MAYLA Minutes

MAYLA Meeting Minutes

October 23, 2008

6:30 PM

Brookfield Indoor Soccer Complex, Brookfield, WI

I. Welcome: Meeting was called to order at 6:55 by Executive Director/President Robin Buckley. In attendance were: Steve Buckingham (Waukesha/Ocon.- HS boys), Barb Krouwer (Brookfield-HS boys), Jim Dodge (KM-HS boys), Ken Stark, VP/Youth Director(Heritage Christian), Joe Botticelli, Treasurer (Eastside), Carol Grgic (MUHS), Quinn Loukes (Westside), Mike Seramur (MUHS), Mary DiGiacomo, Secretary (AHS-HS boys, Lake Country), Irene Secora (Brookfield girls), Terry Combs, HS Director (Northshore), Sid Jones, coordinator of referees, Spencer & Robin Block (St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy), Brice Dzubinski (Brookfield-HS boys), Tammi Stahre (Ocon.-HS girls), Gerald Nikoaus (AHS-HS girls), Harland Cook, (NorthShore Youth), Bob Mikulay (USM), and Glen Chadwick (Waukesha youth).

Director Buckley introduced the board members and coordinators. He pointed out the MAYLA logo banner and presented MAYLA t-shirts.

II. MAYLA Rules & Regulations:

Director Buckley reviewed the draft document below. Informational comments, feedback and notes from the meeting are presented in italics. Changes/additions made to document based on meeting discussion are noted by highlighted areas:


 

Milwaukee Area Youth Lacrosse Association (MAYLA)

Rules and regulations for boys and girls highs school and youth lacrosse

 

Milwaukee Area Youth Lacrosse Association (MAYLA) serves as the administrating body of lacrosse throughout the southeastern portion of Wisconsin. To this end, MAYLA’s goal is organize the different factions of lacrosse programs into one group to further develop all aspects of the game throughout the greater Milwaukee area and beyond. This will include coaches, players, officials and observers.

Mission Statement: Milwaukee Area Youth Lacrosse Association (MAYLA) is a non-profit organization developed to promote the growth of the sport of lacrosse in the greater Milwaukee area and Southeastern Wisconsin. MAYLA serves as a divisional arm of the state organization, Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation (WLF), of US Lacrosse, the national governing body of boys and girls lacrosse. In that capacity, MAYLA will provide guidance and structure for all youth and high school lacrosse teams in its membership area. MAYLA will follow US Lacrosse mandated National Federation of High School (NFHS), Lacrosse rules and all participants will hold current memberships with US Lacrosse. MAYLA’s goal is to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for children to learn the game of lacrosse, where coaches will teach appropriate skills and rules. In addition, the coaches will stress a positive atmosphere among the athletes, where emphasis will be placed on showing respect for individuals, teams, coaches, officials and for all forms of athletic achievement. Players will develop self confidence, good sportsmanship and a love of lacrosse which will enrich their lives for years to come.

The contents of this document are a culmination of notes, meeting minutes, coach’s discussion and ratification since the inception of MAYLA in 2001. It serves as tablet for the rules of conduct for those involved, guidelines for establishing new teams, programs and levels of play. It will continually evolve and be revisited at the annual meeting each year. The ideas come from the coaches, players, team reps and other programs. The goal is to clarify roles and responsibilities of all those involved prior to the start of the season.

I. Season -- Practice will start on March 1. Conference games will begin on April 1. Conference games will be scheduled by MAYLA Executive Director. Coaches may schedule additional non-conference games, and must notify the Executive Director of those games.

High School Boys: Regular conference season will end by Memorial Day for regular conference play. Any postponed game that is not made up by Memorial Day will go down as a forfeiture by the non-rescheduling team. Conference playoffs will begin the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Conference Championship game is the following Sunday. The Conference champion will then participate in State playoffs.

Coaches are allowed to have one day/week to coach players in the off-season, defined as June 30 - Feb. 28/29. You may not skip weeks and “bank” them to use consecutively in a given week.

II. League Structure -- Will be addressed on an annual basis by the Executive Board beginning in the fall prior to the season with final decision made by Dec 15. All teams within the league will be notified of such decision through email and at the annual meeting.

2009 Teams (anticipated):

HS Boys: Varsity - 10; JV - 12 or 13

HS Girls: Varsity - 3; JV - 8

III. League fees- League fees are determined by the MAYLA executive board annually. All teams participating in the conference must pay the league fees to MAYLA treasurer. These are payable in full by Jan. 30th or 50% by Jan. 30th and balance due March 31st. Failure to pay regular fees or to institute a payment plan approved by the Executive Board, can cause the team’s games to be forfeited until fees and dues are paid.

2009 Fees:

HS Boys: Varsity: $700; JV: $400

HS Girls: Varisty: none; JV: $400

Youth: $300

WLF: (Varsity boys only): $125

IV. Team qualifications -- All players must have current US Lacrosse memberships and each team will provide a copy of a Certificate of Insurance from US Lacrosse/Bollinger Insurance Co. to MAYLA by March 31 of the current season.

V. New teams - New HS teams will be welcomed as a JV program and allowed a two year grace period to develop into a varsity team, however the team can opt to shorten that time period. If they have enough participants to field two teams, one shall be a varsity and the other a JV team.

VI. Uniforms -- If a team has home and away uniforms, the lighter color will for home games and the darker color for away games. If your team has only one uniform you must notify the opponent.

VII. Coaches -- The coaches’ job is to teach their students about the game of lacrosse, proper conduct and sportsmanship. Athletics can have a defining effect on players. Good coaching is important but good sportsmanship is more important. Coaches will have current membership to US Lacrosse and attend all training required by the start of the season. All coaches must have US Lacrosse Level I Certification by April 1 of the current season.

It was suggested that a recommendation be taken to the WLF for consideration of an update to the Level I Coaching Certificate mandate for special circumstances where a new coach joins the program too late in the season to reasonably complete the US Lacrosse Level I in-person training session. It was proposed to include that new coaches may petition to WLF for a one year waiver if they had completed the US Lacrosse Level I Coaches Training, on-line session and the PCA workshop (either in person or on-line). Director Buckley will bring this to the attention of the WLF Board.

VIII. Officials –

Referees/umpires -- The job of the referee is to officiate the game in an unbiased, impartial manner regardless of feelings toward a specific team or coach. The job of the official begins when they arrive at the field and ends when they depart after the game. Referees conduct should never be confrontational or provoking. Calling unsportsmanlike conduct on a coach should be utilized as a last effort of quieting an unruly coach.

Lacrosse is in the developmental stages in the area, so as the parents and the fans have more experience so will the feed back increase. Be prepared to share and explain scenarios with the families during half time.

All referees must complete US Lacrosse referee training and pass a written test for certification. Youth and High School-aged Referees must be two years older than the age group they are refereeing.

All game officials will be scheduled by Executive Director/Referee Coordinator. Conference games will have priority when scheduling referees over non-conference games.

 Pay structure --

2009 Referee/Umpire fees:

Boys:

Varsity: if two refs--$60; if single ref--$85,

JV: if two refs--$50; if single ref --$75

7/8th grade: if two ref --$45/ref, if single ref --$60

5/6th grade: if two refs --$35/ref, if single ref --$50.

Girls:

Varsity: $60

JV: $50

Youth: $40

Sid Jones reported that the League is in need of more refs for the upcoming season. All referees from last season will be returning this year. Robin Buckley shared that MAYLA will actively recruit new referees by advertising in newspapers and contacting referees of other sports organizations. It was noted that if a ref is paid by a school, and their “salary” is greater than $600, they will receive a 1099 IRS form. 

 IX. Player eligibility -- A high school senior that is not on a Varsity team, can play on a JV team. A coach may move players back and forth between Varsity and JV teams or between 2 JV teams using good discretion in order to have enough players on a given game day.

High school players must participate with the club/ team affiliated with the high school they attend. If the high school they attend does not sponsor or support a lacrosse team that individual is a “free agent” and may participate with any club/team. If a player is cut from his/her school team, they may play for the closest geographic club team and must petition the board to play with said team.

When a new team forms, all players attending schools deemed within that new team’s designated boundaries, as ascertained by MAYLA, must play for the new team with the exception of seniors who may play their final season for their original team.

X. Game Structure

Field Size -- MAYLA follow NFHS rules for length, width and lining of game field. Restraining box must maintain NFHS specifications. Any requests for size variances must be presented to the MAYLA Executive Board by March 1 of the current season.

Home Team Responsibilities-- The Home Team will pay referees at game’s end unless the school district requires a voucher system. Home teams should also provide a scorer’s table, scorer, and timer with a time clock for each game. Time keeper and score keeper will meet with the head official 15 minutes prior to the start of the game to review game procedures. Home team will report game scores to Executive Director, local newspaper (Box scores: goals, assists, saves, include notable players) and Laxpower. Home team reports scores/stats for both teams and then, as a courtesy should send the visiting coach a copy of the official score page. 

Score Keepers: Each team is responsible for keeping records for the game and should have a score book in hand. The home team is responsible for keeping the official score, game time, penalty minutes by player and roster of both teams.

Stats recorded will include:

  1. Goals

  2. Assists

  3. Saves

  4. Shots on goal

  5. Face-offs (determined by possession of ball)

  6. Penalties by player

 

Coaches may also choose to track:

 

  1. Ground balls

  2. Clears

  3. man up/down %

Will need to add information regarding stats for HS Girls lax as it becomes available.

Time Keeper: The home team is responsible for providing and training a time keeper for each game. This person is responsible for starting and stopping the game clock, keeping track of the penalty time, giving notification to the officials when there is one minute left in each of the quarters and two minutes left in the game. Timekeepers are also responsible for sounding the horn for situations on a dead ball, on the sidelines, and at the end of time of each quarter. A ten second countdown is required for end of penalties and end of quarters.

Sideline Manager/Culture Keeper: Each team should have a plan for crowd management at all games. Parents should be supportive of their children and all players on the field. Respect of the game and its participants is most important. If a person is being unsportsmanlike, they can be given a “sportsmanship card” indicating they should change their behavior or be asked to leave. Follow the Positive Coaching Alliance model.

Emergency/Injury response plan: The home team is required to provide an athletic trainer, first responder or a person who is CPR/AED certified. It is highly suggested that all teams provide an AED during practices and games.

Bob Mikulay requested that MAYLA require confirmation prior to the stqrt of the season as to which teams will provide trainers at games. This is so a team may plan whether to bring their own trainer to the game (being required by some schools).

XI. Playoffs -- For boys and girls, varsity and JV: Seeding for tournament would be based on:

1) Team record

2) Head to head scores

3) Lax Power rankings

4) Coin Toss


Team rosters for play-offs must be submitted to MAYLA Secretary, by the Sunday before Memorial Day. Each player may only be listed on one roster and no changes may be made after that date. They should be in an excel spreadsheet format, including: player’s first and last name, uniform #, position, and school attending. List players in order of play (e.g. first line attack, second line attack ….first line mid …etc). These rosters will then be shared with the league, so that scorebooks can be set up prior to games.

XII. Awards/ Recognition --

High School All Conference -- For All-Conference nominations and awards: only the stats from conference games will be used to determine the All-Conference Team. The All-Conference Team will consist of 3 attacks, 3 defensemen, 3 middies, 1 long stick middie and 1 goalie. Coach’s nominations must be sent to the Executive Director by the Friday before Memorial Day. Voting will be completed by the day prior to the conference championship. Once votes are tabulated, coaches will be notified so they may inform the chosen players who will be expected to attend the award ceremony during half time of the MAYLA conference championship game. Players will receive recognition at that time.

High School Coach of the Year – Coach of the year will be decided at the same time as the All-Conference Team.

Dated: Oct. 22, 2008

MKD/MAYLA Secretary

III. Treasurer’s report - The 2007/08 and 2008/09 budgets were presented by Joe Botticelli. See attached. Joe stated that MAYLA does not plan to purchase AED machines at this time due to the logistic difficulty of getting the devices to games, how to decide which games, etc. It was determined that the AEDs would potentially be used only for MAYLA sponsored games, which would be conference play-offs and championships. The Executive Board has decided that the funds would be used to hire Athletic Trainers for MAYLA sponsored games. The trainers would provide an AED at the field. At this time, MAYLA encourages all teams to purchase their own AED’s and will provide the following incentive in the form of a group purchase by MAYLA: Each team that orders an AED through MAYLA and pre-pays by Feb. 15, 2009, will receive a $200 reimbursement towards the purchase price from the MAYLA general fund.

Any questions about the budget may be directed to Treasurer Botticelli.

IV. Game Schedule: Robin has not been able to work on the game schedule for spring due to the number of new teams forming and the uncertainty of what level they will be playing at. His goal is to have all team’s status determined and a preliminary schedule available at the next general meeting. High School and Youth Coaches and/or Parent Reps: please email Robin and provide any dates that your team will be unable to play: spring break, graduation, prom (if a day game is an issue), ACT/SAT testing, etc. Please send this by November 15.

V. Upcoming Lacrosse events -

A) November 1, Saturday: US Men’s National Team Clinic at Uihlein Soccer Complex, field W-4. Grades 4-8 register at 8:30 with clinic from 9:00-11:00. High school and college club players will be from 12:30 - 3:00. Coaches are welcome to come help out. Registration is online through US Lacrosse, however registrations will be accepted at the field. www.uslacrosse.org

B) November 2: Hot4Lax Indoor Leagues & Clinics begins for boys and girls, youth through high school. High players should pre-register so that they may be placed on a team for league play. www.hot4lax.com

C) November 8: US Lacrosse will be presenting Level I Coaches training session at USM, 9:00-4:00. Lunch is included. This is for boys and girls, youth and HS. Register online at www.uslacrosse.org

D) November 29: Gobbler Tournament for boys youth, hs and men’s teams. Register at www.hot4lax.com

E.) January 10: US Women’s National Team Clinic. Location TBD.

F) January 16-18: US Lacrosse National Coaches Convention, Baltimore, MD

VI Next meeting: Sunday, December 7 at 6:30 at BISC.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary DiGiacomo,

MAYLA Secretary

30 October 2008