suggested an open discussion of Committee developments/update.
o Coaches Education
o Outreach/exposure will expose coaches to the Chapter’s existence.
§ Hall Neighborhood House update on facility, equipment and program development.
§ Outreach to women’s programs, attempts to make US Lacrosse membership relevant to High School athletes.
§ Follow up on initiatives in 2016.
o Coaches Education – Phil
§ Clinic in Milford update - attended by 35 coaches, well received. Suitability of facility for these events should be a future consideration.
§ Chapter could be more proactive in establishing better coordination with clinic programs & CEP offered by CONNY.
§ Discussion on offering 2 coaching clinics in the fall; 2 clinics in the spring.
§ Report on Vernon clinic; women’s program was cancelled due to poor attendance; men’s program had 27 attendees.
§ Discussion on Gold Stick Standard requirements for best practices.
§ Discussion on low attendance at the coaching clinics, consider CEP exit survey for feedback.
o Events – Phil
§ The March 12th clinic was cancelled due to lack of registrants – more needs to be done to bolster attendance.
§ Open dialog with youth programs in Eastern MA as to their problems (time frame, weather considerations, completing clinics, facilities, and query when coaches want clinics offered).
o Communications/Social Media
§ Facebook site is growing and getting some responses.
§ Discussion of retaining a college intern to work on Chapter website.
o Treasurer’s Report – Mitch
§ $58,694.00 balance in account
§ Discussion on bringing in advertisers and corporate sponsorship dollars to bridge gap with decreased funding ($28,000) from USL in 2016.
§ CT Day of Lacrosse giving – charity events for raising organization funds.
§ Meeting with USL National chair meeting next week to discuss funding.
§ Better outreach to local CT programs to raise awareness and funding
§ Allocation reduction is across the board.
Ø $65,000 in revenue
Ø $86,464 in expenses
Ø $21,320 in net losses
Ø $38,375 in net reserves
o Hall of Fame Committee – Phil
§ Ahead of schedule for vetting 60 applications and getting down to 13 candidates for class of 2016.
§ Phil will create a ballot for the 13 candidates to narrow the class down to 5 or 6 of exceptional candidates.
§ Banquet in November.
§ Soliciting ads for the program book.
§ Silent auction items.
o Grants Committee
§ Awarded one (1) in the fall.
§ $1,000.00 grant to Town of Cromwell.
§ Received a $750.00 grant request from the girl’s program at St. Paul’s (private) School in Bristol - to be reviewed by the Executive Committee.
§ This was the only grant application received for the spring 2016 application period.
§ September 30th and January 31st deadline for grant requests.
§ Awareness through website and by word of mouth, newsletter.
§ Chapter 126 grant request was initially denied but may be reviewed by Executive Committee and categorized it as a “diversity awareness grant”.
§ Request of the Committee to draft criteria for grants.
o CT Chapter Related Issues – Al
§ Indoor lacrosse league guidelines (see attached guidelines).
§ Discussion over facilities, officiating, coaching (certifications, qualifications, screening, level of behavior), safety considerations, equipment checks.
§ These guidelines should raise awareness for the Chapter to become more proactive in training officials - USL insurance coverage considerations.
Ø USL insurance coverage does not extend to indoor box lacrosse where cross-checking or boarding are permitted.
§ Discussion on what qualifications parents should be most concerned.
o Training Opportunities for Youth Umpires in Non-Traditional Locations – Phil
§ Discussion of location of suitable facilities due to restrictions – does the Chapter provide or facilitate suitable locations.
o MLL Semi-Finals – Fairfield University on August 13th @ 5:30pm.
§ Chapter’s help solicited to help promote this event
§ Chapter tent, coordination of youth tournament.
o On March 15th USL roll out of new initiative to enhance group member value – Phil
§ Player segmentation, guidelines based on research and best practices.
§ Pilot programs for age verification – submission of birth certificate for age verification and age bracket(s) as a safety concern.
§ Athlete Development Program initiative.
§ Short sided game rules for officials.
o Discussion of problems associated with elite local clubs poaching players from town teams – Rich
§ These issues are of concern to CONNY & CVYL as well.
§ Rules and regulations with enforcement should be implemented to prevent poaching – what should USL’s role be as a governing body?
Meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.
