LCIHA BOD MEETING MINUTES

 

TIME/PLACE:  Rm. 283 Jett Hall NMSSU, 1/29/04 6:30 p.m.

 

PRESENT: Chris Burnham, Cyndy Clark, Pat Coughlin, Paul Feil, John Jacobs, Peter Kane, Tom King, John Mercer, Ray Meyer, Nancy Peckham, Dave Rockstraw, J.P. Rodriguez, Hugo Vilchis, Hugo Vilchis Jr., Patty Walters, Derrik Wootton

 

MINUTES:

 

·        Old Business entered into record:

·        The final draft of the NMSS agreement was approved unanimously by the BOD and has been signed by both the LCIHA and NMSS.

·        Discussion ensued over the purchase of additional protective equipment by the LCIHA as a result of our moving indoors. USAHI does not require shoulder pads but some people thought we should have some available because the youth will be playing with a puck and because the boards are much less forgiving than what they are used to playing with. Many felt that tighter officiating will help keep the injuries due to the boards under control. Others felt that if we were going to buy any, it had to be enough to fully equip all players on the rink at any given time. A motion was made to buy a limited number of shoulder pads so that there would be some available for those who could not afford them. The motion was seconded and voted down by a margin of 5-2. A motion was made to purchase 4 goalie shields, was seconded and passed unanimously. We are going to go through the existing goalie equipment and repair and/or throw away any substandard equipment prior to playing with the puck.

·        Pucks: Pucks are not ever to be used at the Meerscheidt facility due to safety reasons. John Jacobs recommended that for play at NMSS, the U10’s continue to use a ball for practice and play. The other age divisions could use pucks of graduating weights (e.g. heavier the older the age group). John will do the research to find the most suitable weights and sizes for each division. A motion was made for the LCIHA to purchase 3 pucks per team; each coach will furnish one to the referee for games. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. John will handle the purchase once the BOD has approved his recommendations.

·        Game Day Stats: A motion was made to pay the game scorekeeper/statistician $5/game, the same as a youth referee. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.  Holly will most likely be unable to do our stats this season because of the change in the game schedule, but she will have right of first refusal on the job. If she is unable to do it, Hugo Vilchis Jr. is willing to cover all games, other than the ones he plays in. We will need to find someone to cover these.

·        Treasurer’s Report: Chris Burnham distributed the latest financial statement. We are healthy financially. We will need to dip into our reserves a bit to help finance our first season indoors.

·        Risk Analysis: Hugo Vilchis is teaching a Health class this semester, and he proposed having the students do an analysis of the League to target potential problem areas (injury risks, etc.) as we transition to playing indoors with a puck and “real” boards. The motion was made to have his class do this study, was seconded and passed unanimously.

·        Registration: We have had 40 online registrations so far with only a few minor glitches. Nancy is setting up a Web page that the BOD and Officers can access for up-to-date information on all registrants. Anyone wishing NOT to have his or her address and/or phone number published on this Web page need to contact Nancy. She will be contacting people for volunteer help with the walk-in registration at Meerscheidt on Feb. 7th.

·        Advertising: J.P. Rodriguez reported on his advertising efforts. The Sun-News and the Round-Up have been very cooperative, and the schools have typically been very supportive of our recruiting efforts as well. Hockey Clubs have been started at both Onate and Las Cruces High Schools. WSMR has put a sign on their Website advertising the League. Anyone else who is able to do something like this at his or her worksite is encouraged to do so.

·        Scheduling: Several possible scenarios for scheduling games and practices within our allotted hours were looked at. Andrew has agreed to allow the High School Division games to be played on Fridays from 5-6 p.m., so the formation of this league will not eat into any of our previously scheduled hours. Should our league numbers grow to the point were we need to form new teams, it was agreed that the O17’s will give up their practice times indoors. The basic layout of the schedule (that is, the times that the different divisions are scheduled for games and practices) was approved and once registration is complete we will tweak it as needed at the team formation meeting. This meeting is set for Feb. 12th at  6:30 p.m., Rm.  283 Jett Hall. The final practice and game schedule will then be available, as always, on the LCIHA website. Tom King will reserve Meerscheidt for practices on Mon-Wed-Fri afternoons, and all day Saturday and Sunday.

·        High School Division: Many of the details of this League – fees, stats tracking, tryouts etc. still need to be hashed out. The three team coaches will do this informally during the board repair session on Feb. 7th. We have some time to work out the details as they will play an abbreviated season schedule and play will not begin immediately. Players who wish to try out for one of these teams will need to already be on a recreational LCIHA team.

·        Tom King reported on his trip to the national USAHI meeting in Florida. We are on a par with the rest of the leagues around the country, ahead of the game in some areas (e.g. online registration) and perhaps slightly behind in others. USAHI is going to be changing their operating year to run from Sept 1 through August 31st to coincide more closely with the school year. More details on this transition will be forthcoming. Tom also provided Dave with a USAHIL DVD on the High School Division.

·        Andrew Lucht will be looking for a few responsible volunteers to help set up the skate floor at NMSS in the near future.

·        The referee clinic, to be conducted by Rob Belcher of USAHI, will be Feb. 28th and 29th. He will watch the referees in action on game day Saturday, so we need to schedule as many refs as possible. The session on the 29th will involve some bookwork and on-court training at Meerscheidt. All referees are required to attend.

 

Respectfully Submitted, Patty Walters, LCIHA Secretary