BCSL report:

Note: this is a very long post...pushing other posts further down in the page. To note your participation in games and practices this week, please scroll down.

Laura has shared the most recent Berkeley Co-ed Soccer League Commitee report from Sept. 25, 2007

The Comments Committee (consisting of four team managers who have volunteered) accepts suggestions and complaints at bcsl-comments@hotmail.com. All questions received since the spring season are addressed below. Responses have been vetted with league management.

Summary of Key Items:
• Website: League needs a website to be up and consistently running. A group of volunteers should be supported in taking that on.

• Scheduling: League management and team managers need to determine desirability of playing at times other than Sunday afternoon and evening.

• Regular league managers’ meetings would be useful for discussing ongoing items.

Questions and Responses:

1. "Can we get linesmen to help refs?"
There are not enough referees available to do this. An alternative would be to have league members serve as linesmen to help with offsides and out-of-bounds calls. Whether they are paid or serve as volunteers, this will require extensive organization. This is possible if a committee of motivated and capable individuals is willing to put the time into organizing it. Those individuals most strongly interested in having linesmen are encouraged to meet to see if they can come up with any viable proposals.

2. "Can we get practice fields?"
Field space is difficult to find in our area. Carmen typically lets managers know when we have the option of reserving space for practices or pick-up games. This is useful. Many teams play pick-up or have practices, so a good way to get practice space is to contact team managers.

3. "Can we enforce the minimum age requirement?"
Carmen has addressed this by requiring a copy of each new player's ID to verify they are old enough.

4. "What's the plan for how many new teams are allowed in?"
As team managers, we do not know. This is a question for league management. Letting new teams in can affect scheduling, fields, and the feel of the league. The league will presumably have more field space available in the future with the completion of the new Gilman fields, which may alleviate scheduling difficulties. We all appreciate the opportunity that the league has given us to play soccer, and it is a good thing to extend that opportunity to others. This is a good topic for the next league managers’ meeting.

5. "What happened to the league structure that teams approved a year ago?
To recap, managers conducted a vote during summer 2006 to determine the most popular structure for divisions and season scheduling. The winning structure had two divisions, a schedule where teams played only teams in their division, no playoffs, and exchange of the top team from Div. 2 with the bottom team of Div. 1 (at the discretion of the team from Div. 2). This structure was used for the Fall 2006 season, but then changed by league management for Spring 2007. The lack of agreement on a decision-making process pointed out the need for better dialog between league management and teams, which resulted in this managers' "comments committee". Since the league continues to grow, and new fields are coming on line, things are in transition. It would be best to settle into a consistent structure, where everyone knows how schedules will be set, how standings will be figured, and how teams will move between divisions. This issue still needs to be addressed over time, and is a good topic for the next league managers’ meeting.

6. "When will tourney results be posted on the website?"
Given that the website went down, the larger question here is (1) sustaining a website, and (2) posting scores. Many simple online features have made the league more user-friendly and fun. To date website tasks has been handled by individuals who eventually move on. It would be preferable to form a team of web-savvy volunteers who will maintain a website for the league. Shared responsibility is more likely to result in a sustainable website.

7. "There is some good scheduling software out there—does the league use such software?"
Yes, scheduling games to allocate times, fields, and opponents is complicated and time-consuming, and the league should use readily available software to do this task. We believe the league does in fact use such software.

8. "Monday night games don't work for all of us."
The league has historically played games on Sunday afternoons and evenings. While we wait for the new Gilman fields to come on line, the addition of new teams resulted in the need to play some games on Monday evening and some games on Sunday morning. It is important to find out how well this works for teams. This a good topic for the next league managers’ meeting.