FLORIDA FIRE JUNIORS TEAM MANAGER MANUAL P.O. Box 110354

FLORIDA FIRE JUNIORS
TEAM MANAGER MANUAL
P.O. Box 110354
Naples, FL 34108-1106
www.floridafirejuniors.com
Revised September 16, 2014
Ver 2.2
Table of Contents
I.
Introduction
A. Team Components
B. Team Manager Responsibilities
II.
Communication
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Communication with the Team
Communication with the Club
Communication with the Administrative Director
Communication with the Director of Coaching
Concerns from Team Member
III.
Team Meeting
IV.
Team Roster
V.
Team Binder
VI.
Player Passes
VII.
Uniforms
VIII.
League Play
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
League Registration and Schedules
League Rosters
Referee Fees
Guest Players and Fees
Partial Season Fees
Scrimmage Requests
IX.
Tournament Registration
X.
Team responsibilities and guideline for Coaches Per Diem
XI.
Hotel Arrangements for Travel Teams
XII.
Team Treasury and Fundraising
XIII.
Volunteer Requirement
XIV.
Team Photo
XV.
End of Season Team Party
XVI.
Additional Reference Information
A. FYSA Website Access
B. FYSA & GotSoccer
C. Transfer and Release Process
XVI.
XVII.
Concussions it’s the Law
Lighting
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I. INTRODUCTION
Thank you for taking the time to volunteer to serve as a Team Manager. Team Managers
perform a very important role in the successful management and running of the many
teams that comprise Florida Fire Juniors (FFJ). The purpose of this manual is to provide
Team Managers with an overview of the many areas of responsibility of team
management and serve as a reference guide to help assist you in the running of your
individual teams. Each team may elect to have one person perform the responsibilities of
the Team Manager or they may be shared by multiple members.
A. Team Components
There are many people that comprise a successful soccer team.
1. Coach: The Head Coach is someone that has been selected by FFJ as the
primary individual responsible for the team. The Head Coach has to report to
an internal board of directors (the parents), an external board (the club) and
deals with competing enterprises (other teams) in a business association
(leagues and tournaments). The Head Coach is responsible for decisions
regarding player selection, assistants, team rules and playing time. The Head
Coach is also responsible for team conduct and is the club’s ambassador to
others. A Head Coach may select one or two Assistant Coaches to help
him/her fulfill their roles and responsibilities towards the team. Both the
Head Coach and any Assistant Coaches are responsible for meeting the
expectations of FYSA and FFJ with regard to conduct and qualifications.
2. Player: Each player that registers and agrees to play for a team affiliated with
FFJ must abide by the FYSA Code of Ethics and the Player Agreement
required to be executed upon registration with FFJ. This includes displaying
good sportsmanship and proper respect toward others on the field. Each
player needs to make a concerted effort to be at all practices and games with
all appropriate playing equipment because each player is an important link of
the team.
3. Parents: Parents provide an important role in contributing towards the success
of an individual soccer team. Parents are also required to adhere to the FYSA
Code of Ethics and Player Agreement executed upon registration of their
player with FFJ.
4. Team Manager: The Team Manager is generally a parent of a player on the
team who is willing to assume responsibility for the successful organization
and management of the individual team. Team Managers can either elect to
manage the team by themselves or enlist the assistance of other parents to help
with the successful organization and management of the team.
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B.
Team Manager Responsibilities
The Team Manager serves as the general manager for the team organization,
coordinating all of the tasks that need to be done throughout the soccer season.
Team Managers can familiarize themselves with their roles & responsibilities at
the Team Manager Meeting, which is generally scheduled in July/August before
the beginning of each season.
Some important areas of responsibility of the
team management are listed below. These responsibilities are discussed in more
detail later:
BEFORE THE SEASON BEGINS:
• Communicate with the various parties associated with the Team, including the
FFJ, the Director of Coaching, the Administrative Director, the Coach, the Parents
& the Players.
•Attend the FFJ Managers’ Meeting.
•Confirm that all players have a uniform.
•Collect any new players’ birth certificate copies and forward on to the Registrar.
•Collect/confirm data from players: parents & players names, uniform number,
parents’ home and cell numbers, and all e-mails. Confirm with parents that
contact information can be shared amongst team parents. Email contact info to
parents on your team (of those who are willing to share their info).
•Make sure all families are comfortable with e-mail and/or text communication and
will use it for last minute schedule changes. Note alternatives for families
requesting calls or texts.
•Communicate with your coach and make your plan for the season – training,
tournaments, how you two would like to handle parent concerns, player injury
assistance, who reports the score of your games, etc.
•Check GotSoccer.com and verify all players are showing up on your official roster
(under Documents). Any players not listed need to be reported to the Registrar
immediately.
•Spend some time familiarizing yourself with Gotsoccer.com, but do NOT change
any information. If you need help navigating Got Soccer contact your registrar.
•Maintain a FFJ Medical Release Form for each player. These must be at each game
& practice. Make a copy for every coach and yourself. (these no longer need to
be notarized)
•Player passes:
•Registrar will contact you to give you your player passes and make arrangements for
you to receive any new player’s passes.
•It’s handy to punch holes in the corner of the cards and keep them on a ring. Discuss
whether you or your coach will hold onto the cards.
•Uniforms: ◦When new players are added, be certain they visit soccer.com to get their
uniform ordered.
DURING THE SEASON:
•Early in week, ask coach who will e-mail opposing team’s manager or coach to
confirm next week’s game time/date and to ask for/give directions to fields if
necessary.
•Register for tournaments. It is expected that each team will play in a minimum of
one tournament per season. Confirm that the tournament is an FYSA sanctioned
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tournament.
Please confirm with the DOC before registering for any
tournament...
•E-mail parents/ players a link to directions for soccer fields the week before each
game. Remind them what color jersey to wear (RED, RED, RED–home, White,
Blue, Blue– away) but always have the players bring both jerseys!
•Always carry all parents’ cell phone numbers with you so you can contact them for
last minute cancellations or emergencies.
•In the event a home game needs to be rescheduled during season (usually due to
weather), contact the other manager to find a new date/time. Then email the Field
Assignor who will contact the Referee Assignor.
•Communicate information to your team.
•Create and Maintain a Team Binder
•Manage along with the team coach Player Passes for the Team
•Distribute League Play information
•Register for Tournaments
•Facilitate Hotel Arrangements for Tournaments and Travel
•Manage the Team Treasury/Fundraising Efforts
•Organize a Team Photo day
•Organize an End of Season Team Party
FOR THE GAMES:
•Bring 3 game cards to each game: one for opposing coach, one for referee, and one
for your coach. Or the correct SFU multi-color game card,
•Bring player cards to every game. This is mandatory and players without cards are
ineligible to play.
•Pay referees before game begins.
•Help ensure that parents/guests on our sideline are respectful, positive, and display
good sportsmanship. Remind parents on our sideline about Code of Conduct, if
necessary. If you need help talking to a parent, ask your coach or the appropriate
Director. Our teams, club, and community are judged by our actions—let’s
represent all involved in a positive light. Our players are watching.
AFTER THE GAMES:
•Call in game scores (contact information on game card) immediately after game.
These responsibilities do not all need to be the sole responsibility of the Team
Manager and the Coach and Team Manager are encouraged to meet prior to the
start of the season to confirm the delegation of these duties. Once the Coach and
Team Manager have reached an agreement about the specific roles of the Team
Manager and Coach, a Team Manager may choose to perform all of the duties
assigned to him/her or more realistically, the Team Manager may decide to
delegate out some of the duties to other team parents. The main purpose of
delegating duties out to others is not only to take the burden of all of the
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administrative responsibilities off of one person, but also to create opportunities
for all of the team parents to participate and be involved with the team.
Seasonal Year
The seasonal year for FFJ officially runs from August 1 through July 31st of the
following year. However, many events occur prior to the start of the official
seasonal year. A general overview of the FFJ seasonal year is as follows:
Coaching Assignments
Tryouts
Initial Registration Drive
Pre-season meetings
Team Meetings
Fundraising through sponsorships
Soccer Showcase (FFJ Picnic)
May
Late May/June
June
Late July/Early August
August-September
August-September
September
League play
Senior Teams
Junior Teams
Columbus Day Tournament
Region Cup
State Cup
End of Season Banquet
AGM
Spring Classic Tournament
Tournaments
August-October; February-April
September – February
October
February - March
March - May
March/April
March
April / May
Varies
II.
COMMUNICATION
One of the most important components in the successful organization of a team is
good communication with FFJ, the Director of Coaching, the Administrative Director,
the Coach(s), the team parents and the players. Individual teams may decide upon the
best form of communication for their teams, which may include email, text, phone or
hand-outs or a combination of the above.
A. Communication with the Team:
Most teams streamline the huge
communication responsibility by the use of e-mail or group texting as their main
method of “talking” to their team families. The main reason is that it saves time by
being able to talk to several families at once. However, not all members of your
team may have reliable access to email and it is important that the communication
channels reflect the abilities of ALL the individual members of the team.
Group texting. There are various cases where you need to send a text message to
all your team. Game or practice canceled because of rain, you want everyone to
meet in one place or bring water to a game to name a few. There are many Apps
6
for Android or iPhone that allow for group texting. Pick one that works for you.
DW Dialer and Team Snap are recommended.
Communication with the Club: Make sure your team families are familiar with
the FFJ website: www.floridafirejuniors.com. The website includes information
about your Board of Directors, BOD meetings, club news, upcoming FFJ events,
individual teams and coaches, links to other related websites, etc. This web-site is
a good source of information for parents. It can even be customized for your team
to include links to team calendars. The FFJ web-site allows parents to sign up for
automatic e-mail updates. The web-site also allows parents to e-mail questions or
provide feedback. Parents are encouraged to attend and participate in the
operation of the FFJ by attending monthly board meetings and club events such as
our annual picnic, tournaments or end of season banquet. The dates and times for
these meetings and events are posted on the web-site.
B. Communication with the Administrative Director: The Administrative
Director for FFJ is responsible for the administration of the club. Any
administrative questions regarding Florida Fire Juniors, sponsorships, uniforms
ordering and fund raising should be directed to the Administrative Director. The
Administrative Director contact information is as follows:
Administrative Director: Dwight Morgan
Email Address: admin@floridafirejuniors.com
Phone: (239) 272-0218
C. Communication with the Club Registrar: The Club Registrar for FFJ is
responsible for the registration and verification of players, player passes, Rosters,
uniform issues and scholarship questions. The Club Registrar contact information
is as follows:
Club Registrar: Shari Johnson
Email Address: registrar@floridafirejuniors.com
Phone: (239) 849-6284
The Club Registrar is the primary point of contact for the Team Manager for
player parent issues as noted above. As such, the Team Manager needs to ensure
that all communication from the Club Registrar regarding registration, uniforms
and fee payments needs to be forwarded to the parents of each team.
D. Communication with the Director of Coaching: The Director of Coaching
(“DOC”) is responsible for the day-to-day operations of FFJ, including practice
schedules, league information, training opportunities and any other questions
regarding the day-to-day operations of FFJ.
Director of Coaching: Paul Williams
Email Address: doc@floridafirejuniors.com
Phone: (239) 227-3534
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The Team Manager and/or Coach may serve as the primary source of
communication of information from the DOC to the parents. As such, the
Coach/Team Manager needs to ensure that all communication from the DOC to
parents is forwarded within 24 hours.
B. Conflict Resolution
Occasionally a Team Parent may come to you with a team problem, usually of a
sensitive nature, that they would like for you to discuss with the coach. Relay as
best you can the problem and perhaps help the coach come up with a workable
solution for all involved.
A. Concerns from a Team Member: If a team member feels there is something of
concern that needs to be brought to the attention of the club, please have them
follow the following process:1) * Member/parent to approach coach first with the issue. Appointment for a face
to face meeting is to be requested by e-mail, copying to both your ADOC and
member to concerns@floridafirejuniors.com. There is absolutely NO discussion
of issues by e-mail by either coach or parent.
2) If issue remains unresolved after parent/coach face to face meeting,
member/parent to schedule meeting in person with their ADOC by e-mail
copying the same concerns mailbox listed above.
3) If issue still remains unresolved at this point, parent/member may request that
their issue/grievance be heard by the "Member Relations Committee" by
request to the same concerns mailbox above. Committee to be composed of
two board members, the DOC a coach and a selected parent volunteer.
Committee will meet monthly or as needed. Committee reserves the right to
investigate and discuss matters before rendering any plan of action, but will
work to deliver rapid resolution. Decisions of the Member Relations Committee
are final and binding.
* Absolutely NO approaching Coaches with issues/concerns within 24hrs of any
game or tournament. A 48hr "cooling off period" required before requesting a
meeting by e-mail with the coach after any game or tournament.
III. TEAM MEETING
Once the Coach and Team Manager have come to a decision about how the team will
operate over the coming seasonal year, the Team Manager should schedule an initial
Team Meeting. The initial Team Meeting should cover the following areas (but is not
limited to these areas);
1. Team Welcome
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2. Team Roster Distribution
3. Review Team Registration Status/Deadlines with the team
4. FYSA Code of Ethics & Player Agreement (Review)
5. Coaches Coaching Philosophy
6. Practice Schedule (Dates/Times/Locations)
7. Game Schedule (if available)
8. Tournament Expectations/Schedules
9. Equipment Requirements (Players/Coach/First Aid Kit)
10. Assign Additional Duties to Parents
11. Team Uniform
12. FFJ Events (Soccer Showcase/End of Season Banquet)
13. Sponsorships to date, additional opportunities,– Link to Sponsorship
Form on website
14. Additional Fund Raising Opportunities
15. How to address concerns / disputes
IV.
TEAM ROSTER
Once the try-out process is completed and the players for a team have been selected,
the Coach should provide the Team Manager with a list of all the players who made
the team along with their phone numbers and email addresses, if available. The Team
Manager should call/contact all of the families where he/she doesn’t have the
information that’s listed below. These families are usually the ones who are new to
your soccer team. Don’t forget to welcome them to the FFJ family!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Player Name
Player Address
Player Phone Number
Parent(s) Work Phone Number(s)
Parent(s) Cell Phone Number(s)
Email Address
Jersey Number
Once gathered, this information should be entered into a spreadsheet format. It is
useful to share this team roster and contact information with all members of the team.
You can have the team roster laminated (in various sizes) and distribute it to your
team families for them to keep. The Team Roster should also contain the Coach’s
phone number and contact information and Team Manager’s contact information, so
parents and players have the ability to communicate with both.
V.
TEAM BINDER
The Team Manager should maintain a “3 ring Team Binder”, which contains the
following information:
9
•
3 hole binder pouch to hold the following to ease in giving to referees prior to
each game:
○ Up to date roster
○ Laminated player passes on a ring
○ Referee fees when applicable
● Encased in page protectors
○ Medical Release Form for each player
○ Roster (FYSA and League (SFU, US Club or FSPL)
○ Signed Parent Code of Conduct Form
○ Team Game Schedule
○ Team Practice Schedule
○ Field Maps
○ Guest Player Forms
○ Team Agenda for games (when travel is involved)
○ Statistics
○ Notification of Possible Head Injury Form
○ FYSA signed Informed Consent about Concussions and Head Injuries Form
o Copies of FYSA - Possible Concussion or Head injury Notification Form
● Monthly Financial Reconciliation
o Team Treasury Information/Referee Monies/Team Monies
This Team Binder should accompany the team to each soccer event. In most cases,
the Player Passes, medical releases, rosters and referee fees need to be submitted to
the tournament committees prior to participation in any tournament.
NOTE: For Region cup and State cup the FYSA tournament staff will have Official
copies of your roster you do not need to bring them. These copies were made after the
roster freeze date and are the ones they will use for the events. Under most conditions
they will not use your Roster even if you do bring them but it never hurts to have a
few copies runoff after the roster freeze date just in case.
VI.
PLAYER PASSES
Registration for the season is completed online via GotSoccer.
Registration
instructions can be found on the Florida Fire Juniors web-site
(www.floridafirejuniors.com).
All players must register online and complete
payment to be eligible to receive a player pass for the season. Once all players on a
team have completed the registration process and been properly registered with
FYSA, the Club Registrar will issue player passes for each player. The Player Pass is
your player’s “passport” to play. Players are not allowed to play in league play or
tournaments without a valid player pass. If a pass is lost (or not retrieved back from
the registration desk at a tournament which holds player passes for the duration of a
tournament), it is the team’s responsibility to pay for the cost of replacing the pass.
The Team Manager or Coach should ensure that Player Passes are properly
retrieved upon the completion of each league game (from the referee) or
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tournament. Player Passes are generally not required for scrimmages. The Club
reserves the right to revoke any individual Player Pass for violation of the terms of
the Player Agreement. Team Managers are required to return to the Club Registrar
any player pass which have been revoked. For questions regarding Player Passes,
contact the Club Registrar.
VII. Uniforms
Each player must purchase a uniform kit through Eurosport. Upon completion of
their registration, each player will receive an email from Eurosport with information
on how to order their uniform for the season. In general, the Club is on a two year
uniform cycle, requiring the purchase of a new uniform every TWO years. Require
uniform items include two pairs of shorts, two game jerseys (Home and Away), two
practice jerseys and socks. In addition, State Cup teams require warm-ups and backpacks for travel to out-of-state events. Other items may be purchased by players at
their own discretion.
Home Jersey: Red Jersey/Red Short/Red Socks
Away Jersey: White Jersey/Blue Short/Blue Socks
Practice Uniform: Blue Training Jersey/ Blue Short/ Blue Socks
Players are required to wear the designated game and practice uniforms to all games
and practices.
VIII. LEAGUE PLAY
At the beginning of every season, each Coach will work with the DOC to determine
the appropriate level of play for his/her team and what league the team wishes to
compete in for their regular season
A. League Registration and Schedules: Once a team has identified which League
they wish to participate in (East Coast/West Coast) registration forms must be
completed by the individual teams in accordance with the terms and requirements
of the individual leagues. Each team is responsible for completing its own league
registration. Fees associated with the league registrations are paid by the Club.
As soon as available, league play schedules should be forwarded to all parents and
players on a team. Team Managers may want to establish a process by which
parents can notify the coach in advance of any scheduling conflicts. Individual
11
leagues have different restrictions on rescheduling of games and games which are
not played according to the schedule set forth by the league may be subject to
forfeit. Each team needs to familiarize themselves with the rules of play of their
respective league. League specific questions can be directed to the League
Representative specified below:
League web-site information is as follows:
League
Name
Website
League Representative
Southwest
Florida
(West
Coast)
Paul Williams
willospyder@aol.com
Dave Anderson
Dave@floridafirejuniors.com
South
Florida
United
(East
Coast
Boys &
Girls)
John Swanson
swanbyte@comcast.net
www.dataleague.com
Dwane Martin
manusoccer@hotmail.com
Florida
State
Premier
League
Southern
Regional
Premier
League
(SRPL)
Raymond Spinelli
www.fysa.com/events/fspl
raydent99@gmail.com
http://regioniii.usyouthsoccer.org/premier_league/Home/
B. League Rosters: Individual leagues have varying requirements for rosters for
league play but in general, West Coast and some East Coast leagues will allow the
use of the electronically generated roster from GotSoccer.com. Other East coast
leagues require league specific rosters, which are generated by the Club Registrar and
handed out to each team prior to the start of their league play.
12
C. Referee Fees: The amounts and payment terms for referee fees for each league is
set by the individual league prior to the start of league play. Referee Fees for
league play are paid by FFJ but Team Managers are responsible for requesting the
correct fees from the Club at the start of their league play season. Requests for
referee
fees
should
be
emailed
to
Shari
Johnson
at
registrar@floridafirejuniors.com. A copy of this email request should also be sent
to the Director of Coaching at doc@floridafirejuniors.com. Referee Fee requests
must include the following information:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Name of the Team/Age Group/Gender
Name of the League
Amount of the Request (# Games * Fee Per Game)
Payment Information (Who to make the check payable to)
Mailing Instructions
Requests for referee fees need to be made at least two weeks prior to the start of
league play to allow for sufficient time to process the request.
Per Team, Per Game, Amount Referee Split.
SFUYSA
U9 & U10
U11 & U12
U13 & U14
U15+
$35 team
$40 team
$48 team
$55 team
30-2020
36-2222
44-2626
50-3030
LCYS
High school
SWFL
U9/10
U11/12
$88 team home team
pays
Home team pays
44-2222,
$12 Team
$28 Team
$24.00
$56.00
$70 team
60-4040
FSPL
Center: $60, AR1; $30, AR2: $30.
Referee Fees ($60 per team, two $20s and two
$10s)
Southern Regional Premier League (FRPL)
(PLE)
U17
13
D. Guest players VS Club Pass players
.
Guest Players and Fees: The use of guest players is governed by the terms of the
individual leagues in which a team is playing or the specific rules of the
tournament for which a team has applied. Guest Players are not permitted for
Region Cup of State Cup competitions.
Club Pass may be used intra-club (within FFJ) and Guest Players inter-club (from
another club other than FFJ). If your team desires to make use of a Guest Player
or Club Pass, all initial communication should go first to the DOC
(doc@floridafirejuniors.com) and then in the coach of the team from which you
are requesting the guest or player pass. Initial Guest Player requests should NOT
go through the player or parent. Any guest player requests received by the
Administrative Director or Club Registrar will be forwarded to the DOC for
approval. For most league play, Guest Players may be hand-written onto the
league roster, with a notation of the team code for the Guest Player that he/she is
primarily registered to. You must have your guest player forms at the event you
are attending.
For most Tournament Play, Intra-Club club pass Players can be added to a team’s
roster through an Event Roster, which can be obtained from the Club Registrar.
These players do not typically require a separate Guest Player Form (club Pass).
For Inter-Club Guest Players, a signed Guest Player Form must be obtained, which
must be authorized by the DOC or the Club Registrar. The individual team is
responsible for making sure they have the appropriate signed Guest Player Forms
and player passes for the competition they wish to utilize the Guest Player for and
that all rules for Guest Players have been adhered to.
For Guest Players that are being asked to play that are not currently affiliated with
any club and are not joining the club as a regular player, the player must register
as a guest player using a registration link provided by the Club Registrar. The
Club Registrar will issue the Player Pass for the Guest Player. Once the player
has completed his Guest Play event, the Player Pass for this player must be
returned to the Club Registrar. The guest playing fee one-time guest players is
$50. All passes must be returned after the event.
E. Partial Season Fees
For players that request a partial season), the registration fee based is calculated
upon the number of months they plan on participating. They would also be
rostered to the Guest Player roster: High School Region Cup: Season July/Aug/Sept/Oct;
Jan/Feb/March/ (7 Months).
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 High School State Cup: Season July/Aug/Sept/Oct;
Jan/Feb/March/April (8 Months).
 NonHigh School Region Cup: Season Sept-March (7 Months)
 NonHigh School Region Cup: Season Sept-April (8 Months)
 Academy: Season Sept-March (7 months)
F. Scrimmage Requests
Only the DOC is authorized to contact the County concerning scrimmage field
availability.
Any team or teams that circumvent this directive will be responsible for all costs
incurred including but not limited to the cost of the field, the assignor fee (if used)
and the referee fees.
Team scrimmage requests must follow this directive.
•
Requests must be made with 2 weeks’ notice.
•
Initial Request will be sent to Field Assignor/Technical Director Dave Anderson
at dave@floridafirejuniors.com and copied to the DOC Paul Williams at
doc@floridafirejuniors.com. Include age group (U15B), date (s) requested, teams
playing (u15B red and U14B select) and your need for referees (1) center or (3)
full referee crew. (See comments lower down)
•
Once the county schedules the field the field assignor will contact the referee
assignor to arrange for the referees you have requested and you will be notified.
In the event the County cannot accommodate your request you will be notified
immediately so you can make other arrangements.
Additional considerations when considering scheduling a scrimmage.
A. Club will pay field rental fee if you follow this process and the scrimmage is
within 4 weeks of the start of your league season. Team pays the referee fees
B. In-house VS Inter-club
a.
If the scrimmage is in-house (2 fire teams)
i.
You may use only a center referee with or without club linesmen.
1.
If the referee is assigned by the assignor you pay the going
age group fee.
ii.
At your discretion you may find your own center referee
1.
The referee and the team decide on a fee.
15
iii.
In either case the referee must be a certified official
If the scrimmage is inter-club
i.
A full crew of refs are required and will be paid by the teams
playing
ii.
The referees will be assigned by the club assignor Megan
iii.
The club will pay the ref assignor fee
C. If you change your game or cancel
a.
If you change your game or cancel it with less than a weeks’ notice
i.
You will be required to pay the referees and the referee assignor.
The referees and the assignor have all made commitments to your
game day and time and a cancellation or change impacts their
schedules, time and efforts.
D. The Club will not pay field rental if:
a.
The date of you scrimmage is more than 4 weeks before the start of your
league
b.
If you have already had 3 field activities that week e.g. 2 games, 1 practice
or 2 practices, 1 game.
E. Why can’t you get me a field on the weekend I want; the fields are empty?
Simply put, our Memorandum of understanding with the county or MOU. In the
MOU it is set out that we (FFJ) are limited to 1 field of each size per weekend (1
full size, 1 U12 and 1 U10) and this is set by the County, no discussion. Therefore
with league games being played we may not have the field space available within
our MOU on a given weekend. Sorry
b.
We have created this process based on requests from the County and to make sure
that our teams, staff and assignors are fairly dealt with. Please respect other teams
and your club staff.
XIV.
TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION
At the beginning of every season, the Coach should identify which tournaments the
team will be interested in attending and present it to DOC for Approval. Any
tournaments entered prior to this approval will be at the liability of the coach.
Information regarding upcoming tournaments can come from a number of sources but
a listing of FYSA sanctioned tournaments in contained in the FYSA web-site at
www.fysa.com.
Prior to the registration deadline, the Team Manager is responsible for completing the
registration process for the team, including submission of any required registration
documents and payment of any applicable tournament fees. Other than Region Cup
or State Cup which are paid for by FFJ, any tournament fees incurred by the Team are
the responsibility of the individual team. Most tournaments require an upfront online
registration & payment of a fee. Required registration information may include the
following:
1. Team Name /Team Code *Make sure to use team name assigned on Got Soccer
2. Club Affiliation (Florida Fire Juniors)
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3. Head Coach Contact Information
4. Team Contact Information (can be Coach or Team Manager)
5. Team Jersey Information (Home Color: Red; Away Color: White)
Prior to the actual start of the tournament (either the night before or prior to the first
game), physical registration must take place, including presenting the player passes,
(NOTE: Most tournaments require the player passes be presented in roster order for
check in.) rosters, medical releases, and any other required documentation i.e., waivers,
etc). The Team Manager should ensure that they have read all the applicable registration
requirements so that they can satisfy them at the physical registration. It is also
recommended that the Team Manager print out a copy of the Tournament Rules. Most
tournaments in the State of Florida will allow the use of the electronic rosters generated
from the secure portion of the FYSA web-site. Please see the FYSA Section below for
more information regarding electronic rosters.
Information regarding the tournament should be forwarded to all members of the team,
including field location, game times, etc.
IX. HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRAVEL TEAMS
An important component of travel soccer teams is the need for teams to stay together at
locations around the state of Florida as part of their travel schedule. This may be due to a
tournament, whose driving distance makes it inefficient to travel back and forth between
games or back-to-back away league games that also involve a great amount of travel
time. For each overnight stay, the Team Managers provide the opportunity for parents
and players to stay together at a central location. As part of this process the Team
Managers should take the following into consideration:
1.
Make a concerted effort to choose a hotel with acceptable accommodations
at a reasonable price (at the first parent meeting, get some guidance from
your team parents as to an acceptable price and hotel rating). Your soccer
families may have limited budgets – be sensitive to everyone’s financial
situation.
2. Contact identified hotels before all away games and tournaments.
Specifically ask for the group sales contact at the hotel since you will be
interested in a discount hotel rate for a large group.
3. Once an acceptable hotel/room rate combination has been identified, reserve
a block of rooms for each of your players and coach(s) if necessary. Make
sure you indicate what type of rooms you want – rooms with double beds and
hopefully non-smoking rooms. Information regarding cancellation policy,
additional features (such as breakfast included) is also helpful to obtain. Do
not reserve the rooms under your credit card number. Agree with the hotel
on a deadline date by which each parent must call the hotel to provide their
own personal credit card number or else they will forfeit their room
reservation by the deadline date.
4. Some hotels will require execution of a group sales contract, the terms of
which can be negotiated but most hotels will allow you to reserve a block of
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5.
6.
7.
8.
rooms for a short period of time without providing a guarantee via credit
card.
As soon as the room block has been set-up, email all parents with the hotel
information, deadline dates & contact information so that they can make their
individual reservations.
Follow-up with the hotel prior to the expiration of the group block to make
sure all of the players have made arrangements for overnight stay. Follow-up
with any parents who do not appear to have made a reservation to confirm if
they have made alternative plans.
Remind parents about appropriate behavior for your team players during their
hotel stay.
Keep a record of all hotel information and confirmation information in the
Team Binder.
X. Team responsibilities and guideline for Coaches Per Diem
It is the team’s responsibility to ensure adequate funding and resources are
made available to their coach prior to any events where they will be traveling
outside of the Collier/Lee county area. It is established by FFJ that the teams
will pre-pay their coaches travel expenses based on the coaches travel
guidelines as set by the Florida Fire Juniors.
It is the team Managers responsibility to communicate with the Coach In
order to confirm the coaches prepaid travel expenses (room/gas/meal
allowance, etc.) have been met prior to any qualifying event.
Guideline for Coaches, Per Diem is: $50 per day and 40 cents per mile which
covers, wear and tear, insurance etc. only applicable for travel outside Lee
and Collier County.
Hotel, Your coach is expected to stay in the same hotel, or a hotel of
comparable cost, as their team. It is expected that the team will reserve the
room, secure payment methods with the motel/hotel on the coach’s behalf
before departure, and supply the coach with the confirmation number
required at check-in. The team is not responsible for miscellaneous room
charges such as in-room movies, etc.
Per Diem is based on $10 breakfast, $15 Lunch, and $25 dinner; Per-diem is
set at $50 per “full day” by the FFJ board of directors. Your coach should be
able to tell you when he/she is leaving Naples and what per-diem will be for
each day.
Mileage calculations should be made based on round trip Naples or the
coach’s home to the event, using MapQuest or Google Maps. When
calculating mileage use shortest time. Additional costs such as road, bridge
and tunnel tolls as well as parking fees will be reimbursed to the coach by the
team provided receipts are submitted. The team manager and coach should
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determine a procedure to submit receipts for reimbursements.
A
reimbursement form is available online to use as needed. Once the Team
Manager receives the reimbursement request they should without delay
reimburse the coaches expenses.
There is the possibility that during tournament play there may be an instance
where the team and coach are required to stay longer than anticipated and
outside of the pre-paid expenses that you provided to your coach. In those
rare instances the coach is responsible for submitting a reimbursement form
(a form is posted on line under “member resources, form”) to the team
manager as soon as possible after the event. Once the Team Manager
receives the invoice they should without delay reimburse the coaches
expenses based on the submitted invoices.
Florida fire juniors expects the Team Manager and Coach to work together to
ensure that the coach’s expenses are pre-paid whenever possible prior to
his/her departure. Please communicate closely with your coach on all away
games, tournament schedules and events so that you can “plan” for travel
expenses. If there are concerns please contact your DOC and/or ADOC.
a.
“Stay and play” tournaments. Teams requiring overnight
accommodations must stay at a one of the tournament hotel options. Out of
town teams will not be eligible to participate in the tournament unless the
hotel reservation is confirmed.
These kinds of “forced” requirements as another way to bilk money out of
parents and traveling teams. There is considerable suspicion about rates
being hiked up. Further, there is discontent that good old American
“freedom of choice” is being violated without good reason. Stay away from
these tournaments It is a tricky requirement and all sorts of things can go
wrong, either at the team, hotel, or tournament management level. It’s a
matter of fairness. Can hotels keep decent rates and apply them evenly to
ALL teams? Families?
XI.
TEAM TREASURY AND FUNDRAISING
A. Team Treasury: An important part of a Team’s success is management of the
Team Treasury, which allows each team to fund all the activities for their seasonal
year, that are not covered by FFJ. Expenses that are typically incurred by
individual teams include (but are not limited to) tournament expenses (other than
Region/State Cup registration and referee fees), coach’s travel expenses,
scrimmage fees, and End of Season party expenses. Management of the Team
Treasury can be accomplished by appointing a separate Team Treasurer if the
Team Manager is uncomfortable assuming this role. Management of the Team
Treasury includes the following:
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1. Create a budget for your Team’s finances for the seasonal year, including
tournament fee expense projections, coach’s travel expenses, etc.
2. Open a team account at a local bank. The account may be under the Team
Treasurer’s personal information but should reference the Team that it is
being established for. Determine who should have signature authority for this
account (typically the Team Manager, Treasurer and Coach).
3. Keep a running ledger of money coming in and going out. Money coming in
should be from fundraising and sponsorship revenue. Money going out would
be the tournament registration fees, coaches’ reimbursements, etc.
4.
Provide the team with a periodic accounting of all monies in the Team
Treasury.
B. Fund Raising: In order to cover the ongoing expenses of the Team for the
seasonal year, each team needs to identify how the expenses of the team will be
funded:
1. Pay as Your Go Approach: Each parent would contribute their proportional
share of Team Expenses for each event/obligation as they are incurred. This
approach is very equitable but involves a lot of money collection and followup on the part of the Team Treasurer.
2. Sponsorship Opportunities: FFJ offers various levels of sponsorship
opportunities for individuals and companies wishing to make a tax-deductible
donation to FFJ. Team Managers should promote the team’s participation in
the sponsorship opportunities by distributing sponsorship forms to your team
families as soon as you receive them. Deadline for sponsorships are set forth
on the Sponsorship Form and include varying levels of contributions.
Sponsorship Forms need to be turned in to the Club Administration or mailed
to the FFJ PO Box by the deadline specified on the Sponsorship Form in order
to be considered eligible for the benefits associated with the sponsorship.
3. Fund Raising: Teams may elect to participate in any fund raising
opportunities offered by FFJ or pursue their own individual fund raising
efforts. Ideas for fund raisers are unlimited but teams are encouraged fully
research any fund raisers that they participate in. Use of the FFJ logo in any
fund raising efforts is subject to approval of the Board of Directors of FFJ.
Once your team has identified the fund raisers it would like to participate in,
the Team Manager should:
1. Notify the team families with the expectations of the fundraising event
including: the date, time, expected attendance, expected fundraising dollar
amount per player. Encourage all players to participate in the fund raising
event to equally allocate the burden.
2. On the fundraiser day, make sure the players are all participating and the
money is being handled responsibly.
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3. Once the money has been collected, have two people count the money and
give the funds to the Team Treasurer. Make sure payment is given for any
services rendered. The Team Treasurer needs to take into account which
players participated and distribute the profit earned amongst those players
unless another agreement was previously made.
XII. VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENT
Each club member is required to participate in the minimum of 5 hours of volunteer
work at posted Florida Fire Juniors events or in a committee. Financial Aid athletes
are required to complete 5 hours + 4 hours of volunteer support to fulfill their 9 hours
required. We ask that you track your team’s volunteer participation throughout the
season and forward any e-mails from the Administrative Director out to your team
members. Club members may choose to opt out of volunteering by paying $50 to the
club. Financial aid recipients can opt out of the initial 5 hours but must fulfill the
remaining 4 hours of Volunteer service.
The Administrative Director will provide you after each event with the list of
volunteers and hours completed for you to record and report
XIII. TEAM PHOTO AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Once all members of the team have received their uniforms, schedule a time to take a
team photo. Ideally, the team photo should include every member of the team and
coaching staff. Forward a copy of this photo via email to FFJ to be added to the website. Email the team photo to admin@floridafirejuniors.com.
The Team Manager should also provide periodic updates to the Club regarding team
accomplishments in tournaments and league play that may be added to the web-site to
help promote your team and provide public relations opportunities.
XIV. END OF SEASON TEAM PARTY
As soon as practicable upon the completion of your season, the Team Manager should
schedule an End of the Season Party for all of your team families to honor your
coach(es), parents and players. This event brings finality to the season and gives
everyone an opportunity to thank all those who worked so hard during the season.
You could hold the end of the year party in conjunction with/or separate from the
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annual End of Season banquet sponsored by the Club (generally in March/April).
CELEBRATE THE SEASON!!!!
XV. ADDITIONAL REFERENCE INFORMATION
A. Florida Youth Soccer Association (“FYSA”) Access: The web-site for
FYSA is www.fysa.com. This site contains important information regarding
soccer events in Florida, schedules and deadlines, contact information, codes of
conduct, Region Cup and State Cup competitions, field locations, other FYSA
clubs and much more. FYSA has transitioned the registration of players and
team information to GotSoccer, starting with the 2010-2011 Seasonal Year.
Each coach, assistant coach, team official/manager needs to register online via
GotSoccer for the seasonal year. Contact the Club Registrar to obtain a link to
the registration portal. As part of this registration, each individual will also be
required to complete a background check and comply with other requirements
of FYSA. Only persons having completed the FYSA background check in
GotSoccer can be added to a team roster as a team official.
B. Florida Youth Soccer Association & GotSoccer
All information regarding teams and players was merged into an online
database (www.GotSoccer.com) beginning with the 2010-2011 seasonal year.
Each coach/team official needs to complete a back-ground check in GotSoccer
prior to being added as a team official to a specific roster. In addition, each
team in GotSoccer will have a Team Account, which will allow them to
register for GotSoccer Tournaments. If you need assistance with user names or
passwords for either your Coach/Team Official Account or Team Account in
GotSoccer, please contact your Club Registrar (Shari Johnson at
registrar@floridafirejuniors.com).
C. Transfer/Release Process
If your Team receives a request from a player who has previously registered
with Florida Fire Juniors to transfer to another club or leave the Club, the
following steps need to be taken prior to any transfer/release being approved:
1. All Player Releases and Transfers must be submitted in writing by the
Player requesting the Release or Transfer.
2. Forward the written request for a Release or Transfer to the Director of
and
the
Club
Registrar
Coaching
(doc@floridafirejuniors.com)
(registrar@floridafirejuniors.com).
3. The Director of Coaching will evaluate the request and attempt to resolve
any issues or disputes that may be the cause of the request
4. The Club will work to resolve any Club or Team commitments needed to
be completed by the Player.
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5. Transfer/Releases will be processed by the Club Registrar once the written
approval of the Director of Coaching has been obtained.
XVI. Concussions it’s the law
Did you know? There are very few soccer-related deaths. However, the US Center for
Disease Control reported that 18 people between 1979 and 1993 had been killed
by falling goalposts. Of these 18 people, 14 had head injuries and most were
children who were climbing on unstable goalposts, not playing soccer.
The point is by speaking up the next time you see kids climbing on a goal you may
save a child’s life.
“Soccer what a game! Where else do people use their heads to bounce balls going 75
miles an hour?”
Managers need to remember that they are the ones that parents often look to for
guidance. Please share your thoughts and understanding of concussions with
them. Active sports, particularly contact sports like soccer, always carry some
risk of injury. Parents also should take the time to observe their child’s practice
sessions as well as games and don’t be afraid to speak up if something does not
look right. In this way they can be assured that rules are being applied and
guidelines followed.
Concussions by the numbers
Concussion
•50% of "second impact syndrome" incidents - brain injury caused from a premature
return to activity after suffering initial injury (concussion) - result in death.
•Female high school soccer athletes suffer almost 40% more concussions than males
(29,000 annually)
•Female high school basketball players suffer 240% more concussions than males
(13,000).
•400,000 brain injuries (concussions) occurred in high school athletics during the
2008-09 school year.
•15.8% of football players who sustain a concussion severe enough to cause loss of
consciousness return to play the same day.
•Emergency department visits for concussions sustained during organized team
sports doubled among 8-13 year olds between 1997 and 2007 and nearly tripled
among older youth.
•Concussion rates more than doubled among students age 8-19 participating in sports
like basketball, soccer
•A 2011 study of U.S. high schools with at least one athletic trainer on staff found
that concussions accounted for nearly 15% of all sports related injuries reported to
athletic trainers.
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•High school athletes who have been concussed are three times more likely to suffer
another concussion in the same season.
•Females aged 10-19 years sustained sports- and recreation-related TBIs most often
while playing soccer or basketball or whole bicycling.
•More than 248,000 children visited hospital emergency departments in 2009 for
concussions and other traumatic brain injuries related to sports and recreation.
•Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for
21% of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States
http://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2012/943.0438
2012 Florida Statutes
943.0438 Athletic coaches for independent sanctioning authorities.—
Adopt guidelines to educate athletic coaches, officials, administrators, and youth
athletes and their parents or guardians of the nature and risk of concussion and
head injury.
(f) Adopt bylaws or policies that require the parent or guardian of a youth who is
participating in athletic competition or who is a candidate for an athletic team to
sign and return an informed consent that explains the nature and risk of
concussion and head injury, including the risk of continuing to play after
concussion or head injury, each year before participating in athletic competition
or engaging in any practice, tryout, workout, or other physical activity associated
with the youth’s candidacy for an athletic team.
(g) Adopt bylaws or policies that require each youth athlete who is suspected of
sustaining a concussion or head injury in a practice or competition to be
immediately removed from the activity. A youth athlete who has been removed
from an activity may not return to practice or competition until the youth submits
to the athletic coach a written medical clearance to return stating that the youth
athlete no longer exhibits signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with a
concussion or other head injury. Medical clearance must be authorized by the
appropriate health care practitioner trained in the diagnosis, evaluation, and
management of concussions as defined by the Sports Medicine Advisory
Committee of the Florida High School Athletic Association.
XVII.
Lightning
A good lightning safety motto is: If you can see it (lightning), flee it; if you can
hear it (thunder), clear it.
Collier county and many other Counties in Florida has safety rules to follow when
playing on their fields. If your team is currently at the fields and lighting occurs
please move players off the field immediately. Appropriate safe shelters include
fully enclosed metal vehicles with the windows up and a sturdy enclosed building
(players may wait at the concession area building). Observe a 30 minute rule
following last lightning strike before going back on the field.
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Updates to Ver 2.2
Housekeeping, correct errors due to FYSA or FFJ changes.
X.
Team responsibilities and guideline for Coaches Per Diem
Define coach reimbursement procedures and timeline.
Created web form for Coach reimbursement.
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