February 2002 minutes

In attendance: Scott Clement, Brenda Schmidt, Andy Slawek, Jim Kramer, Mary Buckman, Jeff Petersen

There will be a mandatory Club meeting at which Spring schedules will be distributed on Thursday, March 14 from 5:30-7:30 in the basement of the Verona Public Library. All teams should have a representative present.

Administrators Report:
- The storage shed for VASC has been paid for and will be erected at Reddan this spring. This will allow us to have a central place to store trailer, lining equipment, goals, and other club equipment.
- Financial report was distributed showing projections for the current year and a set-aside of $10,000 for field development/infrastructure. All of the $10,000 reserve represents funds accumulated through the various fund-raising activities (tournaments, kick-off dance, concessions, donations from business and individuals, etc.), not from player fees.
- A proposal was made to set aside $1 per player as an ongoing scholarship fund. There seemed to be consensus that this would represent approximately what our experience has been over the past several years in terms of scholarships paid out. The Board did not make a decision on this.
- Two summer camps are set for Verona; one by Stuart Barker in June, and one from David Harris in August. In addition, Cardinal Soccer Camp will do a high school pre-season boys camp for those entering grades 9-12 beginning the end of July. More info will be in the Newsletter
- Plans are to have a newsletter to all VASC members by March 11th

Alliance Update - It was reported that attempts by Yahara and the 56ers to merge their clubs into a single competitive club had not succeeded. The alliance decided it would choose one competitive partner to work with in the coming year. To that end, they requested proposals from both Yahara and 56ers about how they institute cooperative and beneficial programs if chosen to be the alliance's competitive partner. After reviewing the one proposal that was submitted, the alliance chose the 56ers as its new partner beginning with tryouts this spring. Tryouts for competitive teams will take place in late May/early June this year.
- There will be an informational meeting held on Wednesday, March 27th at 7:00 at the Verona Public Library to discuss the nature and processes for competitive teams. Craig Carlson, Director of Coaching for the Madison 56ers will be present to give his insights and answer questions.

5 V 5 Tournament - Brenda Schmidt tentatively agreed to be listed as tournament director, but is anticipating lots of assistance from other board members (and other VASC volunteers!!!). The club very much hopes that there will be very wide participation from all VASC teams, so coaches/managers please start planning for this (or for the arm-twisting that will occur if you do not).
- There was a discussion about a number of ideas for sponsorships and other fund-raising options that could go along with the tournament and Andy agreed to take the lead in pursuing some of those ideas.

Fields: - There was a discussion about the costs and uses of the soccer fields owned by VASC.
- There was a discussion about the status of plans at the high school to gain authorization to build a new soccer facility behind the Badger Ridge Middle School with lights/bleachers. As of the meeting, no decisions had been announced. The Board began discussions about whether the club would be willing to make a financial contribution to such a venture, or to a similar facility if it were located at Reddan.

MAYSA Annual General Meeting - Spring season begins April 13
- New MAYSA board members are Jim Braga, Greg Gilson, Tory Pomeroy, and Bill Stroud. Miscellaneous: - Question of whether the VASC should hold a referee open house so teams can more easily get refs scheduled for all their games. More info to follow.
- The board began a discussion about the need for and difficulties of preparing and keeping updated a comprehensive policies and procedures manual. - The board approved a request for a player scholarship for spring season

Next Board Meeting: Monday, March 25 at 7:00 at the Stockade Restaurant

Respectfully submitted, Jeff Petersen