Meeting Minutes – February 8, 2012

Attendance: Cori Distler, Mark Duclos, Rich Heritage, George Hudson, George Longyear, Sandy MacMullen, Bobby Marusi, Lee Ogden, Phil Schneider, Pat Thibadeau

Call to Order: 7:15 PM by Rich Heritage, President
 
President’s Report Treasurer’s Report
Rich reported that last month’s meeting was well attended. There has been a favorable response from rotating the meeting site each month.
Rich recapped the discussion held at the last meeting re: the U11, U13 and U15 Regional Championships.  The Chapter has decided not to send any teams to the regional championships this season as it appears they are becoming more of a "club tournament" than in the spirit of the former Lax Fests.
The Chapter is still looking for a Treasurer.  Anyone interested should contact Rich.
Rich confirmed that the CLF will not hold a Coaches’ Conference this year.  Yale was not available for a location this year, and time ran out to contact and secure an alternate location and speakers/presenters.  We will focus on the 2013 event.  A suggestion was made to attempt to get an event sponsor. 
 
VP Women and Girls
Phil reported that he met with Lori Connelly to see if there were any needs/ wants of the CHSGLA (CT High School Girls Lacrosse Assoc.) that the CLF could help with.  The CHSGLA website will be updated soon. Communication is the goal.  Don’t want any high school program, public or private, to be left in the dark.  Acknowledged that there are still programs, especially if they have a new head coach, that don’t know the details or deadlines associated with things like Lower New England’s, All American, All State, Super Juniors, etc.  
The meeting for high school coaches to review rules and rules interpretations will be on May 5^th at the CIAC Headquarters in Cheshire.

VP Men and Boys
There was discussion re: age-based vs. grade-based divisions in youth lax. There are still a large number of programs who do grade-based, which is not in alignment with US Lacrosse. With the publication of the new youth rules guidelines by US Lacrosse, the feeling was that there soon will be a national standardization of youth rules (not “guidelines”) that everyone will be required to follow.  Phil stated that he had heard that there may be an insurance liability issue in 2013 - that US Lacrosse/Bollinger would only insure those programs in compliance with the age-based requirements.  Rich will be following up with US Lacrosse to discuss.

Committee Reports:

Training and Education
Rich reported that, to date, there are 62 participants registered for the Level One Coaching Clinic  on Feb. 12^th in Groton and 35 registered for the Level Two on March 4^th in Farmington.
Rich stated that there are 4 PCA workshops available for any program, town, or league to host, compliments of US Lacrosse and the CLF. If interested, contact Rich.

Grants
Marc reported that there were 3 grants approved by the Grant Committee.  Mark explained  the CLF’s position on Grants and Public Funding, explaining that grants are not approved for public high school programs, as the Chapter does not want to accept the role of “filling the funding gap” for programs which should be properly funded through their Boards of Education.   Mark also stated that the CLF website can be used for posting “wish list” items.  This has been successful in the past.

Super Juniors
Pat stated that the Boys’ game will be on Sunday, June 17^th with the 2 tryouts taking place the week prior.  He is working on getting the information for the Under Armour tournament, so as to avoid any conflicts. Phil reported that
There was discussion regarding the purpose of Super Juniors:
Is it just to recognize and honor the top Juniors in the state?
Is it a college recruiting event, despite the fact that several college coaches already have their spots filled?
Should it be only for those players who have not committed to a college yet?
Is there a need for a Super Sophomores event?
The consensus was that there needs to be a more clear definition of the event, its purpose, and its benefits.

Adjourned: 9:05 PM

Next CT Lacrosse Foundation Meeting: March 7, 2012, 7:00 PM, location TBD.
 
Respectfully Submitted,
Cori Distler
CLF Secretary