2009-10 Season Opening Letter

Hello players, managers and fans of the game;

We recently explored acquiring private medical and liability insurance for our participants and discontinuing our affiliation with the United States Adult Soccer Association. After much debate, consideration and negotiation, we are pleased to announce our intent to continue our membership with the local board of the (USASA). In addition to re-confirming this relationship, we are also implementing a $5 increase in the Soccer Alaska player fee, to $30 annually. This modest increase will allow Soccer Alaska the autonomy and budget to continue and expand existing in-house programs as well as develop and implement new ones.

We have been diligent in our efforts to not pass along growing operating costs to our membership and yet we are challenged to continually improve the quality of our offering. We have been successful in doing so, especially as it relates to our outdoor playing venues. I’m not sure how many of you remember the moon landscape we called the South Anchorage Soccer Fields, but I believe the various turf venues and Balto Seppala are a pronounced improvement. However, our cost in those days was $30 for each field per day, while our fees now range from $25 to $100 for each venue per hour, depending on the location. Additionally we implemented across the board wage increases for the game officials in 2008 and the Dome has announced a second rate increase since opening its doors, beginning this fall. At the same time we continually upgrade and improve the website and its associated programs to make it more interactive and user friendly. So far we have been able to do more with less. This spring we began offering referee certification courses to Soccer Alaska registered players for free in an attempt to tap into our player pool and increase the number of adult game officials. We will continue this program 2-3 times per year. In addition to placing a greater emphasis on recruitment, we also want to provide referee training opportunities, especially as they relate to adult game management.

Other value added benefits being developed are increased social opportunities, adult skill training and travel assistance for adult teams wanting to attend tournaments outside of Anchorage and Alaska. We are also exploring a telephone answering service and the possibility of leasing office space. There is much we have done and more we will do, but if the $5 per year does nothing more than make you want to scream at an official a few less times, then it is money well spent.

As always, we look forward to your feedback and suggestions, and no, we cannot spend a portion of the funds to renovate the AT&T bathrooms.

Take care,

Klaus
President
Soccer Alaska

Summer Schedules - A few notes

Those of you who read my blog post about the spring schedules have a general idea of the process, and if you didn't read it, here it is. The summer season presents a few challenges, most prominently managing a variety of different venues and rental agencies. This summer we are playing at seven different venues. Dimond High, Begich Middle, Eagle River Middle, and Chugiak High Schools are all permitted by the Anchorage School District. Balto (two fields) is permitted by the Anchorage District Soccer Federation. Anchorage Football Stadium is permitted by the Municipality, and finally there is the Dome which handles its own permitting and scheduling. Schedules are coming out a bit later than I had hoped this year, but this solely due to waiting for permits.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the schedules this season. I used a new scheduling program for the first time, Round Robin Scheduler 5, which was a great asset as it provided much needed flexibility throughout this week as I tweaked things. I made sure that every team has at least 4 games on turf fields, and most have at least 5. Although only two of our fields are grass (both Balto fields), we are using these five days a week and they account for almost half of our total available field space.

In any case, please take a look at your team's schedule and I hope it will work for you. By no means are they perfect, but they are as fair an equitable as possible. If you have any questions, please direct them to your team manager who can contact me. Let's play soccer!

Referee Clinic for Soccer Alaska Players...Free after rebate!

Referees are always in short supply in Anchorage, especially adult referees. The situation has gradually improved over the past few years, but there are always open slots, especially in the summer when the goal is to have three referees on every single game.

In conjunction with the local soccer referee community Soccer Alaska is holding a certification clinic exclusively for adult players looking for a new way to contribute to the game. The clinic will be Saturday, May 16 from 9 am - 5 pm at 301 Calista Ct (near Dimond and King St). Participants will be required to pay $80 upfront, which covers the cost of the class as well as a basic referee uniform kit. Once a participant works three Soccer Alaska games, we will send you a check for $80 as a "rebate."

Reffing, even once a week, can provide a decent supplemental income. For outdoor games the minimum game fee is $20 and the maximum is around $60. For indoor, the minimum is also $20 and the maximum is $35. At the conclusion of this class you will be certified as a USSF Grade 9 "Recreational" Referee, and immediately eligible to work Soccer Alaska games.

If you would like to attend, please email info@socceralaska.com with "Referee clinic" as the subject. Questions may also be sent to this email address.

Miscellaneous Updates

In the last 10 days more than a dozen players have added their info to our site looking for a soccer home. This is a great way to help finish out your team or start bulking up the roster for summer. There are even a few goalies new to the list! It can be accessed here:
http://socceralaska.com/listings/index.php

To help identify forfeits on the website, their will be entered with a score of "00" instead of just 0. Hopefully this helps.

The roster guidelines are being amended to allow a maximum of 3 players from any single team within the same division (it used to be three max, irregardless of team). So now, Team A may have 3 players from Team B and another 3 from Team C. This restriction was originally two-fold--to allow as many players to play given limited field time, and to prevent essentially the same team operating under two names. Because turf is now more widely available, we feel this adjustment is warranted.

If you have any issues with your roster, player registration, or photos, please let me know. I am making sure the photo queue is cleared daily.