CT Chapter of US Lacrosse Meeting Minutes
Monday, March 9th, 6:30-8:30 PM
Hopkins School, 986 Forest Road, New Haven CT
Present: Rich Heritage, Phil Schneider, Mitchell Felton, Mike Scanlan, Ralph Mayo, Drew McElroy, Al DiVincentis, Randy Bayliss, Sandy MacMullen, Fred Capozziello
Meeting Called to Order at 6:50pm
1. CT Youth Lacrosse Coaches Clinic Re-cap – March 8th – Albertus Magnus
· Phil reported that over 50 coaches attend the clinic. This number was done from last year’s clinic that had over 80 coaches. Possible conflict with USL CEP Level 1 that was going on in New Canaan at the same time. Recommendation to not have conflicting events in the future.
· Other recommendations included sending a survey to league/program leaders to ask for ways to improve the clinic and attendance at the clinic. Questions can be related to time, location, topics, and cost.
· Event was promoted through email blasts, website, announcements at league meetings and CEPs. The information about the clinic was still missed by some people. Recommendation to get information to program/league leadership earlier with slate of speakers to promote clinic.
· Albertus Magnus Women’s Lacrosse will receive a donation from CT Chapter for $1500
· Rich will provide an overview of income and expenses for the clinic to be discussed at next meeting.
2. Youth Lacrosse Leadership Conf. Re-cap – February 22nd – Mohegan Sun
· No discussion on this item. Phil will post meeting minutes on CT Chapter website
3. Coaches Education Program Planning
· Committee is working on finding two locations for Level 2 clinics in the fall and two Level 1 clinics in the Winter/Spring.
· Recommendation to lock in dates (weekends) for events, so coaches can plan for a clinic at the same time each year.
4. CT Chapter Grant Applications Update
· Three grant applications were submitted. Committee will conduct a conference call on Thursday March 12, 2015 to discuss
5. Diversity & Inclusion Grant Ideas
· No discussion on this item
6. Umpire Recruitment and Training
· No discussion on this item
7. Committee Initiatives
a. Coaches Education
b. Events
c. Communication
d. Fundraising
e. Sportsmanship
f. Marketing
g. Participation
h. Hall of Fame
i. Grants
· Phil discussed “action items” for each of the committees that was previously sent to committee members
· Coaches Education – Identify locations for CEP Clinics, assist programs with hosting agreement, represent CT Chapter at CEP clinics.
· Events Coordinator – assist with CT Coaches Clinic, develop youth clinics with local colleges, coordinate clinics with US National teams, assist with WNT try-outs
· Communications & Website – update website, Facebook and Twitter content, work with Ryan on email blasts for Chapter events
· Sportsmanship – work as liaison with youth leagues, identify programs for PCA clinics, promote Gold Stick Standards to leagues, provide grant and award information.
· Marketing – ideas for promotional items, update USL tri-fold with CT Chapter information, identify events/tournaments for Chapter to attend, recruit volunteers for CT Chapter events
· Fundraising – identify sponsorship ideas, check with US Lacrosse about any conflicts or branding issues
8. USL Membership Benefits Points of Emphasis
· Phil distributed first draft of USL benefits. Need to work on final copy for approval.
9. Visibility and Awareness Campaign
a. League Tournament Dates
· CONNY – U13 (May 30 & 31), U15 (June 13 & 14) – Yale University
· CVYL – June 13 & 14 – South Windsor
· NECLax – June 13 & 14 – East Lyme
b. CT Chapter Tent, Flag, and Table Skirt – Impact Canopy
c. CT Chapter Promotional Items
10. Housekeeping
a. USL Grants Deadlines – US Lacrosse event calendar has been added to Chapter website which has links to Grant Applications including deadlines
b. CT Chapter Certification Deadline – May 31st
11. New Business
a. Google AdWords – Mitch will submit an application for $10,000 of free advertisement through Google AdWords.
b. Recommendation for conference call in Mid-May
c. Recommendation to have USL (Ryan) provide lists of ways that membership database can be disaggregated
d. Recommendation to ask USL for signed merchandise to give away at Chapter events
Meeting adjourned at 8:35pm
Next Meeting – June – exact date and location TBD
Find a sports league near me.
