Upper House Spring 2010 as a Paper League
The Spring 2010 Upper House will be run as a "Paper League." This is our second year using this pilot program. It's intent is to greatly simplify transferring players between CYSA teams.
Motivation
When a player signs up for soccer under CYSA he or she is bound to that team for one full soccer year (9/1 to 8/31). A transfer can be used to move players from one team to another, but each team is limited to three transfers in a soccer year. The spring season can present difficulties in fielding a team as some players move temporarily to other activities. It's an unfortunate fact that in the spring some teams are left with half their roster and fail to field a team, unable to either add the requisite number of players or merge with a similar "half" team because of the binding 3 transfer restriction.
To address this, Upper House runs the spring season as a "Paper League." This means that kids play under new or modified "Paper League" passes in the spring for Upper House only, with the following benefits:
- No limit on number of transfers.
- You don't need to gather six different signatures for a transfer.
- Paperwork is not subject to District review; the add processing time is shortened.
Mechanics
Last year we modified all player passes (changing color and relaminating them) to be special paper league passes. This year, spring 2010, we will allow teams to use their original CYSA player cards without modification. However, any players transfered under the paper league will have their cards modified : they will have to bring their original 1601 form and player pass to the office where the player pass will be modified (with a new color and information reflecting the new team name) and relaminated.
As a result, the mechanics of a paper league will be all but invisible to most teams. If your roster has no changes then coaches and managers will not notice any difference between the fall and the spring. If your team has some transfers then you'll need to process the transfers and the transfered player will have their player card modified -- and you'll benefit from a paper league because of the faster processing and cheaper costs.
Teams Interested in Spring & Summer Tournaments
Please note that teams intending to play in spring or summer CYSA tournaments must attend such tournaments with their non-paper-league rosters and player cards. If your team has made no transfers then this will not affect you in any way as neither your player cards nor your golden rod roster will have changed. (Note: If your team will transfer some new players onto the team for the spring season in Upper House but does not plan to use the transferred players in a tournament then this will not affect you in any way either.)
If you have transferred players to your team during the spring, those transferred players (and not anyone else on the team) will have special paper-league player cards which are distinguished by a new background color on their player card, with data to indicate the fact that they have officially changed teams. Such a card will not be accepted at CYSA tournament. Also, such players will not show up on your official golden rod roster.
Therefore, if your team intends to play in a spring or summer CYSA tournament and intends to use any new transferred players, then you must transfer those players via the regular CYSA procedure at the Vikings office, subject to the 3 transfer maximum, 8 day processing time, and regular fees.
Poaching
Warning about "poaching:" Even in a "Paper League," coaches must follow the restrictions against poaching in your CYSA coaching manual and the Vikings League rules. A simple common sense rule is: If the coach approaches the child/parent and initiates the discussion, then it is poaching! If the child/parent approaches the coach and initiates the discussion, then it is fine. Obviously open practices or tryouts (even in the spring) are fine for Upper House teams.
A warning on transfers: for both paper and non-paper teams there will be a strict enforcement of the fact that we will not allow a player to transfer off a team whose existence is jeopardized by the loss of the exiting player. If a transfer causes a team (e.g. a recreational team in PAL) to fall below its minimum number of players then the transfer will be blocked.