Table of Contents Message from the Regional Commissioner FROM THE REGIONAL COMM ISSIONER As we conclude another Fall Season, your Saratoga Soccer AYSO Board hopes that you and your children had a great time. We extend a well-deserved thanks to every volunteer and player for their contributions of time, dedication, patience, teaching, planning and organization, leadership, teamwork, and everything that makes an organization successful. There are so many people who helped make this season happen. Even though you may have experienced some event that did not meet your expectations, please reflect on all the many things that did go well. I believe that our success is measured on how many children, parents, siblings, family members and friends had fun and look forward to next fall. So thanks to all of you. The Regional Board would love to get your feedback and recommendations and solutions. Please consider expanding your role in our program to fill in for those who have already contributed their years of service to our children. We should never forgot that "It's for the Kids." What it Takes For those of you who are relatively new to our program, you may not realize that it takes almost an entire year of effort by your Regional Board and other key volunteers to make the Fall Season a success. Right now we are in the process of determining who will be returning to the Board and which positions need to be filled so we can identify and recruit new Board Members in time to learn their position and to be ready to start before registration begins. In January we meet to review the past year and plan improvements for the next. We set the annual calendar and decide on any policy or organizational changes. We determine what player, coach, and referee clinics we will offer, when we will schedule them and what support will be required to carry them out. In February, we finalize the volunteer requirements and expected player and team counts, and begin planning for our Registration Days. This includes updating job counts and descriptions, obtaining all the necessary forms, and identifying Registration Day volunteers. The Policy Handbook must also be finalized and printed. From March through June, we focus on registering players and recruiting key volunteers. We continuously monitor the number of referees, coaches, and players to understand how may teams we will need and can support. Our goal is to never have to turn a player away, but at the same time, we need to ensure that our league has enough qualified, certified, and willing coaches and referees for every team and every game that will be played. We also need to keep teams at the right number of players, high enough to field a team but low enough to allow each player as much field time as possible. Late registration continues until the beginning of the season. During this same period of time, we need to plan and finalize all orders for team uniforms and sweatshirts, as well as coach and referee equipment. We are also ensuring that we have enough fields for both games and practices. This coming season will be especially challenging given the current plan to renovate Congress Springs Park through the 2001 Fall Season. In July we form the teams. Prior to team formation, every player must be evaluated, either from the previous season or at a new player clinic. Players are assigned to teams using a defined process, which keeps the teams balanced. Then Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Team Reps, and Sponsors are assigned. The limited number of practice fields must be assigned in a fair way for each coach. Starting in July and continuing through August, clinics for Coach and Referee training and certification are held. In August, Regional and Area schedules are developed, as are plans for Referees and the Opening Season Tournament. Player Soccer Camps are also held. At the end of the month, team equipment is passed out to the 90+ teams and practices begin. Game fields are prepared and the Snackshack is set up and stocked. Once the season begins, fields are maintained and lined, the Snackshack is continuously stocked, standings are maintained, and player clinics are conducted. Picture Day is planned and held and pictures are distributed. Of course, Referees ref and Coaches coach and Team Reps help the Coaches. As we approach the end of the season, trophies and awards are ordered and Area and Regional Tournament schedules, including the needs for Referees, are developed. Then, as we finish the tournaments in December, we begin planning for the next year. So what does it take to run Saratoga Soccer, AYSO Region 27? All of this takes the efforts of over 800 volunteers filling over 300 jobs for most of the year. Please remember this as we ask you to help out next year. * Mark Linsky Saratoga Soccer continues to offer an incredible deal for our children and us. For a very low registration fee, our players get to: * play in at least ten season games with a chance to also play in tournaments * be coached by trained and certified volunteers * participate in at least three quarters of each game * receive a high quality uniform and sweatshirt * receive a team and individual picture * attend free player clinics * receive trophies for participation or high season standings * and, best of all, be part of the most outstanding or one of the most outstanding organized youth sports leagues around What could possibly be better? * Saratoga Families Need to Recycle More Often Right next to every trash can in a LARGE BLUE RECYCLE CONTAINER!!!! That's right, ITS LARGE, ITS BLUE, AND IT HOLDS PLASTICS, GLASS, NEWSPAPERS, CARDBOARD, ALUMINUM CANS!!! If you see an AYSO Board Member or a spare BBQ Team Member "trash can diving", pulling out plastic bottles and tossing them into the recycle bin, don't offer her or him money..just do your part and place those bottles, jugs, cans, etc, into the recycle bin. Don't put diapers or half eaten pretzels or used napkins in them. Just recyclables...We have Green Valley pick up and dump these bins just as soon as they are filled up, so help out and RECYCLE please! Your kids, your community and your earth thank you for your cooperation. * At this time, Saratoga Soccer, AYSO Region 27, has three open Board positions. These are: - Purchasing Co-Commissioner (Uniforms/Equipment) We would like to recognize the following Board Members who will be leaving: - Neeru Mehra, who has served two dedicated years as Treasurer, helping us plan and manage our funds. - Anne Kolb the second most senior member of our current board, after 8 years of great service, as Communications Commissioner/2, Registrar/3, and, most recently, Board Secretary/3. - Abe Kaabipour, after four years as Purchasing Commissioner/2 and Consultant/2, who not only did these jobs, but also served as Referee, Coach, and Assistant Coach. We appreciate their very valuable contributions, advice and service, and we will certainly miss their experience and knowledge. I will be moving aside this year as Regional Commissioner and Mark Chapman will be moving from Regional Coach Administrator into the RC position. Saratoga Soccer is very fortunate to have an experienced, dedicated individual like Mark to lead our region. I will be staying on the Board in a Consultant position to help with the transition. Saratoga Soccer is pleased to have the following Board Members returning: Mark Chapman (Regional Commissioner), Larry Cowles (Safety Commissioner), Howard Miller (Child and Volunteer Protection Advocate), Lori Snyder (Information Systems Commissioner), Tom Lustenader (Purchasing Co-commissioner - Pictures/Awards), Barbara See-Wilde (Snackshack Commissioner), Mohammad Vahabi (Fields Commissioner), Ernesto Marinero (Soccer Development Program Commissioner), Dianne Depositar (Registrar), Manny Cappello (Head League Commissioner), Van Nelson (Regional Referee Administrator), Tony Marsh (Special Programs Commissioner), Peter Fletcher (Consultant), and Blane Eisenberg (Consultant - Database). Their continued service is greatly appreciated. In addition, we are very excited that Neil MacLean, one of our long-time soccer coaches, has volunteered to replace Mark Chapman as our Regional Coach Administrator. Please contact either Mark Linsky or Mark Chapman if you are interested in one of these open Board positions or if you know someone who you believe would be a good candidate. In addition, if you would be interested in a future opportunity on the Board, we would like to talk to you about a possible Assistant position this year to help train you for joining the Board in a following year. * Girls Flight A Girls Flight B Boys Flight A Boys Flight B The Specia1 Togo's meal deal at your Snack Shack during the Opening Season Tourney and Picture Day weekend was a big Success. We hope all you soccer players and parents enjoyed the great sandwiches, chips and drinks. Thanks to Togo's for helping provide the sandwiches at a discount, in support of Saratoga AYSO. Just for your information: The snack shack sells tokens. As part of the National AYSO rules and our responsibility, we are required to re-hydrate each of our players after a game. The tokens are just for this purpose! This is why they are specifically only for a soda pop or an otter pop. They cannot be exchanged for candy, since candy does not re-hydrate the player. * We are in the process of working with the other Regions in Area 25 to develop plans for the Area's 2001 Spring Program. We should have more information by the end of December. We are concerned that we will not have someone to lead the program for our region. If this is the case, then we will probably ask if our players/teams can register through either R35 (Cupertino) or R64 (West San Jose). If you are interested in helping, please contact Mark Linsky (mark_linsky@hp.com) by email. * Soccer Used Uniform Donation Drive Please look through your old~ uniforms and consider donating them to those leagues less fortunate than us. AYSO Region 27 will be collecting shorts, sweatshirts, jersey's, shinguards, socks and soccer cleats in good shape. You may bring the items to Congress Springs Park and leave in the boxes outside the snack shack on Saturdays only. Thank you! * Report on Fall 2000 Registration Registration for fall of 2000 went very well. The Region offered 6 separate days spread out over 5 months for registration and we had over 1150 players and over 95 teams. Thank you to all the registration workers that make this happen! The region appreciates the community's patience and cooperation regarding filling out the required information on the adult volunteer form. This procedure protects the volunteer & the player. We all at Region 27 thank all the volunteers who give their time to the organization so that we can have a smooth & successful season. Remember it's For the Kids'* Dianne Depositar Lost a ball? Found a Pentax camera? Please turn it all into the snack shack. So far this year, we've gathered about 50 balls, so come look for yours. We have a distraught family that lost their camera and another that left their house/car keys on the field. Please bring found things to our snack shack! Please don't keep those things that are not yours. On Picture Day, we had someone who lost a crucial prescription medicine, and by the end of the day, it had been turned in. You should have seen the look of relief on the father's face when he checked back at the snack shack at 5:30 p.m. and found the bottle waiting! Conversely, you should see the look of disappointment on a Mother's face as she keeps checking for the family camera every weekend. We can help return lost items to the rightful owners. Thanks for your help and honesty! * Roadrunners Win U12 Boys Tournament The boys' U12 Area Tournament was an exciting all Saratoga Final between the Rockets and the Road Runners. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Neither team scored during overtime and the game was decided on penalty kicks. The Roadrunners prevailed and took first place. Another Saratoga team, the Flames, played the Black Hawks from Region 256 for third place. The Black Hawks won 3-1. Congratulations to all Saratoga teams for your excellent play. * The tournament standings were as follows:
When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well, the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother used to talk to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person - her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time. My first personal experience with this genie-in-the-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. "Information". "I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "Nobody's home but me," I blubbered. "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked. "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice. After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk, that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was inconsolable. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?" She must have sensed my deep concern for she said quietly, "Always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please." 'information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?" I asked. All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, In moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy. A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then, without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, please." Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well. "Information." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?" There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now." I laughed, "So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time." "I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls." I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. "Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally." Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information." I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she said. "Yes, a very old friend," I answered. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago." Before I could hang up she said, 'Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Mark?" "Yes." "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you. The note said, "Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean." I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Submitted by Mark Chapman * For our 2001 Fall Season, we expect to follow the schedule below.
For up to date information, please access the Saratoga Soccer website, www.saratogasoccer.org
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