NCSL Board Meeting

August 26, 2019

Westin Tysons Corner

The meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m.

I.         Roll Call

The following clubs were in attendance at the meeting: A3, Alexandria Soccer Association, Alliance Soccer Club, Annandale Boys & Girls Club, Arlington Youth Soccer Club, Bethesda Soccer Club, Blue Ridge United, Braddock Road Youth Club, Burke Athletic Club, Calvert Soccer Association, Calverton Soccer Club, Chantilly Youth Association, Culpepper Soccer Club, D.C. Stoddert, DORADUS, Fairfax Police Youth Club, FC Dulles, FC Frederick, Fredericksburg Soccer Club, Front Royal Soccer Association, Future Soccer Club, Great Falls – Reston, Gunston Soccer Club, Hagerstown Soccer Club, Herndon Youth Soccer Association, La Plata Soccer Academy, Laurel Soccer Club, Lee-Mt. Vernon Sports Club, Leesburg Football Club, Loudoun Soccer Club, Maryland Rush, Maryland Rush Montgomery, McLean Youth, Montgomery Soccer, OBGC (Olney), Old Dominion Football Club, Potomac Soccer Association, Premier Athletic Club, Prince William Soccer, Inc., Real World Futbal Club, Severna Park Athletic Club, Shenandoah FC Elite, Soccer Association of Columbia, South County Athletic Association, Southwestern Youth Association, Springfield South County Youth Club, St. Mary's Soccer, Stafford Soccer Club, Sterling Youth Soccer Association, Takoma Park Soccer Club, Team America Football Club, Vienna Youth Soccer, Virginia Revolution, Virginia Soccer Association, Waldorf Soccer Club, Washington Capital United, West Virginia Futbal Club, Woodbridge Soccer Club

Roll call indicated that the following clubs were not in attendance: Antietam United Soccer Club, Arundel Soccer Association, Broadneck SC, Damascus Soccer Club, Davidsonville Athletic Association, Epic Soccer Club, FCV Ashburn, Fort Washington, Fredericksburg FC, Northern Virginia Soccer Club, Thunder Soccer Club, VISTA, Warrenton Youth Soccer Club

Approval of Minutes

FC Frederick made a motion to approve the June 27, 2019 Board Meeting minutes and June 27, 2019 Annual General Meeting minutes. The motion was seconded. A voice vote was taken; all were in favor and the motion passed.

II.        Reports

Ryan Rich – Executive Director: Ryan reported success and positive feedback with the online rescheduling process. Let him know if you have any questions or input on the process.

Soccer.com and Adidas have created a partnership. NCSL has leveraged the league to obtain deals for member clubs. Soccer.com is holding events in North Carolina for club reps; let Ryan know if you are interested in attending.

The winter combines are planned for January (January 5^th for Boys, January 12^th for Girls).

Reminders were sent to Division I teams with reminders that State Cup registration (VA teams) is mandatory to be part of the super group in the spring. Additional information will be sent in the fall.

Doug Walls – NCSL Commissioner: Doug reminded club reps to enter rosters for U12 and up teams into the database before the first weekend of games. Only player names and jersey numbers are needed. Remind team managers that they must have a state-approved roster and blue game cards on game days.

Maureen Dalbec – NCSL Commissioner: No report (not present).

Carol Coulter – Virginia Registrar: No report (not present).

Mike Basileo – Maryland Registrar: No report (not present).

Richard reminded club reps that teams must be registered with the state. Everyone in Maryland has to go through Stack Sports for background checks. In Virginia, all rostered adults must have a sexual abuse prevention training certificate uploaded.

Alison Smith – NCSL Administrator: The initial scheduling process went smoothly. Alison thanked club reps for submitting field loading and coaching conflicts in a timely manner.

In the rescheduling system, we are trying to create a view for club reps to see all pending reschedule requests.

Deadline to reschedule all September games is August 29. It’s important for the home team club rep to confirm the field permit is in place before submitting the approval. Teams are under no obligation to reschedule games; they are asked to respond to reschedule requests declining to reschedule.

Please remind teams of the rescheduling deadline of noon on Tuesday for games not held because of rain outs. November 2 and November 9 are held for rain out rescheduling. They are currently not an option for rescheduled games.

The first New Team Admin meetings has been held. The list of teams still required to attend a meeting is posted on the home page of the website. If any teams are showing on the list that should not be there, notify Alison.

Carol Montoya – NCSL Secretary: No report.

Anne Maynes – Treasurer: No report.

Alan Paez – NCSL Rules & Discipline: Alan asked club reps to ensure their teams are registered in the state system and have rosters entered into the NCSL database.

The Sit Outs owed list has been posted. Club reps were asked to review the list for players that may have moved from other clubs.

The league has hired a new R&D administrator, Timothy Lenzo. Alan asked club reps to use the NCSL email for R&D to make sure the correct group of people receive the correspondence.

Eric Popiel – NCSL Vice President: No report.

Richard Smith – NCSL President: Richard reminded club reps of three ways teams incur fines:

· Absence from two Board meetings in a row

· Not entering rosters for U12 and up teams before the first weekend of games (club reps have access to check if the information has been entered)

· Not attending the New Team Admin meeting; anyone can represent a team, but no one person can represent more than one team

Richard asked club reps to visit their home fields or check with their clubs to confirm that fields are ready (goals in place, grass cut, fields lined).

This past summer saw a lot of changes for referees, including changes to the laws of the game, changing the referring classifications (condensing grades into three levels), and changing the registration/training system. The latter has resulted in an inability to register new referees. As a result, we are starting this fall season will fewer referees than usual.

Richard asked for patience with referees who are not familiar with the new laws of the game. NCSL has created a document summarizing the new laws of the game and has also developed a video, which is posted to the website. NCSL-specific rules are printed on the back of the blue game cards.

NCSL allows up to five players to club pass per game. Club pass players must be registered travel players. Managers must show the player card and the roster for the team to which that player is registered. Richard asked club reps to remind managers of these rules.

III.      New Business

Laws of the Game – Changes

Richard reviewed the changes to the laws of the game:

· Goal kicks/free kicks—ball does not leave the penalty area to be in play; the opposing team needs to leave the penalty area; the kicker cannot dribble the ball—it must be passed to another player; for age groups with build-out lines, players can cross the build-out line once the ball is in play

· On free kicks, if a defensive wall has three or more players, the attacking team can not have a player with a meter of the wall

· Quick kicks are allowed on free kicks, even if a card is being issued for the foul that caused the free kick to occur; if a goal scoring opportunity occurs, the referee waits until the play is completed before issuing the card

· Handballs—more focus on deliberate handballs being a foul with an understanding that some handballs are accidental; players having their hands in an unnatural position constitutes a handball; no goals off an attacking player’s hand

· Substitutions—players must leave the field at the closest safe place, and not at the center of the field; NCSL will allow players to substitute to the center line to make it easier for the referees to track

· If a ball hits a referee and stays in play and possession changes or it starts an attack, it’s a dead ball that results in a drop ball

· Drop balls are no longer contested; only one player is allowed within 4 meters of the ball; the ball goes to the team that had possession of the ball before play stopped

There was a question about holding games without a referee. If ARs are missing, the center ref can ask a parent to help on the sideline if he/she wants. If there are no referees onsite, a new game can be scheduled, but if the teams can agree to hold the game, the teams are encouraged to play. The blue game card can be signed to show the teams agreed to play without a referee.

In NCSL, cards can be given to coaches. This rule was not affected by the new FIFA rules; NCSL has allowed carding of team officials for coach or bench conduct.

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.