Thanks to everyone that attended last nights meeting. It was really positive and allowed us to discuss issues that we have had with attendance since we returned along with other matters connected with the teams. The meeting went on for over an hour and here are the minutes from the meeting:
Host: Russell Taylor (chairman)
Present: 39 parents, committee members and coaches (Zoom)
PLAYER/COACH ATTENDANCE
Over the summer leagues there has been issues with coaches and players failing to turn up and cancelling at the last minute and the impact this has on all the teams in the leagues. Reasons for this include:
After discussing the above we discussed what can be done to improve this. Everyone was in agreement with the following:
Liga 3 and 4 squads have already been updated with changes. Please note that they are still subject to change based on players joining or leaving. Liga 1-3 will also be changed for returning indoors. Where possible we will have teams based on their academy training groups. Teams will continue to be tiered within each team to restrict high scores.
FEES/ACCOUNTS
We currently have £203.18 in the bank and over the summer we normally try to increase our balance to cover the costs of teams playing every week over the winter. Not using pitch 4 at Michael woods for the last 4 weeks has cost £360. Non usage of pitches over the summer leagues must be around £1000. As above parents discussed increasing the fees for non academy players (it was a non academy player that brought this up). 42 of the 139 players currently only do the teams. This is predominantly made up from the 23 players in Liga 1. We will also require to have a fundraising event or sale of football cards to raise funds.
Fees currently cover playing costs, insurance, club management systems (ClassForkids) and subscription costs for the Veo cameras and SportSessionPlanner.
EXTERNAL MATCHES
We have entered the Futsal cup every year it has been running and we will look to increase external matches and tournaments at home and abroad. Directly after the meeting last night we were invited to a youth tournament in Spain next July. We will look to arrange matches against adult and university sides for our older players (15+).
COACH EDUCATION
Coaches are more than welcome to attend any Academy sessions to improve their knowledge and understanding of futsal. We will also add all our coaches onto SportSessionPlanner and have internal coaching days working around formations and shape.
KIT
We didn't discuss this but the new kit will be available to try on this Sunday and it will be out during August. The kit will come as a package of a turquoise top, a navy blue top and navy shorts and socks. This will enable players to wear a different top for matches and restrict the use of bibs.
THE FUTURE
The whole structure of Futsal Escocia is based around player development and we want to do all we can to help players achieve their main ambition of becoming a professional football player. We have had a lot of success with this at youth level and hopefully some go on to play in first teams and play at as high a level as they possibly can. Unfortunately the reality is that not everyone will be successful and it would be great to provide those that aren't successful with an alternative pathway through futsal.
The future of futsal is bright and over the next year we will be looking to complete our player pathway into the adult game. Our aim is to have a Futsal Escocia team to enter a regional SFL league, to progress to the National Super League and to eventually win the Super League and qualify for the Champions League. This is challenging but is most definitely achievable with players having opportunities to go on and represent their country in UEFA and FIFA events.
To get there we will have to try and continue to develop futsal in Fife and Scotland and we feel that futsal in high schools is the perfect answer to this. We will continue to push the SFA/Active Schools for S1/S2 S3/S4 (Boys and Girls) leagues/tournaments and to push Community Use Schools on a international size futsal court at one of their new schools that is fit for purpose to host tournaments and events for futsal and other indoor sports.
Thanks to everyone for the attendance and participation during the meeting and to those that have taken the time to read the minutes. Our future ambitions for our players and teams will only become a reality if we work together. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me.
Russell
