American Youth Soccer Organization NATIONAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING May 22-24, 2015 Phoenix, Arizona PRESIDENT’S REPORTS A M E R I C A N YO U T H N AT I O N A L S O C C E R A N N UA L O R G A N I Z AT I O N G E N E R A L M E E T I N G AYSO NATIONAL PRESIDENT REPORT TO THE MEMBERSHIP MARK STEWART, NATIONAL PRESIDENT Welcome to the first annual AYSO National President Report to the Membership. This new communication replaces the traditional Book of Reports which in the last few years had grown to nearly 100 pages. Your National Board of Directors believed there had to be a better way. The goal for 2015 is to honor the time of our volunteers both as readers and information providers. We want to give our Executive Members and other key stakeholders the most useful, readable national information possible. Your National Board of Directors has reached out to our Sections, Commissions and National Office team and asked them for very brief highlights of only the most significant new accomplishments that have national impact. Together we have kept this a shorter, more succinct report that we ask every Executive Member to read. The NBOD applauds the tremendous day to day efforts of all our Regions, Areas, Sections, Commissions and National Office team. You bring families together and have made millions of children smile. We all know the time and effort that goes into putting our kids on the soccer field. You as our honored volunteers have the thanks of not only your National Board of Directors, but of over 1.4 million parents and players and over 800 communities. Thank you! NATIONAL INITIATIVES NEW NATIONAL OFFICE EXECUTIVE TEAM Ian McMahon joined AYSO in October as its new National Executive Director. Scott Gimple, formerly the Director of Coaching, Events & Camps took on the newly created role of Deputy National Executive Director. Ian joins us after a long career as a soccer and sports executive in both the U.S. and abroad. He most recently served as CEO of the Hong Kong Sevens, the largest rugby tournament in the world. His career has been marked by an exciting track record of growth with every organization he has led and we are very pleased he has joined AYSO. Scott draws upon his deep operations and finance background to take over the day to day operations of the National Office and its service to AYSO Regions and families. We welcome Ian into his new role and thank Scott for stepping into the critical operational role. Together the NBOD is confident that they will help AYSO grow and prosper in the dynamic and ever changing U.S. soccer market while continuing to honor our mission and vision. 50th ANNIVERSARY • AYSO celebrated its 50th Anniversary in style with Section 1 as hosts of the largest-ever AYSO National Games, welcoming nearly 500 teams to Torrance and Riverside, Calif. 2 2015 President’s Report • AYSO received nearly 300,000,000 (yes, that’s 300 MILLION!) media impressions across the U.S. with its 50th Anniversary public relations/media campaign. Using the services of public relations firm, The Regan Group, which was made possible by the sponsorship of DOLE Fruit Squish’ems the story of AYSO, its history and its future appeared in hundreds of newspapers, internet sites, magazines, television shows with just some of the highlights including The Emmy Awards, Parade Magazine (the largest circulation publication in the U.S.), Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine and many, many more. • For its 50th Anniversary, AYSO raised $100,000 for the Hugo Bustamante AYSO Playership Fund. The funds were distributed to 102 Regions as additional support to their own scholarship efforts and will help nearly 3,500 additional players participate in AYSO who would not have otherwise been able to afford to play. • FOX Sports 1 expanded its partnership with AYSO making it its exclusive youth soccer partner and including the FOX Sports 1 logo on all AYSO jerseys. • The 50th Anniversary Thank You Project featured a heartwarming video written and directed by AYSO National Marketing Commissioner Member Daniel Gray and produced by FOX Sports. It generated tremendous social media engagement with AYSO families, volunteers and alumni. PLAYER PROGRAMS With the support of the National Coaching Advisory Commission, AYSO unveiled the AYSO Playground program with eight Regions participating in the pilot with 333 players registered. This soccer-themed program focuses on “physical literacy”, such as balancing, kicking, skipping, throwing, etc. for three and four year olds. These are the skills that will help these youngsters be more successful and have more fun in soccer and all other physical activities. • The NBOD has approved pilot programs in both Sections 10 and 12 that expand the Challenge FC concept of try-out based programs that compete in non-AYSO leagues. The objective is to offer AYSO players more serious soccer opportunities without being required to leave AYSO. • The AYSO adult league, NAASA (North American Adult Soccer Association), have been active and are showing a growth trend with nearly 5,000 registered players. AYSO is a strong National member of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), with a player population 11th in size out of 65 leagues across the country. A survey has been conducted of administrators and players to help determine future direction of the division. 2015 President’s Report 3 • NAASA chair Dan Klein was appointed as the Chairman of the Programs Development Committee by John Motta, the new President of USASA. This is one of three committees operating under the Membership Services Committee. • Over 200 Regions contracted with AYSO Soccer Camps for professional training services expanding our offering to our players and coaches. • The National Tournament Advisory Commission worked throughout the year to support Regions, Areas and Sections in providing “More Soccer For More Kids™”, to enrich children’s lives, by encouraging and inspiring more Tournaments, SoccerFests, FunFests, Indoor Soccer, VIP events and other types of Secondary Program opportunities, in order for Regions to meet their geographic, cultural and program needs, and to grow more player interest and participation. • The VIP (Very Important Player) Program has gained visibility and growth as it prepares to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. A parent and volunteer survey was sent widely this fall and a very large response will help to enhance the program content and delivery. Excellent volunteers have been honored with annual awards, new workshops are being taught at every EXPO and VIP has a valued presence at several resource fairs and in the disability community media. LEGAL SUPPORT • Particularly significant contributions of the National Legal Advisory Commission to AYSO Regions in the past year have been dealing with field use issues, for which Burt Haimes and Gary Holmen have been particularly helpful, and assisting with dispute resolution, an area in which Steve Libowsky has performed yeoman work this past year. • Also important advice has been provided to Safe Haven regarding various volunteer issues, where Fred Main and Darryl Ross have provided significant assistance. Tom Lebens has continued his great work in protecting AYSO’s important trademarks and intellectual property. And Legal Commission members continue to donate their time in other ways to help AYSO’s kids have fun playing soccer, including two Legal Commission members – Jeff McClure and Bill Hummel serving on the National Board of Directors. TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS • AYSO has focused on the next generation of eAYSO software. The combined National Systems & Software Advisory Commission and National Office team are focusing on replacing the most important pieces of our system first – namely the Player and Volunteer Registration functions along with tools for Region websites. The mandate is to create a welcoming, friendly system that is easy for parents and useful for volunteers. Stay tuned this year for exciting announcements and enhanced user interfaces. Our world-class youth soccer program deserves world-class systems and software. An extensive Request for Proposal was designed with the assistance of both volunteers and staff and sent to over 30 companies working in the registration space. A long process of vetting narrowed the candidates down to a final handful. The final selection process is in the works now. 4 2015 President’s Report • AYSO has completed a major transition project to paperless player and volunteer registration via eSignature. The key benefits of this very large volunteer and staff project has been to dramatically reduce the liability and storage of paper forms by our Regions, the huge amount of CVPA administrative time needed to process and mail the forms to the National Office, etc. Thousands of hours of volunteer and staff time have been eliminated. • In FY 2015, AYSO will be using Chrome River, a paperless, online volunteer and staff travel expense management software application that will streamline reimbursements and lower costs. HONORS & AWARDS • By recognition of its most extraordinary members who made an historic contribution to the organization on a national basis, AYSO will be widely known and acknowledged for its achievements in advancing the sport of soccer through the unique Philosophies of AYSO. The National Board of Directors (NBOD), with assistance by the Hall of Fame Commission, in 2014 chose six people for induction into the prestigious AYSO Hall of Fame who were truly extraordinary individuals, including founders, pioneers, builders and developers who were volunteers in the 1960’s and 1970’s. • Carrying forward into 2015, the HOF Commission made earnest efforts to fulfill the goal of encouraging the submission of nominations of worthy candidates, including a special effort to elicit nominations for persons who made an historic contribution on a national basis to the foundation, growth, enrichment and positive reputation of AYSO and the sport of soccer for children, but may have been overlooked previously. The three categories for candidacy are founders/pioneers, promoters/players and builders/ developers, and include truly historic contributions. The induction into the AYSO Hall of Fame of the new class will take place at the 2015 NAGM in Phoenix, Ariz. TRAINING & EDUCATION • Ten AYSO EXPO events were held in 2015. Nearly 4,000 volunteers have attended these important training, networking and inspirational events. Planning is underway right now to assess this year’s EXPO tour, make practical changes that can improve the quality of delivery and complete contracts for 2016 venues. Because of the large costs involved with so many individual events, it is expected that we will combine some of the EXPOs to create a more robust course offering and social opportunities, while minimizing the expense and opportunity costs created by so many individual events. • Regional Commissioner Training under the leadership of the National Management Advisory Commission celebrated its 20th class in 2015. A total of 530 RCs have experienced “AYSOU” – learning the opportunities of their position, the tools and support available, sharing solutions with each other and returning home with renewed energy, enthusiasm and determination. More than 70 instructors from 14 Sections have participated – many of them RC Training graduates. 2015 President’s Report 5 • The Development and Marketing commissions combined to develop the new Regional Support Volunteer Program (RSVP) that provides Regions with volunteer mentors who can help identify opportunities and areas for improvement, and sources of assistance to enable Regions to improve player and volunteer participation and experiences. • The National Marketing Commission is also offering one-on-one assistance to Regions. Those volunteers who missed their EXPO or need more information can contact the NMC directly for support. • Every AYSO Section had a renewed focused on training this year with Road Shows, EXPOs, Super Camps and individual training events held across the nation. Hundreds of Coach, Management and Referee training classes were held and thousands of volunteers received training from volunteers and National Staff. • The National Referee Advisory Commission has been continuing its work on the Strategic Plan through the introduction of improved and increased Referee Mentor training. • The NRAC introduced quarterly conference calls with Section Referee Administrators and the Section Referee Staffs to improve communications and improve feedback throughout the referee program. • All referee EXPO workshops were reviewed and updated based upon feedback. Each workshop included a customer service message related to how the workshop contents could be used by the participants in their Regions and Areas. Workshop feedback so far this EXPO season has been positive. Each workshop has been assigned to an NRAC member to gather feedback and continue efforts to improve workshop quality. In addition, efforts will look for new ideas and workshop topics for the coming year. Six new workshops were added this year and there has been continued support of webinars to provide on time training to referee administrators. • The NRAC has also continued efforts to further enhance referee administrator training elements. • Two RC Continuing Education sessions were developed by Mike Karon of the National Development Commission and National Development Manager Pete MacPhail and launched at this years’ EXPO meetings. The workshops featured strategies and tactics to assist Regions in identifying and exploiting the value they bring to their communities. Section 1 AYSO SECTION ACHIEVEMENTS Frances Stronks, Section Director • Culminating AYSO’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, Section 1 proudly hosted the largest ever 2014 National Games, welcoming 500 teams and featuring the introduction of EXTRA™, the Ken Aston Cup and the Referee online sign-up, assignment and match reporting program. 6 2015 President’s Report • Facilitating a targeted increase of trained and certified volunteers, our 2015 event brought our overall Roadshow total to 2,567. • A record 32 teams of VIP Players and their Buddies from Sections 1, 10 & 11 enjoyed a day of soccer, friendship, food and fun at our 15th Annual VIP Tournament. It’s hard to imagine a better way to spend a day. Section 2 Yvette Barrett, Section Director • Section 2 is focused on training. We provide as many opportunities as we can throughout the year. We believe trained volunteers provide the experience our players deserve. • Section 2 holds an annual residential camp for volunteers. In 2014 we trained over 225 volunteers in coach, referee and management disciplines. We had 15 National Referee candidates pass on their first try taking the test. •We also have many Areas that hold Mini Camps. Section 2 is very proud of the attendance we have for RC Training. This is an ongoing effort of all the Area Direcrtors to get thier RCs trained. Section 5 Michael Mays, Section Director • Section 5 continues to offer training in all disciplines and at all levels through Super Camps and several training events over the last year. • Section 5 wants to bring more soccer to its players and that is why we have started more VIP, Playtime Adventure and Secondary Play programs all across the Section. Section 6 Jeff Ransom, Section Director • Over 200 volunteers attended the Section EXPO in Madison, Wis. • Road Shows were hosted by Area D and Area N. The Section Tournament will be in June in Libertyville, Illinois. We also had an Area E Soccerfest and Soccer Slam in 6/E/1103. • We had one Platinum Area (D), Regions 418, 568, 891 and 1112 all receive Platinum awards as well as many Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mentions. • Thanks to all Section and Area Staff! Section 7 Maurice Miranda, Section Director • Meadow Gold (MG) Sponsorship of AYSO Section 7 has expanded over the past year. MG donated 1,700 MG True Moo/AYSO logo umbrellas to each team parent for all core season teams in Section 7. They also donated a large canopy tent to each Region with the True Moo/AYSO logo and to the Section for use at Tournaments. A 2015 President’s Report 7 children and Youth day at the Hawaii State Capital in November was co-sponsored by Meadow Gold and AYSO. MG is working with AYSO on Maui to do the same kind of event. They supply product as value in kind for the EXPO, Section, Area, Region Tournaments, opening & closing day ceremonies and any special events. They donate to each Region $1 for every uniform issued with their logo. • Section 7 is developing a new sponsor relationship with Papa John’s Pizza Hawaii. For the next two months to coincide with most Region’s registration for MY2015, Papa John’s is attaching registration flyers on top of every pizza box. Estimated to be around 60,000 boxes. They also are offering Regions “buy one get one free” cards to sell for $10. The card expires one year after purchase and the Region keeps $9 out of the $10. Papa John’s is located on Oahu only and will be opening on Maui soon. They supplied food for the tournament and referee staff at our Kirk Banks Tournament. • 100% submission of AAP and RAP last year. (The first time this has been accomplished since Mark Stewart was SD for Section 7!) • To address player registration declines we put together a marketing committee last August. Some of the recommendations to come out of the committee: 1. Coordinate Section-wide registration dates so most Regions are registering on the same day. Run statewide ads to advertise the universal dates. 2. Hold registration in public places (malls, shopping centers, etc.) and let Regions register players for other Regions. 3. Rebuild the Section website to make it easier to register and find information with drop-down menus on the opening page (The rebuild has started and should be finished shortly). Section 8 Carolyn Taylor, Section Director • Section 8 is made up of eight Areas and 92 Regions in Michigan. We have approximately 29,000 players and 5,100+ volunteers. • Areas holding more opportunities to train volunteers • EXPO was energizing for all who attended • Four Regional Commissioners attended RC Training and one Area Director attended AD Training. • Added: Six new Advanced Coaches, two new National Coaches, one Advanced Referee, one new National Referee and five Advanced Coach Instructors. Section 9 Eileen Tabert, Section Director • We welcomed two Regions from Colorado into Section 9, Regions 1225 in Fountain and 1553 in Colorado Springs. Our top priority was to establish good communication 8 2015 President’s Report and an excellent working relationship. To that end we went to Colorado to meet face to face with both Regional Boards. The meetings proved to be highly successful! We look forward to providing continued training and support to both! • An ongoing priority is training of our volunteers. We continued to offer local training as well as sending highly qualified instructor teams on Road Shows to Montana throughout 2014-15. We also delivered a successful EXPO in Salt Lake City, Utah. A “selfie” scavenger hunt was designed to encourage attendees to get to know others outside their Region, Areas and state as well as National Staff, our vendors and attend all the planned events. We learned and had a fun time! • We are proud of our tradition of supporting sister Regions! A new program was started in Rangely, Col., under an established neighboring Region in Vernal, Utah. When the word spread in Section 9 that Rangely needed everything to start up their program, sister Regions provided money, uniforms, equipment and training! Section 10 Richard Pagliari, Section Director • Section 10 had an increase in membership this year. This is through the vigilant efforts of our volunteers to provide great customer service, make phone calls, send email blasts and have personal conversations. We have a strong volunteer base, including 6,100 coaches and over 6,000 referees. • We had our VIP Festival in November. It was hosted by 10-D-91. • The Section 10 EXTRA™ Program continues to grow. Interest in the program is evidenced by the willingness of participants to give back by volunteering in the Core Program. • This year Section 10 is offering the Challenge program, a higher level, tryout-based program so the Section can now offer three levels of play to fit the needs of all kids. • The Section 10 Planning Meeting was held in Ventura and was well attended. This meeting is open to every Region. Value is shown through inclusion. • We had 100 percent roster return for coach, referee and management instructors. It is very important to make sure volunteers receive credit in a timely manner. Section 11 Bob Beale, Section Director • Section 11 successfully hosted the Western State Championships at the newly completed Lake Forest Sports Park on the weekend of March 21-22. • This was the inaugural event at this complex. Champion teams from Sections 1,2, 10 & 11 were competing in League and All Star competition over the weekend. • The Section 11 VIP tournament was held in San Clemente at the Vista Hermosa Sports Park in October 2014. 48 teams from our AYSO VIP program, TOP Soccer, Special Olympics and other special needs programs participated in the free tournament. 2015 President’s Report 9 Section 12 Doug Ryan, Section Director • We expanded our successful Area 12C Challenge program to encompass the entire Section. This enhancement allows us to provide more soccer for more kids while helping us slow attrition. We are now more unified as larger Area operated club-type programs instead of a cluster of individual Regional programs. • We have established a partnership with the Arizona Youth Soccer Association (AYSA), Arizona’s U.S. Soccer Club affiliate, promoting the AYSO VIP program along with their TOP Soccer initiative. Marketing support by AYSA will facilitate growth of the VIP program in Arizona and may be the model for other areas. Section 13 Bob Lasagna, Section Director • Section 13 was reorganized by the closing of two Areas and consolidating the remaining active Regions with neighboring Areas realizing significant cost savings to the organization. • All Area Directors diligently worked to ensure that all active charter and pilot Regions (85) had currently registered Regional Commissioners including complete Regional Boards. • The Section, through its Area Directors continues working with the Regions on the transition of utilizing eAYSO for all volunteer and player registrations. Also, included is ensuring that all volunteers are assigned specific job descriptions for Area, Section and National statistical reports. Section 14 Richard Schwartz, Section Director • Section 14 has made significant inroads this year in Regional growth. We have had two Regions join our family from the hotbeds of soccer in the State of Florida. Parrish has tripled their anticipated first year player count and the Orlando Region is going to begin soccer operations this fall in what should prove to be a very fruitful location. • Section 14 has secured the venue for the 2016 AYSO National Games to be played in Wellington, Fla. Work has begun to make the AYSO National Games 2016 the most enjoyable experience for AYSO families across the country. The millions of hours that our Region, Area and Section volunteers devote every year to AYSO cannot be encapsulated in any single document. But we hope this brief overview of our 2014 Membership Year gives our Executive Members a glimpse at the activities and projects that are happening across AYSO. The year has been a very full one! We are excited about all of the opportunities and challenges ahead as we move into MY2015. Thank you for your passion, commitment and focus on keeping it fun! MARK STEWART AYSO NATIONAL PRESIDENT 10 2015 President’s Report
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