Panthers USA Travel Policies

Transcription

1 Panthers USA Travel Policies Article 1 TRAVEL COACHES MISSION STATEMENT ARTICLE 2 PUSA BY-LAWS ARTICLE 3 EPYSA BYLAWS ARTICLE 4 COACHING RESPONSIBILITY ARTICLE 5 COACHING APPLICATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES ARTICLE 6 HEAD/ASSISTANT COACH ASSIGNMENTS ARTICLE 7 TRYOUT PROCEDURES ARTICLE 8 TRAVEL TEAM ELIGIBILITY ARTICLE 9 DIVISION OF PLAY ARTICLE 11 COACHES/PLAYERS RECOURSE POLICY ARTICLE 12 PRACTICE FIELDS/TIMING ARTICLE 13 ATHLETE PLAY TIME/PENALTIES ARTICLE 14 ROSTERS ARTICLE 15 FUNDRAISING ARTICLE 16 TOURNAMENTS ARTICLE 17 CODE OF CONDUCT ARTICLE 18 TRAVEL UNIFORMS ARTICLE 19 FEES AND FINES ARTICLE 10 TEAM BUSINESS MANAGER

2 ARTICLE 1 PANTHERS USA TRAVEL COACHES MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Panthers United Soccer Association coaching staff is to develop quality soccer players and teams that are competitive on a local, district and regional level. In carrying out this mission, Panthers USA coaches and representatives should continually strive to improve our image as a club, to attract and retain quality players, and to develop quality soccer players by continuously improving the quality of training, coaching, equipment and playing fields. ARTICLE 2 PANTHERS USA BYLAWS See ARTICLE 3 EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION BYLAWS See ARTICLE 4 COACHING RESPONSIBILITY Each team shall have one (1) head coach and one or more assistant coaches. The Head coach will make his/her selection for the team's assistant coach (s). Just as head Coaches are approved by the Panthers USA Board, all assistant coaches' names must be submitted to the Vice President of Travel who will present them to the Board for their approval. The assistant coaches will be voted upon by the Board of Directors at the beginning of every new season. (If an assistant coach is also a parent of a player on the team, the assignment should only occur after the player has been invited to join the team following completion of the tryout sessions.) Coaches shall serve for a term of one year or until a successor is appointed. Any Panthers USA approved coach who does not finish out their season tenure (Aug1 July 31) with their team, will not be allowed to coach for Panthers USA in the future. It is club policy that all coaches will uphold and follow the bylaws of Panthers USA, the PUSA Coaches Code of Conduct, EPYSA and any league in which they participate. Coaches are responsible for promoting the highest ideals of sportsmanship, friendly competition, and for conducting the club program in a cooperative manner. The coaches shall be responsible for direction of their respective teams' games and practices, tournament selection and the teaching of the necessary skills, techniques, sportsmanship, and other matters to assure the attainment of the mission of the organization. Coaches are encouraged to attain an approved soccer-coaching license. The Club upon successful completion will reimburse pre-approved coaching courses. (Board approval prior to course sign-up is needed to assure repayment.) Coaches shall have authority to select the players for their teams, subject to the rules and regulations regarding team make-up, size, and player eligibility. The Head Coach will present all travel team rosters to the VP of Travel who will review all rosters to insure the Panthers USA policies and player eligibility rules have been followed. Once the rosters have been reviewed by

3 the VP of Travel, the finalized rosters will be made public at the Panthers USA s June Board Meeting and on its web site. Over the course of a season, there may be mandatory coaches meetings. It is the responsibility of the head coach to attend all mandatory meetings. If the head coach is unable to attend, said coach will respond to the Vice President of Travel and notify him/her of the absence. The head coach will then appoint an assistant coach or team representative to attend the meeting in his\her place. If a representative does not attend for the team in question, the team will be fined their first three games referee fees. ARTICLE 5 COACHING APPLICATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES Any individual who would like to become a Panthers USA travel team coach must submit a Panthers USA Travel Coaches Application to the Panthers USA Vice President of Travel or simply mail it to Panthers USA, P.O. Box 3155, York, PA New applications can be received any time during the year. To be considered for the upcoming seasonal year (August through July), the application must be returned no later than March 1 st. Applications are not required from an established head coach who would like to remain as coach of the same team (e.g., a U-10 coach last season who would like to remain as coach of the U-11 team during the upcoming season). An established coach however, must advise the Vice President of Travel of their intentions to continue coaching or resign from their current coaching position by the February Board Meeting. A new application is required if the coach would like to be considered for a different assignment. For example: If a non-"a" team coach would like to become the "A" team coach for the upcoming seasonal year or coach a different age and/or gender team.. Any individual who would like to become a Panthers USA travel team coach or on-field Assistant must submit a Risk Management application found on the EPYSA website ( and be approved by EPYSA to coach. In addition, all coaches must obtain their clearances to volunteer in the Central York School District or the school district where they reside and be approved by the Panthers USA Board of Directors prior to working with any team or players. ARTICLE 6 HEAD/ASSISTANT COACH ASSIGNMENTS The Vice President of Travel and Director of Coaching, hereinafter referred to as travel committee, are responsible for submitting nominations for head coaching assignments for the upcoming seasonal year. The travel committee will evaluate each applicant who applied for a head coaching assignment. Preference will go to head coaches with children on that team. The travel committee will submit their nominations to the Board of Directors at the March Board Meeting. The nominations will include head coach assignments for the "A" team coach, "B" team coach, "C" team coach, etc., for each age group. For a team which does NOT already have an established coach, the Vice President of Travel should nominate the applicant deemed most qualified as the "A" team coach, second most qualified as the "B" team coach, and so forth. For teams with an established coach, the Vice President of Travel can nominate another applicant if, in their opinion, the established coach has demonstrated conduct or philosophy which is deemed inconsistent with the mission of the club. The Board of Directors will accept or reject, by

4 majority vote, each nomination at the March Board Meeting. Final assignments will be made public after the April Board Meeting. This list of travel team coaches will be posted on the Panthers USA website within 7 days of the April General Meeting The Head coach will make his/her selection for the team's assistant coach (s) within 1 week after finalizing his/her team roster. All Assistant coaches must adhere to the Risk Management procedures outlined in Article 5.1 above. Just as head Coaches are approved by the Panthers USA Board, all assistant coaches' names must be submitted to the Vice President of Travel who will present them to the Board for their approval. The assistant coaches will be voted upon by the Board of Directors before the start of the new season. ARTICLE 7 TRYOUT PROCEDURES The Vice President of Travel is responsible for establishing tryout dates for the upcoming season. Dates should be presented to the Board of Directors at the February Board Meeting. The Board of Directors is to approve these dates no later than the March Board Meeting. The tryouts dates shall be posted on the Panthers USA website within 7 days of the approval. The Vice President of Travel will assign the appropriate locations for all age groups. Media advertisement should be made available to the public as advertised for at least a four-week period prior to tryouts. (PUSA Website, /Newsletter, PUSA signage at practice/game fields, local school and newspaper advertisements, etc). Each PUSA travel coach is responsible for taking part in the tryouts. The tryouts are open to all age appropriate players. The Board approved A coach will evaluate and help facilitate the tryout for the team he/she will head in the upcoming season with the assistance of the Board approved B and C team coach(s), if applicable as well as those individuals assigned by the Board to facilitate and evaluate the tryouts. Each tryout must have a minimum of three individuals responsible for facilitating and evaluating the tryouts. The tryout facilitator, as assigned by the Board, in consultation with the A team coach in that age division will decide on the method of physical tryout for the players. Once the method of the tryout has been determined, the facilitator will then proceed with running the tryout with the assistance of a board assigned evaluator and all other eligible coaches and evaluators in that age bracket. Eligible coaches and evaluators that may assist in the tryout process include; board approved A, B and C team coaches, existing on-field assistants who are carded coaches and current board members. Information pertaining to a travel teams annual cost (registration, uniforms, tournaments, indoor practice facilities, spring leagues, state cups, etc.) along with individual playing time and team commitment MUST be discussed with parents and players at each tryout session. Coaches are encouraged to make certain they have fully considered possible activities throughout the year in order to make a good faith estimate of annual costs. If a player declines an invitation to play on the team he/she was selected for, that player may be considered for another team provided there is room and the coach of that team agrees to add him/her. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that that player will play on a different Panthers USA travel team. It is recommended that established non "A" teams stay intact as best as possible verses moving team members from one non "A" team to another year after year. This recommendation in no way restricts an "A" team coach from selecting a player who previously played for a B or C team.

5 After the tryouts are completed the "A" team coach, in consultation with all tryout evaluators, will have the first opportunity to select a full complement of players. In turn, the "B" team coach will select second, with the "C" team coach selecting third, and so on. There are no guarantees that a player trying out for a Panthers USA travel team will make a specific team. Following the completion of tryouts, the A team coach will notify the B team coach of his selections. The B team coach can then make his selections. (The process will continue if there is a C team coach.) If there are any players who have not been selected for a travel team, the lowest team coach will notify the Vice President of Travel who will then attempt to place the remaining players on an appropriate team. This responsibility must be completed within seven days of the completion of tryouts. After everyone is placed on a team, all players will be notified by posting the tryout results on the Panthers USA web site. If a player(s) declines an offer to play on the A team, the A team coach may offer the spot to a player selected for the B team. If a player(s) declines an offer to play on the B team, the B team coach may offer the spot to a player selected for the C team and so on. All team selections are final upon registration to the league in which the team will participate. Final roster selections will be posted on the Panthers USA website as soon as all team selections have been made, announced and confirmed but no later than the June Board Meeting. In an effort to promote the ability to carry a B and possible C level team, upon request, the intended coach can be granted additional time in which he\she can recruit additional players to fill a roster. This can only happen after all participants at the tryouts have been assigned a travel team with which to play. ARTICLE 8 TRAVEL TEAM ELIGIBILITY Any Panthers USA registrant that would like to try out for a spot on the travel team must make at least one of the two Board designated tryout sessions. Exceptions to this rule must be preapproved by all affected age group coaches and the Vice President of Travel prior to implementation. The following exceptions may be taken into consideration: 1. A player that is unable to participate in any of the tryout sessions due to illness, injury or other extenuating circumstances. 2. A new player (never previously registered in the club) who moves into the area after the last tryout session may try out for a team that is not already full. 3. Any player who has not been able to participate in the scheduled try-outs can be granted a session of special tryouts. The information and circumstances on this player will be provided to the Vice President of Travel who will then bring it before the Board for a vote. If granted, the player may try out for any age/grade appropriate team that is not already full. The tryout results will then be provided to the Vice President of travel for review. A coach cannot bump a player who has already made the team to open up a spot for a player who did not participate in the scheduled try-outs but was granted a session of special tryouts. 4. To accommodate players wishing to play travel but who did not make one of the age appropriate travel teams, one additional team may be made up of the remaining tryout players, plus any players a coach can draft from the pool of registered players within the

6 Panthers USA Club. No player that participated in the tryout can be cut from a team to make room for a drafted player. The pool of drafted players consists of any age qualifying player. These players may be drafted from the Intramural League or from players who tried out for another age group but are not on the final roster of a travel team. *Playing Up In An Age Group* Play-ups are allowed provided the following guidelines are adhered to: A. Parents notify the age appropriate coach and higher age division coach of their intent for their child to play-up one age division. B. Both the age appropriate coach and the higher age division coach advise the VP of Travel. C The VP of Travel advises the Director of Coaching who independently assesses the player at the age appropriate try-out. D. If the Director of Coaching deems that the player should be playing up, the player can attend the next tryout for the older age group. (This will constitute the player being at both nights of tryouts.) E. If the Director of Coaching deems that the player should not be playing up one age group, the parents will be notified and the player can attend the second night of try-outs for his or her age appropriate team. F. If a player attempts to play-up one age division and is not selected, there is no guarantee that the player will make his/her age appropriate team. G. If a player plays up for one season, this will not guarantee that player a roster spot on that team the following year. The process will need to be followed each and every year if applicable. As long as the before mentioned items have occurred, there is no limit to the number of players allowed to attempt to play-up. However, this policy only applies to 2 players using the play-up rule per team per season at the discretion of the VP of Travel. A player can only play-up one (1) age group. If no age appropriate team exists, players are granted the ability to play-up one age group if capable and are excluded from these policies. ARTICLE 9 DIVISION OF PLAY Once a team has been formed, the head coach and his/her staff must decide in which league (LANCO, CPYSL, YORK USA, DELCO, etc.) and division the team would be most competitive. The Vice President of Travel must be notified at time of decision. The VP of Travel will then present the coaches selections and they will be voted upon by the Board of Directors.

7 ARTICLE 10 TEAM BUSINESS MANAGERS Each coach should enlist the aid of a parent or parents to manage the team's finances. Many of the activities in which the Team will participate will require cash deposits or expenditures. Some of these activities may include, but are not limited to: 1) Uniforms 2) Patches 3) End of year party 4) Trophies 5) Soccer equipment 6) Soccer apparel 7) Tournament fees 8) Cost due to overnight stays 9)Outside team training The club will provide team registration to one (1) League, Insurance and referee fees each season. All other financial expenditures will be the responsibility of each individual team. A businesslike approach to handling team business is expected by all. Teams will follow the methods prescribed below. Procedures: 1. The team head coach, coaching staff and team manager will determine the team activities and other needs for the year. Total costs are approximated by event/item and an equal assessment made for each team member. 2. A team roster should be made and distributed amongst the team, as well as a copy to be provided to the Vice President of Travel. It should include: name, address, phone (home and cell), and parents first and last names. (This will put all parents on a first name basis. A very important part of the success of the team will be the support and rapport amongst the adults.) 3. A team schedule should be made as soon as possible and distributed. This will assist everyone in planning other activities. 4. All travel outside of the State of Pennsylvania (other than league games) must be brought before the Executive Board. ARTICLE 11 COACHES/PLAYERS RECOURSE POLICY The Panthers USA Arbitration committee will consist of the Panthers USA President, the appropriate Vice Presidents (Boys, Girls, IM), Director of Coaching, plus one additional board members appointed by the President. The President will chair the group. The main purpose of the committee is to settle disputes brought before them by any member of the organization (board member, coach, parent, referee or player). The president will notify the Board of Directors of the committee s decision. The Board of Directors will finalize all decisions by a majority vote. ARTICLE 12 PRACTICE FIELDS/TIMING Outdoor practice fields and timing are arranged through the VP s of Travel and the Panthers USA Fields Coordinator. The Fields Coordinator will be responsible for contacting all coaches with an outline of field and time availability. It will be the coach's responsibility to work with the Fields Coordinator to make every effort to fairly arrange the use of any Panthers USA fields for any reason (practice, scrimmage, etc.). Practice fields will generally be shared with another team with each team using only half of the field. It is recommended that practice sessions be run using the end and mid-field lines and cones as goals. This will save the goal mouths for league play. It is the coach's responsibility to police the fields after every event and report any problems to the Panthers USA Field Maintenance Coordinator.

8 ARTICLE 13 ATHLETE PLAY TIME While it is the position of Panthers USA to insure fair and equitable playtime for all players, it is understood that this is a higher competitive level of soccer, and due to certain circumstances, may not always be achievable. All coaches are encouraged to play each member of his/her team at least one-half of each game on average. Exceptions could be league championship matches, tournament championship matches, state cup matches, injury situations and disciplinary actions. Coaches should notify the player, his/her parents and his/her travel VP in advance whenever possible if they know a player will get limited play. A player cannot be disciplined if he/she chooses not to attend a match in which he/she has been notified that their playing time will be limited. Players and parents should be advised that play time in the end is left up to the discretion of the coaching staff and no set amount of playtime is guaranteed to any travel player. If a parent has questions or concerns in regards to this topic, said parent should first contact the coaching staff, then approach the Vice President of Travel if needed. All concerns will be documented and reported to the Vice President of Travel and kept on record indefinitely. ARTICLE 14 ROSTERS Team size is left to the discretion of the head coach. Roster size must comply with league requirements within which the team will be participating. If an approved coach is concerned with play time for their stronger players, the coach should consider not carrying the maximum number of players. Panthers USA travel teams are limited to two (2) secondary players. This will insure that a team does not run into a situation where they would have to forfeit a game because their secondary players are not available. If you are the Head Coach of a travel team and have your child on your team, your child must be rostered as a primary player to your team. Players who are selected for the season cannot be suspended during that travel season without cause. In the event a situation like this would occur, the issue will need to be presented to the Vice President of Travel. Once a decision has been made by the VP of Travel, the issue will be presented to the Board of Directors for a vote on said issue. However, if a player s parent removes a rostered player from a travel team, then that parent would be responsible for paying the fees or fines. Players will not be removed from the travel team roster until the fees or fines have been paid (cash only). Whether removed or suspended, the player in question may not play for another Panther USA travel team for the remainder of that season. No member associated with the Panthers USA (Board Members, Head Coach, Assistant Coach, Team Manager, parent or player) may approach a rostered Panthers USA travel player or member of the coaching staff in an attempt to recruit that player or coach for another team/club. If there is a child of exceptional ability, it will be the responsibility of the Head Coach or Board Member to make a recommendation to the Executive Board that the player be moved to a more advanced program. Based on the Executive Board's findings, directions will be provided to the player, family and team on which the player is currently rostered.

9 ARTICLE 15 FUNDRAISING All Fundraisers must be approved by the Panthers USA Board of Directors as outlined in the club by-laws. ARTICLE 16 TOURNAMENTS Travel teams are encouraged to notify the Panthers USA when attending a tournament. Travel teams should also notify Panthers USA with the results of their tournament experience and post the results on the team web page. ARTICLE 17 CODE OF CONDUCT Every coach, assistant coach, team manager, parent and player will receive, sign and abide by the Coaches Code of Conduct from the Panthers USA. The Code of Conduct will be distributed at the mandatory coaches meeting. The parent/player Code of Conduct will be held by the head coach or team manager of that team. The coaching staff s Code of Conduct forms will be held by the Vice President of Travel. In case of incident, the head coach/team manager may be asked to produce the signed Code of Conduct form for the person(s) involved in the incident. Failure to sign or comply with the Code of Conduct will lead to disciplinary actions by the Executive Board of Directors. ARTICLE 18 TRAVEL UNIFORMS Panthers USA s goal is to present a consistent uniform package throughout all age groups in the travel program. All teams must abide by the following uniform guidelines: Guidelines for Panthers USA Travel Teams: 1. All travel teams will support and wear an official club approved and acquired primary and secondary jersey in all EPYSA sanctioned league games and tournaments. 2. Shorts will be primarily black. 3. Socks will either be all black, orange or white. 4. Teams are to wear their primary jersey when playing on their home fields, unless instructed by the referee to change their jerseys due to a conflict of colors with the visiting team. 5. All teams that are currently wearing unofficial jerseys, shorts and/or socks will be grandfathered in until their next team apparel order. 6. Nothing contained in these policies, including but not limited to article 19, prevents or discourages individual travel teams from creating their own team logo for display and/or inclusion on their team website, uniform, warm ups, spirit wear, promotional items and/or other marketing or advertising materials at their own cost. ARTICLE 19 LEAGUE FEES AND FINES Visit for a list of local soccer leagues that you may want to participate in. The web page contains links to each respective leagues web site where you ll find information about fees and fines.

10 Any team not following the procedures and rules set forth in this document is to be considered under penalty and Panthers USA can take action against the head coach including sanctions and fines. This is a living document and will be changed or updated as needed. All changes will be brought before the current Board of Directors and will be voted upon. Changes and updates will be completed by the Vice President of Travel. Any item not covered within this document should be addressed to the Vice President of Travel, or a member of the Executive Committee.