Meeting Minutes – January 11, 2012

Attendance: Alan Burnett, Jamie Childs, Cori Distler, Dave Douglas, Bill Glenn, Rich Heritage,  Carl Hillagass, Terry Hiltz,  Ed Hogan, George Hudson, Kevin Kline, Bill Lindsay, Rich McCaffrey, Thomas McLellan, Mary Mooradian, Ed Perry, Greg Roberts, Lou Robino, Phil Schneider, Tim Schultz, Tim Taylor, Pat Thibadeau, Tim Trautman, Theresa Tuthill, Jon Ventresca, Gary Wright .

Call to Order: 7:10 PM by Rich Heritage, President
 
President’s Report Treasurer’s Report
Rich thanked members for coming and commented on the increase in attendance, a positive response to hosting the meeting in a new location this month. He spoke briefly about the Chapter, the Board positions, the need for more volunteers to serve on the board, and the continuing development of the chapter’s website: www.ctlacrosse.org
Rich stated that one of the main goals of the Chapter is coaches’ education and training.  He talked about the upcoming coaches’ clinics and the Connecticut Coaches Convention.
Rich distributed a funding survey from USL and asked members to review it and give feedback. 
Rich commended the “lacrosse community “ and its efficiency in sharing information and communicating well. 
He asked that members let him know if there’s anything the Chapter can do to be more helpful.

Treasurer’s Report
Rich presented the Schedule of Cash Flow and the 2012 Budget Proposal. 
The majority of the Chapter revenue comes from funding from USL, which is currently based upon the number of CT members.  A small amount of revenue comes from USL grants. The Chapter is expected to receive about $500 from contributions in 2012.
He discussed a few of the expenses.  He explained that the Chapter subsidizes the registration fee for the Level I and II coaches’ clinics held in CT.
There is a $2500 allocation to the CHSLCA (the boys’ high school coaches association).  That association uses the funds to help with the Boys’ Super Juniors event and the CT Coaches Convention. 
There is no line item for the CHSGLA (the girls’ high school coaches’ association) as they have not needed or requested funds to date.

Secretary’s Report
The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and approved.

VP Women and Girls
Phil reported that he and some of the Chapter board members will be meeting with the CWLOA (women’s officials’ organization) soon to talk about youth officials training and how the Chapter can help.
Phil reiterated the importance of having folks volunteer for the open positions on the Chapter board and the need to have representation from all parts of the state.

VP Men and Boys
There was discussion about the 2 men’s official’s organizations (CLOA and WCLOA) and the youth official’s training opportunities.  Greg Roberts from Groton/Mystic Lax said he has been in touch with a representative from Dick’s Sporting Goods about the possibility of underwriting costs for youth officials training.  All agreed in the value of having on-field training as well as classroom sessions, similar to the girls’ youth official’s training format. Rich stated that costs associated with providing training could also be submitted to the Grant Committee.

Committee Reports:

Training and Education
Upcoming Coaches Clinics for both boys and girls:
Level One on Feb. 12^th in Groton and Level Two on March 4^th in Farmington.
You can register via a link on the website or by going directly to the USL website. Rich clarified that if you are a USL member, you are also automatically a CT Chapter (CT Lacrosse Foundation) member.  So when you register online, click that you are registering as a “member” to get the discount. 
Rich stated that work on the CT Coaches Convention is continuing.  It will be held on March 11^th and it is anticipated to run from 9 AM to 3 PM. It will be for youth level coaches this year. The site is being determined soon.  Yale is not available this year.

Grants
Rich reported that the committee’s budget is $6000.  Last year the full amount budgeted was not spent.  There will be attention focused on how to increase grant opportunity exposure. All the grant information including the mission statement and the grant application are on the website. The application deadlines are January 31^st and September 30^th. Anyone interested in serving on the Grant Committee can contact Ed Duclos.

Hall of Fame
Rich talked about the success of the previous CT Hall of Fame events, the first at Yale in 2010 and last year’s at the Aqua Turf. This year’s is scheduled for November 11^th from 4-8 PM at the Aqua Turf.  The Hall of Fame mission statement, nomination process and past inductees are all posted on the website.  Paperwork must be submitted by June 15^th to be considered for nomination this year. 

U11, U13 and U15 USL Regional Championships (formerly the USL U13 and U15 Youth Festivals)
The format for 2012 was discussed. A decision was made not to hold tryouts and form CT Select teams this year.  As the event is now a tournament, the speculation is that club and elite teams will be the largest participants, which will reduce the number of players available to try out, and will be too competitive for the CT Select teams which only hold a few  practices before attending. The cost was a deterrent, as was the timing of the event. Middle schools are still in session and town programs may have their end-of-season tournaments and festivities on that weekend.  The decision was made for the Chapter to advertise and promote the event on its website, but it would opt out of forming CT teams this year.
A suggestion was made to have CT hold its own youth festival.  Pat and Cori supported the ease, affordability, convenience and fun of the Nutmeg State Games.  All were encouraged to go to the NSG website and check it out.  The games will be held in New Britain this year in July. Teams typically play 3-4 games for about $35 per player.

Super Juniors
Pat described the event, stating that high school coaches nominate their players.  For the boys, players attend 2 tryouts. Approximately 250 boys attend the first try out and about 100 return for the second tryout.  From there, 50 players are selected as Connecticut’s top players of the Junior Class.  The first tryout will be at Choate, the second at Wesleyan.  The Boys Super Junior game will be on June 17^th.  There is a tryout and participation fee, and the boys receive shorts and a DVD. The girls hold one tryout at Wesleyan on June 11^th and their Super Junior game is on June 14^th at Yale. Attendance at the tryout for girls has typically been around 150.  The events provide great exposure to college coaches. Organizational meetings will be held soon. Anyone interested in participating can contact Pat. 
There was mention of the possibility of holding a Super Sophomores event in the future, as more and more college coaches are looking at younger players.

Member Comments
~Rotating the location of the monthly Chapter meetings is a great idea.
~Suggested that Chapter board members attend league or area meetings. 
~Need to refresh the Chapter database.  There are members not receiving e-mails. Members were encouraged to
     e-mail Cori if they are not receiving the Chapter news updates.
~Create a “Games Needed” section of the website so coaches can post availabilities.

Adjourned: 9:05 PM
 
Next CT Lacrosse Foundation Meeting: February 8, 2012, 7:00 PM at the Hopkins School in New Haven. Directions, agenda, and further information will be posted on the Chapter website.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
Cori Distler
CLF Secretary