LCIHA BOD/TEAM FORMATION MEETING MINUTES

 

TIME/PLACE:  Rm. 283 Jett Hall NMSSU, 2/12/04 6:30 p.m.

 

PRESENT: Kevin Boberg, Willy Bosland, Chris Christeson, Cyndy Clark, Pat Coughlin, Paul Feil, John Jacobs, Bill McCamley, Tom King, Ray Meyer, Nancy Peckham, Jeff Rabe, Dave Rockstraw, Isaiah Rodriguez, J.P. Rodriguez, Hugo Vilchis, Hugo Vilchis Jr., Patty Walters, Derrik Wootton, Kyle Young

 

MINUTES:

 

·        Bill McCamley asked to make a brief statement to the BOD regarding the use of a puck vs. the use of a ball. As a goalie, he feels that there are too many negatives associated with changing to puck play. A few of the concerns he raised were: the cost of upgrading goalie equipment, safety issues (increased risk of injury), and the potential damage that could be done to the plywood boards at NMSS. The BOD promised to take his concerns into consideration when making their decision.

 

·        Old Business:

o       There will be a USAHI Level I Coaches clinic held in El Paso on Feb. 29th in Nations-Tobin Arena from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., which will include both classroom and on-court instruction, at a cost of $30 per coach. The BOD has voted (5 for, 1 opposed) to foot the bill for any coach who wants to attend. Currently, we have about 11 coaches who have expressed an interest in going.

o       There will also be a USAHI Level I Referee clinic in Las Cruces on Feb. 28th and 29th. Refs will be evaluated during games on Sat. the 28th, and classroom and on-court instruction will take place at Meerscheidt on Sunday the 29th. This session is mandatory for all current and new refs. We may try to reschedule this for the following week so that it will not conflict with the coach’s clinic. If there is a date change, refs will be notified. (Secretary’s Note 2/18: This clinic has in fact been rescheduled and will now take place on March 6th and 7th, 2004).

o       We still do not have a secure storage area at NMSS for our equipment. Until we do, coaches will need to pick up and return any practice or game gear used from the Meerscheidt storage facility.

o       Andrew Lucht has been advised that Hugo’s class will be doing a Risk Assessment of his facility for the League, and he welcomes this input. This assessment is tentatively scheduled to occur during the first week of practice.

·        New Business:

o       NMSS is not yet hockey-ready. Some of the things still needed before we can play in there are: Court markings (face-off circles etc.), boards on the west side, goalie nets, netting on the ceiling, covers on the lights, and spectator seating. If the facility is not game ready before the season begins, we will play at Meersceidt until such time as it is ready.

o       Dr. Feil gave a brief talk on playing safely and avoiding injury when playing inside. Players should keep their chins up, not tucked if they are going to hit the boards. The best place to hit (if you have to!) is in the center of your forehead. Players with neck injuries should have their neck stabilized and not rush to get up. When in doubt, keep the player out for the remainder of the game even if they say they feel fine. If they don’t look fine, they probably aren’t! Ice, compress and elevate an injury for 24 hours after the injury occurs. After 24 hours, use heat. Tylenol is helpful for pain & swelling. If a concussion is expected, wake the injured person throughout the night to check on them. USAHI has a couple of excellent brochures that outline a lot of these safety issues that all coaches and refs should read and become familiar with. Coaches should recap these safety suggestions with their teams at practices and before games. The Board thanks Dr. Feil for sharing his expertise in this area.

o       Cyndy Clark will help Tom King run the Sportsmanship/General Membership meeting. Date & time to be announced.

o       The BOD will need to meet with John Mercer (Head of Refs) and all of the referees to discuss the aforementioned safety issues.

o       John Jacobs talked to the group about his puck research. While he believes that we should continue to play with a ball until all of our safety concerns have been properly addressed, he advocates moving to puck play for the U12’s and up as soon as we can. Some of his reasons for wanting to do this are: the game is supposed to be played with a puck and will be more competitive and fun, player skill levels will increase, and if our players want to go to USAHI tournament play they will have this experience. John recommends that U10’s continue to play with a ball for their safety while they are learning the game. He recommends that the other divisions use pucks of gradually increasing weight, and he had several samples that he passed around.

o       Derrik Wootton commented that the use of a puck might encourage our youth players to play better defense. He also recommended setting a cut-off date for switching to a puck. If we are unable to go to puck play for whatever reason by an agreed upon date, we should play with a ball for the entire season so that we are not changing the dynamics of the game too close to tournament time.

o       A motion was made to go to puck play for the U12 division and up once NMSS is safely equipped to handle this. If we cannot play with a puck by one-third of the way through the season, we will play with a ball for the entire Spring Season. The motion was seconded and passed, 4-2. A motion was made to amend the previous motion to the O17 division only, thus giving the adults time to experiment with a puck and troubleshoot the potential problem areas before allowing the youth divisions to play with a puck.  The motion was seconded and defeated, 2-4.

o       A motion was made to allow the League to purchase new goalie gear (4 chest protectors, 4 good helmets) to accommodate safety concerns for the goalies that will now be defending against a puck. The motion was seconded and passed, 4-2.

·        Team Formation:

o       Two new coaches, Kevin Boberg and Kyle Young, were introduced.

o       Play Ups and Play Downs: Specific requests by players to play up or down were reviewed and acted on by the BOD. In the interest of each individual’s privacy, the actions taken on these requests will not be made available on the website.

o       John Jacobs will handle the team formation for the U10’s since he knows them all and runs this division. All other divisions were discussed, teams formed with an eye toward balancing talent, and new players assigned. Team rosters will be available on the website, as will team practice schedules.

 

Respectfully Submitted, Patty Walters, LCIHA Secretary