Team Formation Meeting Minutes

Time/Place: 1/28/03, 7:00 P.M., Jett Hall Rm. 283, NMSSU

Present: Willy Ballard, Scott Burns, Pat Coughlin, Nick Chamberlin, Chris Christeson, Aaron De Los Santos, Dennis Downey, Paul Feil, John Jacobs,Tom King, Kevin Konchalski, John Mercer, Nancy Peckham, David Rockstraw, Isaiah Rodriguez, J.P. Rodriguez, Hugo Vilchis, Hugo Vilchis Jr., Patty Walters, Derrik Wootton

Minutes:

· Rosters for all teams were formed as a result of discussion by attending Board members, Officers and coaches Final rosters will be available for viewing on the Website in a day or two.

· The only issue put to a formal vote was whether the Hamsters should be required to play in the U17 bracket due to the fact that one player misses the age deadline by a few weeks (November birthday). All of the other players on this team would then be “playing up” so that they could play together. Coach Paul Feil said that the team would play in either division that the formation committee decided was appropriate; they just wanted to keep the team together. Furthermore, if the player not meeting the age criteria was forced to move up without his team, Dr. Feil felt reasonably certain that he would just quit playing altogether. The following pros and cons of leaving the team at U14 or moving the team to U17 were raised:

· CONS:

· Making another exception to our own rules would look “wishy – washy” to the membership.

· Another request to “play down” had been denied by the BOD in the past and we should be consistent in our enforcement of the playing age rules.

· Making this exception might leave the league vulnerable to teams seeking exceptions for reasons inconsistent with the spirit and intent of LCIHA’s mission and purpose.

· PROS:

· Had we not changed the age divisions in mid-year, this team would still have been eligible to play together in the old 14-16 bracket during the Spring. Therefore, it would not be fair to penalize them for a policy change made in the middle of the playing year.

· Looking at the individual team members, the general consensus was that they would not dominate the U14 division if allowed to stay there, but would not be competitive in the U17 division if forced to move up.

· If this team is moved to U17, that will leave only 3 teams in the U14 division. Therefore, the teams remaining in that division would have less playing time (more byes) and probably less fun since they would be playing the same teams more often.

· John Jacobs moved that the BOD allow the one Hamster player to “play down” for the Spring season so that the team could remain together and compete in the U14 division for the reasons outlined under “Pros” above. David Rockstraw seconded the motion, and it was carried by the majority, with Tom King casting the one opposing vote.

Respectfully submitted by Patty Walters, Secretary, LCIHA