North Allegheny Soccer Club

Guidelines for Club President


Craig Meyers
NASC President
1995-1997

    After about 10 years in this Club, the last two and a half as President, I wanted to share some thoughts with Board members in general, and Presidents in particular. It goes without saying that the job of the President is difficult. This is partly because we are one of the largest clubs in western Pennsylvania with over 1,200 players in the Fall distributed among In-House and Travel  programs. Another aspect is the lack of volunteers; we as a Board are small and not everyone always carries their weight. Even Presidents, sometimes!

    Let me begin with some background. As president there are several things you should be familiar with:

    The Club Bylaws are fundamental  because they define the overall rules under which we operate. It is your responsibility to know these and to help make sure that they are enforced. If they need a change, so be it; we have a process for that.

    The Strategic Plan  we did as a Club a number of  years ago was an extremely valuable process.  Many of the goals identified in that plan have been successfully implemented. There are others that have not been implemented. You should look over this document (it's on the web site) and spend some time thinking about it. One of the major results of the strategic planning process was to change the overall structure of the Club. We used to be monolithic in that we'd come to Board meetings and together discuss details of lots of things. For example, we would debate the uniforms that would be selected for the following season. But when we did the strategic planning we decided to move to a different structure which gave individual Board members much more authority. This is a double-edged sword. It's good because people can apply their effort to solving some problem. But it can be bad because some people may have a tendency to abuse their power.

    By State of the Club, ask yourself what are the things that are working well, and what are the things that could use improvement? Everyone has ideas about this sort of thing. But then, go a bit further and ask yourself if these things either work because of the efforts of an individual or because we have procedures that can be followed by a reasonable person. Conversely, sometimes things may not work as well because we do not have anything written down to give someone to help them understand what is needed. This has always been important to me. An organization that has established practices is generally more mature and likely to succeed. It makes things easier for new people when they join the Board and everyone is aware of what we have agreed to do as a Club.

    Another aspect of the state of the Club has to do with the Board members. Go over the list of each person and ask yourself these questions:

    In the end the success of the Club is based on the opportunities we provide for the kids. Some of this is through following established policy, procedures and guidelines. Some of it is achieved by working with people. The judicious President is one who can work in both a procedural and a personal manner. It's also very hard to do!

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    What I want to describe below represents my thoughts on the work associated with  the position of President. These are my personal observations. The topics to address, in rough order of importance include:

    I'll address each of these in turn. In the end, I'll give you a bit of a  summary and some thoughts for the future.
 

Focal Point for the Club

    As President, when people think of the soccer Club, they will think of you. It is your responsibility to provide leadership to the Club, and this will be especially true in dealing with the public. More often that not, if someone has a complaint, they will want to find out who the President is, and then send the compliant to that person. This makes you a focal point for the Club. Also, as President, realize you are the official spokesperson for the Club.

Board Meetings

    The real purpose of a Board meeting is to     The purpose of a Board meeting is not to gab, or tell stories. Board members spend a lot of time working for the Club and they need to respect this time. Let the social hour be after the Board meeting, not during the meeting!

    There are two Board meetings that are especially important. Your first meeting is important because it allows you to set the tone for other meetings. People on the Board will now begin to see you not just as another Board member, but as the President of the Club. Some things you should accomplish at this first meeting are:

    The other Board meeting that has special importance is the Annual meeting where the officers for the following year are elected. It is typical to go over a summary of what we as a Club have accomplished over the past year, letting Board members contribute. The Annual meeting is also important because it represents a new start, with opportunities for change, which we all hope to be positive.
Conduct of  Board Meetings
    Board meetings are important because that is where a lot of things can get accomplished. It is very important that you conduct the meeting in an orderly manner. I have a tendency to use a formal structure, but to be as informal as possible. Some key points for conducting a meeting are:
  Committees
    Our Club typically has a number of  committees and these are discussed in the Bylaws. Standing committees are permanent (as described in the Bylaws). Currently these include the Strategic Planning Committee and the Scholarship Committee. The Executive Committee is  also a standing committee.

    In addition to the standing Committees, you as President may create a Special Committee. One case where this is frequently done is the Budget Committee. In general, if there is an issue that requires some attention in detail, it is worth considering forming a special committee.

    When you think of a committee, think carefully about who will be on a given committee. This is an opportunity for you to allow Board members a chance to contribute to the Club, and they can feel good about their involvement and the trust you show in them. Be a bit creative here; for example, you could ask an In-House Coordinator to be on the Budget committee to help shape the costs associated with our most populous group of players. In addition, some general guidelines for special committees are:

    Note that as President you are automatically a member of all committees (except a Nominating Committee). Typically, you may not  go to their meetings, but it is worth keeping in contact with the committee chairs to make sure they are on track. Let them know you are willing to help if necessary, but let them "own the problem."
 

Executive Committee Meetings

    As a result of our strategic planning we went to a more decentralized mode of operation. We also developed an Executive Committee that is chartered with helping oversee the activities of the Club. Meetings of the Executive Committee are opportunities for you to get input from people as well as telling them some things that are going on. Some recommendations I would have in this area are:     It is also a good idea to get feedback from Executive Committee members. Spend some time discussing how the Club is doing and what are opportunities for improvement?

Getting People to Work Together

    In many ways our strength as a Club is the people who work to get things done for the kids. But there are also times where the people on the Board can be a hindrance. An important role of the president is to try and get people to work together. This is difficult for a number of reasons, e.g., people may     Understanding each Board member helps you to predict how they will act in a given circumstance. It also allows you to know how to act in dealing with them. For example, if there are personality conflicts among two Board members, try and understand what the conflict is. If it cannot be worked out, and you believe that each person contributes to the Board and does not disrupt the Club, simply try and keep them acting independent of each other.

    As another example, if there is a Board member who tries to do too many things, although some progress may be made, there are clear drawbacks. Most importantly, it inhibits others from contributing  to the Board.  Other Board members may become complacent and even less gets done. Although it should not be necessary to build boundaries (it's much better to build bridges!) this may sometimes be necessary. The ability to get people to work together requires patience and people skills. When difficulties arise they often are ultimately related to people issues.
 

Setting Vision and Direction for the Club

    This is one area where you have a real opportunity  to provide leadership to the Club. Ask yourself this question, preferably even before running for President: "When my term as President is complete, what do I want to look back on as ways in which  the Club fundamentally improved?" In my case, there were some things that I felt were important, namely:     I was lucky in that we as a Club completed many of these things. It wasn't so much of what I personally did. Instead it was more working with other Board members, selling them on the idea, getting them to share and own the idea, and convincing them that these things would really improve the Club. So it was others who did the work. That's the way it should be: your job as President is to lead, not do all the work. In fact, good presidents of organizations do very little real work; instead, they motivate and facilitate others to accomplish shared goals.

    One thing I tried in my second term was to develop a calendar for an entire year on things that we should seek to accomplish as a Board. I had a bunch of things, like develop simple guidelines for team parents, or develop a process by which we define a budget. Then I thought of different people to work on these things and assigned them to one or more topics. We had about 20 topics in all. I reviewed the list with the Board members at a meeting. Everyone seemed to agree. Yet little of these things were done! This was partly because some people resigned, others didn't have enough time, and I did not follow the work closely. I had assumed that if someone accepted a task, they would do it, but it didn't turn out that way. I still think the basic idea of setting an agenda for the year was a good idea, but it needed a better implementation. Maybe getting the new Board members to buy in to this idea very early on would have helped.

    In two areas I was not as successful as I had hoped. The first was to develop more procedures, but we had a vacancy in the Policy and Procedures position and that blunted the effort. As far as the idea of forming a super Club in the north for Cup players, it has not worked because, in my opinion, of the overly local views of some Clubs. I still believe both of these ideas are worthwhile.

    I think that there is a lesson here in that there may be things you may not accomplish even though the ideas amy be fundamentally sound. I'd recommend that you find the energy to put to the higher priority items and work them. Don't be surprised if all your ideas don't work. That happens sometimes.

Personnel Issues

    Personnel issues arise in several ways. One is in getting people to work together and I talked about that above. But there are other, equally important areas that you should be aware of. Here are a couple of examples:     While people who contribute to the club is an important point, getting the people to contribute in the right way is also relevant.

Correspondence

    Sometimes I think I wrote a ton of letters while president. Or at least it seemed that way. The reason why the Club President writes many letters was alluded to earlier: You are the focal point for the Club. This means you are the one to officially represent the Club, and it is most true in terms of official correspondence. For example, if PA West makes a request of the Club, you should be the one to respond.

    I recommend that official responses be in writing. I say this for two reasons. First, it provides a formal record of some action that is being taken by the Club. This helps eliminate confusion if you were to tell someone something. The second reason why official correspondence is relevant is because it demonstrates your commitment to a process of communication. I usually mentioned all correspondence I had recently made at the beginning of a meeting under the President's Remarks section of the agenda.

    Naturally, copies of all correspondence should be given to the Secretary for filing, and you should also copy relevant Board members as well.

Dealing with Complaints and Requests

    As president, you will very likely be the one to receive complaints. Most recently, these have been requests for a player to play at a higher age group and we have steadfastly held firm on this issue. We also occasionally receive complaints about coaches. There are also issues that may be raised which are really a request for information, or a question like: "Why can't my kids ever get shorts that fit?"

    When a complaint is brought to your attention, the basic actions you should take are:

    Solicit input from other Board members: Chances are that you will not know the details associated with the complaint. Thus, you need to contact the appropriate Board members to get their input on the matter. Don't hesitate to ask others to help in resolving a complaint, but the fewer people who need to be involved the better. This is for two reasons First, we don't need to be spreading around details of something that has not been verified. The second reason is that Board members are busy doing their own job and do not need to spend additional time unnecessarily.

    Develop a response. Given all the relevant information, and awareness of the situation by relevant Board members, you need to develop a response on behalf of the Club. This is where you should exercise judgment and leadership. In some cases, there may be  existing Club policy that covers the issue, but in other cases (probably the majority unfortunately because of our lack of documented processes)  the Club may need to break new ground. For example, we had a request from a parent once for their kid to play down an age group in the In-House program for various medical reasons. We decided that this was appropriate for the individual and so we granted the request. We felt it was the right thing to do.

    Respond to the person who raised the complaint. When  a person takes the tie to raise some issue, they deserve a response. It is natural that this should come from you. It is also recommended that you write a letter to the person summarizing the response of the Club. You should make sure that the Secretary gets a copy of all relevant correspondence as this is an official action you are taking on behalf of the Club.

    Finally, recognize that some complaints may be toward an individual, such as a coach. My rule of thumb has always been that the fewer people in the Club who know the details of these complaints, the better. Not all Board members need to know the details of some complaint. It is to your advantage to also involve members of the Executive Committee and to keep them informed.
 

Voluntary Disclosure and Confidentiality Forms

    Our Club now requires that each of the following must persons must sign and complete a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement:     The origin for this comes from the national office and is sometimes discussed under the title of Risk Management. Each person  must complete a form that requests pertinent information, such as name, address, birth date, driver's license number, etc. More importantly the form contains questions that each person must attest to, such as if they have ever been convicted of a crime against a child.

    Your responsibilities in this area are to make sure that each Board member has signed the form and given it to you, and to work with other coordinators (In-House and Travel for example) to get their completed forms. When you get the form you should glance it over to make sure it is completed properly and that the key questions (dealing with previous felony convictions) have been answered "no." You should then sign the form and keep all the forms together. If a persons refuses to sign the form, or has admitted to a felony conviction this should be brought before the Executive Board.

    Our Club now maintains a list of the names of people who have signed these forms on the web, which you can find on our Club web site. You should provide the names of individuals who complete the form to the Club person who manages our web site so the names can be added. Incidentally, this illustrates how the web can serve as a very valuable shared resource for all Club members. For example, if someone needs to know if a given individual singed the form, they just have to go look on the web; no phones calls need ever be made.

    We have also recently started having all Board members sign a Confidentiality  statement. This basically says that they will not distribute personal information about players or other Club members to outside individuals. This should be handled in the same way as the Voluntary Disclosure statement,
 

Interaction with PA West

    Our Club is a member Club of the PA West Soccer Association. Clubs affiliated through the national United States Soccer Federation (USSF) which are in the western half of the state of Pennsylvania are also members of PA West. You should have a basic understanding of how PA West is organized (e.g., Youth and Amateur divisions) and it really is worth reading the bylaws so that you understand how it it supposed to operate. Personally, I've always found it to be organized along the lines of small fiefdoms with each protecting its own turf. There appear to be frequent conflicts over dual-rostering (i.e., allowing a player to play on both a classic team as well as a travel team).

    The first responsibility our Club has to PA West is to attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of all member Club Presidents. Only the President or designee (who must have a signed letter from you on official stationary) may represent our Club. This is another example of how you are the focal point for our Club. You are the one who speaks and votes on behalf of our Club.

    Prior to the AGM you will receive a package from PA West that includes relevant information for the meeting, such as the date and  location, as well as material to be discussed. These meetings are fairly formal, and the two most important issues are any proposed changes to the Bylaws, or budget issues. Note that the amount of votes each Club President receives depends on the number of registered players; hence, our Club typically receives four votes. Some issues in PA West split along the lines of large Clubs vs. small clubs. In the end, you must determine how you will vote, keeping in mind that your are the representative of our Club, but that you must also represent the "good of the game."

    There are other interactions with PA West. For example, it is your responsibility to provide them with the names of four of our Club members who will be sent the Administrative newsletter.  This often contains important information, such as the dates of registration for travel teams. When you receive the newsletter it is your responsibility to read it and alert relevant Board members to any necessary information.
 

Interaction with the Larger Soccer Community

    As if you are not involved with enough things, there are other opportunities that may be available to you and that you should pursue either out of your own interest, or the Club. Here is one example where I was involved with. One time there was some discussion that we should require that girls play on girls travel teams, rather than play on an otherwise all boys team. There's a lot of discussion about this subject, and people have lots of opinions. I was curious if there was a guidance from the national office about this issue. For example, would they recommend that a girl should be encouraged to play on a boys team for competitive development? So I contacted the national office and asked them this question. If you are politically astute, you know in advance pretty much what the answer was: They take no position. It's a red herring for them to fall on either side of this issue. But at least I sought out their assistance to see if they did have a position.

    There may be issues or things that are of interest to you that are beyond the scope of PA West. I would encourage yo to get involved if you believe it is relevant. On the occasions I have dealt with people at the national level I have always found them to be very helpful. Don't be afraid to try, just because they are at the national level and you are just a Club president.
 

Summary and Some Thoughts for the Future

    I want to leave you with a brief summary of what I have tried to describe in the above. This is more philosophical. and based on what I have observed over the past 10 years in the Club. In many ways our success is determined by the customers: players and their parents. Note I put players first. In some sense if there are a lot of kids out playing and enjoying the game, we have achieved some success.

    But my concern as President is how that success is achieved. Success in the context of the Board is achieved through

    It takes both of these to really have a successful Board.

    Now here are some of the more important questions that I think we must address in the future:

    In the end, we are only limited by the ability and willingness of people to do volunteer work for the kids according to agreed Club policies and procedures.  But that's only part of the story. We need vision, we need leadership, we need integrity. That's just one of your many challenges. I hope you enjoy meeting those challenges. Play on! 1