PTSA Board Meeting Notes 09/12/2006

Here are my notes from the PTSA Board Meeting last night:

Picture Day
Picture packets are now available for pick-up (see my previous email). Team pictures will be scheduled for the weekend of September 23rd and 24th. A day/time schedule will be released within the next few days.

Parking Lot Issues
We discussed the issues concerning parking congestion at the Peterswood Soccer Complex. This was our very first weekend at the new complex (it was used in a limited capacity last year) and we discussed various approaches for managing parking issues in the future. Complicating the problem were the number of cars attending the adjacent football game. The board decided to pursue three ideas: communication with the football association, requesting no-parking signs at key bottleneck points entering the Soccer Complex, and potentially staggering game start times for the various age groups. Though, at this time, we plan on leaving the game schedule alone for the fall.

Number of Field Players
U8 teams should be playing with 4 field players and a goalie (5v5). I think there was some confusion earlier in the day between some of the coaches and the referees. I think we are all on the same page now. Sorry if this was confusing to some of the coaches. I'll try to make this more clear next year.

Kickoffs
It was noticed that some kids were shooting the ball at the goal on kickoffs. Be aware that our in-house U8 rules specify that you cannot score directly off of a kickoff. So, although there is nothing illegal about blasting a shot on a kickoff, it's best to have your players start with a forward pass to a teammate. I know it can be difficult to get your players to do this, since it is so tempting to take a shot from the center of the field.

Field Hotline
Thanks to everyone for abiding by the field hot line for rainy day closures (and, in some cases, wet field days). After a little bit of confusion (which was my fault for not communicating better), I think we are all on the same page.

From Pete Chiste:
"Commissioners, please again request Coaches comply with Field closure decisions.  In no certain priority, such compliance is necessary so (1) player safety is optimized, (2) our Adopt-a-Field volunteers don't tell PTSA they're quitting because their many hours of effort at reforming our fields is being abused, (3) PT Parks & Recreation personnel don't laugh at me when I request they do a better job of maintaining soccer field conditions, (4) compliant Coaches don't tell PTSA they're quitting because others aren't following the rules and the inequity isn't fair, and (5) we don't inflict undue damage to the fields."

The Fields Director mentioned last night that he plans on being more lenient on field closures as the season moves on. We'll be looking for volunteers after the season (early November) to help patch up troublesome spots at the Complex. If you care about the quality of our fields, especially for your team next spring, then I would recommend getting involved during this new field maintenance effort. More details to come later.