The Kicker

April 1998

NOTES FROM THE COMMISSIONER

(Note: This matter is to be heard on April 21, and may have been resolved by the time you receive this Kicker.)

Saratoga AYSO has had a contract with the City for the use of Congress Springs Park. The contract expired on March 6. 1998. Even though Saratoga AYSO had already paid for the 1998 season in December in accordance with the old contract, the City now claims it is not aware of the payment and intends to raise the rates regardless.

Under our previous contract, we paid $1,500 per season to use the park for the soccer program. Since it is a public park, we make the payment to provide for our exclusive use when needed for soccer. The new City Manager, Larry Perlin claims Congress Springs is costing the City $80,000 a year to maintain. (He uses the figure of $10,000 per acre [which includes indirect costs such as City employee salaries, lights, retirement plans, etc.] with approximately 8 acres at CSP.)

Larry Perlin requires that AYSO agree to a contract effective this year which raises our fee from a total of $1,500 to $12.00 per player (whether or not they even use CSP!). With 1,200 players, at $12 each this amounts to $ 14,400—an increase of 965%! In the year 2000, the fee would be raised to $15.00 per player. an increase of 1200% and then later to $20.00 per player--a 1600% increase!!!

Should this new fee take effect, AYSO will have to increase the fee by $10.00 per player this year.

I have tried to get Saratoga Little League to work with me on this issue to no avail. Instead. Saratoga Little League agreed to the new fee. Susie Dymoke, the President of Saratoga Little League, suggested to the Parks and Recreation Commission that since Saratoga AYSO accepted players who did not live in Saratoga, these players should all be charged a surcharge to use Saratoga fields. This was picked up by the commission and they were talking of a per player fee of $25 to $30 for players who do not live in Saratoga. This not only is unacceptable to Saratoga AYSO, but it is contrary to the National AYSO rules. Should the City enact such a policy, we would have to increase all fees to cover these costs.

We have started a phone tree in an effort to contact the AYSO family to have them all attend the City Council meeting for support. Since this will be published before the hearing. I wish to thank all those who were able to be at the meeting in a show of support.

The Board has agreed to work again this year with the San Jose Clash and provide Clash vouchers which are good at any home game. These vouchers can also be exchanged, for the full face value, for better seats at the advanced purchase price. Should you have questions regarding the vouchers, call Justin Wall of the Clash. His phone number is (408)260-6398. Saratoga AYSO will receive $2.00 for each ticket sold. We all love soccer. Let’s support our local soccer team!

As most of you know, we have a great web site. More and more of our AYSO family is pulling up the web page and checking the information. Please make it a habit to check in. All your questions about registration and the situation with the City can be answered at:

The registration process for the 1998 fall season is under way. With our first registration for Coaches, Referees and Division Managers completed, we have signed up 32 Coaches and 38 Assistant Coaches. The next registration for these same positions will be on April 25th.

We are planning on having 98 teams this year, so we need 98 Coaches and 112 Assistant Coaches.

After the April 25th registration we will know how many of the needed coaches we have and we will accept players at early registration until the number of teams are full. This will be done on a first come basis. All other players will be placed on a waiting list until we have additional Coaches sign up. enabling us to form more teams.

Please remember that those who sign up late are usually placed on a waiting list until just prior to team formation. At team formation we fill the spaces of those who have decided not to play with players from the waiting list We try to take players from the list in the order they signed up. but we do give preference to children new to the area since they did not have the opportunity for early registration. After team formation, we take a player’s ability into consideration when selecting from the waiting list. A lot of work goes into balancing the teams and if a player is unable to play, we want to choose one of similar ability from the waiting list.

Thanks to all of my predecessors, Saratoga AYSO Region 27 is one of the model Regions in the country. We regularly receive calls from Regions requesting both forms and software programs that we have designed and produced. Please note that some very well-run Regions have had to close up shop because there was no one to run them. Many of the very active volunteers in our program will eventually be leaving. We need parents of the younger players to start taking more active roles in the program and preparing themselves to eventually take over and run this program.

We all work and have busy lives, but I ask you to read the following:
"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove. . ., but the world may be a different place because I was important in the life of a CHILD."

Those of us who are very active in this program have to remind ourselves when things are hectic that "it’s for the kids." So, even if a job may require more time than others, like Coach, please sign up and start becoming more involved in the program.

Bring your old soccer shoes and uniforms for recycling during registration. We will donate them to help the East Palo Alto AYSO get equipment for their newly formed teams. Your participation will be greatly appreciated!

Time for new soccer shoes, shinguards and balls? Order from the AYSO catalog. The prices are competitive and you can order items you need during the Fall registration days. Catalogs and orders are taken by the cashier.

Saratoga AYSO is offering two weeks of soccer camps coached by MLS Soccer Camps (MLSC). MISC is the exclusive camp of Major League Soccer and each of its member teams (San Jose Clash for us) and is also the official camp of AYSO.

The Camps will be held the mornings of August 10-14 and August 24-28 from 9:00-1 2:00 at Congress Springs Park. Age groupings will be 5-6, 7-8, 9-11, 12-14, and 15-18. The cost for each week is $100 per camper. For this fee, the camper also receives a soccer halt, a camp T-shirt, and a voucher to he used for a free ticket to the San Jose Clash. In addition, there will be an opportunity for families to house a coach during camp week.

Registration forms are available at Saratoga AYSO registration days, in the Kicker, and on our website. During registration, on May 2 and 16 member of the Clash and coaches from MIS Camps wilt be in attendance to sign Clash picture posters.

Saratoga AYSO has also arranged with MIS Camps to provide the four player clinics in the fall. The date and focus for these 2-hour Sunday afternoon clinics are as follows: September 20, Goalkeepers; September 27, Strikers; October 4, Midfielders; and October 11, Defenders. The cost of these clinics to Saratoga AYSO will be significantly reduced if we have 100 campers during these two weeks.

If you would be willing to act as the Day Camp Coordinator to fulfill your fall volunteer position, please call Mark Linsky at 741-1725. This position is responsible for the following:

Collect forms and fees. Act as communications interface to MLS Camps; Arrange for family housing for coaches from MLS Camps; Determine number of players in each group for each week; Send our confirmations to players/parents; During camp week, act as contact to players and coaches for any camp problems.

**IMPORTANT DATES**
May 2 & May 16	Early Registration ($75)	9:30-1:00	Argonaut School
May 17	New Player Evaluation Clinic Argonaut Field		Argonaut School
July 11	Regular Registration ($100)	9:30-1:00	Argonaut School

This spring, Saratoga has 9 teams participating in the Region 2J Spring Soccer Program. Unfortunately, there were a lot more players who wanted to play, however, there were not enough coaches or fields to accommodate them. Next year, we will continue to work on improvements with the league formation and the registration process.

2B - United/Mark Chapman
3G - Broncos/Ernesto Marinaro
4B - Storm/Mark Linsky
5B - Clash/Sidney Yee
5B - Sharks/Duncan Miller
3G -Sharks/David Seiff
4G - Bulldogs/Ruben Maynes
5G - Stars/Thad Whalen
5G - Blizzard/Roeland van Krieken.

We really appreciate the involvement of the coaches and their assistants. In addition, we really want to thank the Referees: we could not have a spring Season without them. Some are parents of players and some just volunteer for the joy of it. THANKS.

Each of the divisions will be playing against other AYSO teams from Cupertino (R35), West San Jose (R64), North Monterey/Prunedale (R256), and Pajaro/Watsonville (R1076). If you get the chance, come watch some terrific soccer on Saturdays at Redwood Middle School. The season runs from April 4 through June 6.