ST PETERS IVER FC

 

MINUTES OF CLUB AGM – WEDNESDAY 12/07/06

 

 

 

Below are the minutes of the AGM.

 

·         Apologies of absence were read out.

 

·         John Plaskett presented his vision for the club and what he felt were the necessary changes needed to be made to achieve this. A brief summary of the points that he raised are as follows:

o        The club had been a victim of its own success and grown to a size whereby it was no longer manageable

o        We have lost a number of committed coaches and as a result were short of committed helpers.

o        Due to the way that the league will operate the matches next year i.e. 1 week match, 1 week training we will be severely limited in space. This is especially relevant at the older age groups U12+ where generally more space is required.

o        It has become evident that over the years that the clubs philosophy of opening up football to every one only really works effectively up to and including the U10 age group. This is because by the time that the children reach U12 they have matured and developed and are naturally more competitive irrespective of their ability. Therefore competitive matches are the natural way to satisfy this age group.

o        Based on players registered last year we could have approx 40 at U12 & in excess of 30 boys at U14 & U16. These numbers are obviously unworkable. As we only have space and potentially coaches to manage 1 team squad we are therefore unable to offer coaching for boys that are not part of the team squad.

o        The proposal is to limit the U12, U14 & U16 age groups to a squad of around 18 to 20 depending on the managers requirement and discretion. We therefore need to sensitively and clearly advise the boys not selected that we will not be able to offer training for them. If they wanted to remain involved with the club we would be more than happy to have them involved in coaching/helping with the younger age groups. We have to realise and accept that although this is not a satisfactory solution we will still be offering football and coaching to a high proportion of children who would probably otherwise not participate in football.

o        Although turning away children has never been our aim we have over the last few years just got by and we now have to readdress the situation and have a reality check so that we only do what we are able to manage and do well.

§         At U8 & U10 we may need to limit numbers depending on the number of helpers. At these age groups we should run training as opposed to teams if there are insufficient helpers as this would allow the greatest number of children to participate.

o        The club should not just become a normal football club as this is not what the club was set up to achieve and not something that I would want to be part of.

o        In the 10 years that I have been with the club we have never had to turn away any child and to now have to begin to do this is a horrible position to be in.

 

 

·         The above was fully discussed and below is a summary of the points raised and the conclusions

o        There was concern that we would be potentially losing children that had been with the club for a significant number of years and was this fair. After discussion it was agreed that this may not necessarily be fair but that it may not be possible to just pick the squad on a loyalty basis. The easiest and probably most relevant criteria to consider is ability as the children will be playing competitive matches and to create a balanced team in respect of having boys that can play as at team is most important. 

o        The selection criteria for picking the squads was discussed and it was felt that there should be consistency over the age groups in the selection procedure.

o        It was felt that loyalty should be rewarded although no conclusion was reached as to how this would be done.

o        We explored the possibility of staggered training sessions to overcome the space issue. This may assist to but as there will be at least 1 age group training and a match each Saturday we may need to do this any way just to manage.

o        It was agreed that we need to communicate clearly and as early as possible to the players parents how we are going to structure the U12, U14 & U16 age groups and whether their child will be part of the team squad. It was agreed that John Plaskett would send out a letter to all parents affected and that managers would select and inform their squad by the end of August.

 

 

 

·         John Plaskett presented the accounts and answered questions raised.

 

·         The Club’s officers were elected as follows:

 

Position

Elected

Proposer

Seconder

 

 

 

 

Chairman

Nick Jones

John Plaskett

David Orr

Secretary

Mandy Stonehouse

Sharon Plaskett

Simon Edwards

Treasurer

John Plaskett

Nick Jones

Mark Stonehouse

 

·         There being no other business the meeting was closed.