Attendees: Ed Rafferty (Bears); Greg
Pardie (Wolverines); Bill Kusulos (Bothell); Bob Woods (Eastlake); Scott Shelton
(5 Star); Beckey Ranstrom and Leah Murphy (Inglemoor); Rick Hansen (Issaquah);
Bridget Powers (Kirkland B&G Club) and Roger Moore (Juanita); Donna Eken (Mercer
Island B&G Club); Gregg Meyers (SnoValley); Bob Hughes for Chuck Nichols
(Univac); Sam Adkins (Woodinville); John Veentjer (President); Bob Goldberg
(Officials); Ron Walker (Scheduler); Shawn O'Brien (At Large); and Rick Wells
(Grievance).
Absent: Mike Pattison (Vice President); Paul Manjarrez (Secretary and
Knights); Matt Campbell (Webmaster); Bob Peterson (Bellevue B&G Club); Mark
Mullins (Redmond); and Skyline.
Call to Order at 1900
INTRODUCTIONS: Since this was first meeting of the year and it was
obvious that there were new representatives, the president (John Veentjer) asked
that everyone introduce themselves, name and system.
WEBSITE: Noted that Matt has already
updated some things on the site, in particular, the 2002 Age/Weight Schedule has
been posted.
MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING: Unfortunately, we don’t have them due to
technical difficulties. However, we will ensure that these minutes get on the
web site where they can be reviewed.
REVIEW CALENDAR: Essentially the same as
years past adjusted accordingly for new calendar year, with one major
exception. As voted and approved at the December 4 meeting, the coaches meeting
will be on the Monday (8/12) of the first week of practice. The first
authorized practice is now Tuesday, 8/13. This should help improve attendance
at the coaches meeting. Discussed briefly the development of the coaches test –
see discussion below. The fields for semi-finals and their hosts were announced
(pending field availability): Rookies/Cubs @ Skyline (Skyline hosting); Soph/JV
@ Juanita (Kirkland hosting); Varsity @ Shoreline (Univac hosting).
Championships will be at Bellevue (Wolverines hosting). There were no comments,
thus this calendar will be posted on the website.
AGE/WEIGHT SCHEDULE: Basically adjusted for 2002 dates only -- no other
changes noted. Already posted on the website.
REVIEW COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Grievance – same as last year: Rafferty,
Wells and Nichols. Roster Review – already have some volunteers (looking for a
few more) to form small review committee vs spreading the review throughout the
Association. Last year’s review experienced some inconsistencies. Will also
provide template of required info for team rosters which may be modified by
systems as long as the required info is provided. Kirkland indicates that they
are first up on the Husky’s list, so we should have at least one game. Need to
hear from Redmond regarding their efforts to get a Husky game. Issaquah should
be working to get a Junior Football game at a Seahawks game.
WINTER COMMITTEE WORK:
Shawn O’Brien reported that work progresses on the Coaches Guide Book with input from the committee members expected over the next few weeks. Throughout the meeting, the Guide Book was referenced as a tool for coaches that should help to eliminate some of our past problems, e.g., will provide some guidance regarding score management so as to also properly comply with the intent of the 32 point rule.
Rick Wells reported that he has mapped the existing rules to a new format with each specific sentence requirement provided its own paragraph identification. Needs a couple of people to review his work. Gregg Meyers, Scott Sheldon and John Veentjer are on this committee and were provided hard copy of Rick’s work for review. This committee does not intend to change any rules, only reformat and incorporate recent rule changes that are in the Council minutes but have yet to be incorporated into the rules.
To expand on discussions earlier in the meeting, Ed Rafferty discussed further the intent of the coaches test. This is not a test intended to fail anyone. It serves to emphasize certain rules and conduct expectations. Those who attend the coaches meeting would essentially be walked through the test. Those who don’t attend the meeting will have to take the test separately; the intent is that they take the test before they step onto the field to coach; methods of enforcement pend further discussion/development. Taking this test will reinforce the rules, in particular the GEJFA rules such as the 32 point rule, substitution rule, conduct, etc. GOAL is improved attendance at coaches meeting toward 100% and to ensure that ALL coaches are instructed in some way regarding the rules unique to GEJFA.
PROPOSED RULE CHANGES:
Player minimum
participation: Minimum player participation starts with proper application of
the substitution rule. Otherwise teams with more than 22 players are faced with
ensuring that those who are not on the “first string” offense or defense are
placed in the game for a minimum of eight plays per game. Although the minimum
is eight plays, it is GEJFA intent that all players get near equal playing
time. Whether or not we change the rule, the intent needs to be re-emphasized.
No player should be in his primary position below “second string” on a team’s
depth chart. In secondary positions, a player could be deeper. The Coaches
Guide Book should help to address the participation concern.
A proposal to modify the Semi-Pro (Seniors) Age/Weight Schedule would put our
teams closer to formulas used by teams outside our program with whom our teams
inter-league. Essentially, the weight maximum for ball handlers is raised to
200 lbs. The proposal received unanimous approval. The change will be posted
to the website and will be included in the rule reformatting.
A motion was also made that we change the name of the “Semi-Pros” back to
“Seniors”, consistent with what other programs use and obviously preferred
within our own program. Their was a quick second, next to no discussion, and a
unanimous approval.
A discussion was submitted regarding an alternative implementation of the 32
point rule to help manage the score. There was no motion and no vote. Everyone
was encouraged to look over the proposal and give the 32 point rule further
thought. Again, the Coaches Guide Book will likely cover this rule and provide
coaches suggestions for score management to comply with the letter and the
intent of the 32 point rule.
OFFICIALS: Every system needs to recruit at least two new officials. We
still don’t have enough officials. The consequence of failing to increase our
numbers are: chances that some games may not have enough officials (happened
last year) or no officials; that full teams will be assigned to a field for the
entire day which means that some games that could have used fewer officials will
cost more than they should have and that the officials are going to be burned
out toward the end of the day. More adult officials are preferred over high
school students (still want the high schools as well) due to conflicts the
students will have on some weekends such as Homecoming.
No change in the officials pay schedule.
Keeping in mind that each System only gets charged for what they actually use in
the way of officials, the System estimates are modified ($50 more per team at
the Rookie/Cub level – see estimate sheet provided at meeting) to make up for
the $1000 shortfall in 2001. All agreed to the estimate adjustment.
ADMIN FEE: Also proposed an adjustment in the administration fee
collected in June each year. Last year, Council agreed to add $125 to the $200
already collected from each Systems to cover the cost of the championship game
video production up front. Assuming that we will continue with championship
game video production, this cost is figured into the 2002 budget. However,
rather than collect the same amount from each system as we did last year, the
proposal for this year is to base the administration fee on the size of the
System. Each System pays a base fee of $200 (which has been the long standing
amount) and then pays an additional $15 per team. By this method, the smallest
System last year would have paid $245 and the largest System would have paid
$365; this verses every System paying $325. The rationale for this change is to
spread the admin cost more equitably based on the end-users of the program (the
players).
The final figures for referee fees and field use adjustments were provided at
this meeting. Some Systems have settled their balance due. Redmond, whose
field had some significant use by other Systems, has a significant refund coming
– now paid, because they still have field costs pending. As long as the
checking account has money in it, we can carry any other balance (plus or minus)
forward to 2002.
CHAMPIONSHIP VIDEO PRODUCTIONS: As
explained at the meeting, Mr. Wellman apologies for the delay. He feels bad and
wants to make things right. However, he has experienced problems with the
play-by-play voice over portion of the production -- his usual voice over guy
quit unexpectedly after sitting on the job for a couple of weeks. He found a
backup, but the backup has little experience and is still working on the tapes
to get them right. We hope to have the final product soon. In the meantime,
Mr. Wellman has provided to each team (distributed at the Council meeting) a
copy of the video without the voice over.you have a video without the
play-by-play voice over. Mr. Wellman has not cashed any of the checks for the
copies and won't until he is finished. If any of your parents would like to
cancel their order, they may do so and their checks will be returned. Please
have your head coach compile and communicate cancellations directly to
Mr. Wellman at
steven.wellman@verizon.net. Let's avoid having each parent have to
communicate individually to Mr. Wellman.
FIRST AID: This is still a requirement – each team needs to have at
least one first-aid certified coach on the field at all times; our goal is to
have all coaches so certified. We will do a better job this year of getting the
first aid course set up and announced so that coaches can plan accordingly. We
will try to provide several alternative dates.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Ben Rush Elementary School – as raised last year, Kirkland (Lake Washington) would like Ben Rush to feed their program as these kids will ultimately attend Lake Washington HS. This remains a matter to be worked out between Systems, however, in discussion outside of Council, it appears that both Systems are now in agreement that Ben Rush will feed Kirkland (Lake Washington).
The proposed Divisions for 2002 were included with the meeting handout. Re-emphasized the importance of getting the number of teams identified by July 1 so that the schedulers can do their job. Ron Walker has volunteered to be the scheduler this year.
Meeting adjourned at about 8:30 pm.
NEXT MEETING IS JUNE 4th AT 7:00 PM AT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB.