Football Pre-season Meeting Minutes

April 26, 2007

1. Attendees
   Andrew Kirk, Bert Church
   Brent Legault, George McDougall
   Bruce O'Neil, Cochrane
   Jacquie Mirtle, RVSD
   Lance Campbell, CFOA
   Norm Cobble, Bow Valley
   Robbie McNab, Cochrane
   Steve Repic, RVSD, Commissioner
   Steve Wiens, Chestermere
   Tony Lucas, Springbank
   
   
2. Commissioner
   Steve Repic has agreed to work as commissioner again this year. Thanks, Steve.
   
   
3. CFOA
   Lance Campbell, from the CFOA, attended the meeting.
   To request officials for exhibition games, contact John Nichol (john.nichol@shaw.ca). The minimum crew the CFOA will send out is five. Coaches are asked to be patient with the start of the second game of a double header. Also, games are to start at the scheduled time, with any pre-game activities done before that time.
   
   Rule changes from Football Canada:
   -On a first down, the clock keeps running. Our coaches won't really notice this until the provincial level.
   -The head coach, or designated coach, can request a time-out.
   -Turf and running shoes are acceptable. Rob McNab mentioned that athletes with screw-in cleats have been ordered off the field so Lance will check with the CFOA's position on screw-in cleats.
   -When a kick is blocked on the field of play, and after being blocked, is directed (not kicked) into the end zone from the field of play by a B player, this will be treated as an offside pass by Team B. If the ball:
   Goes dead in A possession in the end zone, or is touched last by an A player in the end zone before the ball goes out of bounds in the end zone - A 1D at the 10 yard line (no score). - B 1D at the point where B last touched the ball on the field of play.
   -It shall be illegal for a player to block an opponent, at or below the knees, at the time that the opponent is already being engaged by a teammate of the blocker, with or without physical contact.
   -On all kick plays from scrimmage (punts, field goal attempts, and converts) it is illegal to contact the centre on, or within one yard in advance of the line of scrimmage.
   
   It is important that our scorekeepers are able to get the correct information from officials at the time of a penalty. Officials and coaches should only sign game sheets if they are filled out completely and accurately.
   
   Reminder to coaches that complaints are to go to the sports coordinator and football commissioner, not directly to the CFOA.
   
   CFOA fees will be higher this season: $36 per game regardless if it's a single or double-header. (In 2008 they will increase to $38 per game)
   
   
4. Tier Designation
   Tier 2 - Chestermere, George McDougall
   Tier 3 - Bert Church, Cochrane, Springbank
   Tier 4 - Bow Valley
   
   
5. Schedule
   The league format that was proposed at the November 14 post-season meeting was approved by principals.
   - A single round robin.
   -League championship is awarded upon completion of the round robin. Ties are broken with the head-to-head result.
   - Teams play provincial play-downs to determine who moves on from each tier.
   - The third place team from either Tier 2 or Tier 3 plays Bow Valley.
   - The first week of the schedule, teams will play outside of their tier.
   - The schedule will continue to cycle down home and away.
   
   The group reviewed the schedule and, with input from the CFOA, made some changes. Click here for the most recent draft.
   
   
6. Divisional Championship
   The league championship is awarded based on standings after the regular season. Ties are broken according to the head-to-head result.
   
   
7. Provincial Championships
   JM inquired some time ago about the football draw and what path our Tier 2 team takes to provincials. Lynda Bourak from the ASAA does not have any information on the draw yet. She has, however, asked us to discuss whether or not Rocky View would still like the 2A/2B spots to be pre-assigned or if we'd like to determine them at the end of the qualifier game with Big Sky. We can continue on the rotation that was started two seasons ago but she thought it was something our coaches would want to discuss.
   Action: Bruce will look into this and report back to the group and JM will draft a response.
   
   
8. Fields
   Bert Church's field will be ready in the fall and will be the home field for both Bert Church and George McDougall.
   
   
9. Dino Sports Therapy
   There is a new coordinator who will get back to me with their criteria for calling an ambulance. As well, there is no anticipated fee increase for physio.
   
   
10. League Fees
    The proposed league fee is $1150 per team, which includes the $100 Football Alberta fee. The fee has decreased because teams were overcharged last year.
    
    
11. Rosters
    Action: Teams are to submit rosters by Wednesday, September 5.
    
    
12. Code of Conduct
    Action: Players and coaches are to sign Code of Conduct forms and submit to school administrator by Wednesday, September 5.
    
    
13. Results
    Verne Friesen has agreed to do stats for us again. Thank you, Verne. Game sheets are to be faxed to sports coordinator (945-4111) and Verne (932-5133). Please email score to me as soon as you can so I can post it on the web.
    
    
14. Banquet
    Springbank Community High
    Monday, November 26 at 6:30 pm
    
    
15. Awards
    Reviewed awards and procees.
    
    Process:
    All awards will be determined at the post-season meeting. JM will send a template to coaches on which they can make notes in preparation for the meeting. It is critical you send a representative to this meeting.
    
    Awards:
    Motion: Rob McNabb, Cochrane, moved that we decrease the number of all-star awards to 28 with the following distribution:
    1st Place - 8
    2nd Place - 6
    3rd Place - 5
    4th Place - 4
    5th Place - 3
    6th Place - 2
    Norm Cobble, Bow Valley, seconded the motion.
    Rationale: With Foothills' exit from our league the formula needed to be redone and with only six teams it seems reasonable to decrease the number of awards.
    Coaches' Vote: 5 in favour
    
    Motion: Andy Kirk, Bert Church, moved that we eliminate the league MVP award and change the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year awards to Offensive MVP and Defensive MVP. Norm Cobble, Bow Valley, seconded the motion.
    Rationale: The league MVP is mostly awarded to an offensive player and having an Offensive Player of the Year makes the two awards basically the same.
    Coaches' Vote: 4 in favour, 1 against
    
    Finally, it was suggested that we come up with some criteria for voting on a Coaching Staff of the Year award. Action: JM to draft criteria and also bring to the RVSA Executive the point that football is the only Rocky View sport that recognizes its coaches in this way.
    
    
16. Awards Meeting
    Thursday, November 15
    6:00 pm
    Education Centre, Airdrie
    
    
17. Old Business
    Speed of play: any update from Steve Etcheverry who was going to contact the ASAA?