Arlington Travel Soccer Club

Information about ATSC and ASA Restructuring

The Arlington Travel Soccer Club (ATSC) is pleased to announce that it has made some procedural and policy changes, effective for the Fall 2008 season, that will make the Club more professional, enhance player development, strengthen the Club’s finances and help to keep the ATSC a leader among Washington area soccer clubs.

The ATSC is a member of the Arlington Soccer Association (ASA), which is the governing body for youth soccer in Arlington County and the City of Falls Church. The ASA is a 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization and is recognized as an affiliate organization of the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources. As part of a review of policies and procedures necessary to maintain its tax exempt status, ensure its financial integrity and comply with all applicable tax laws, the ASA has been working with the ATSC to upgrade and enhance the management of team finances and administration of personnel. Many of the changes set forth below relate to those policies. Others arise out of efforts by the ATSC to develop a cohesive club philosophy designed to strengthen our commitment to the development of the children served by ATSC.

The following decisions have been made by the ASA and the ATSC, to be effective July 1, 2008.

ATSC Coaches

All ATSC coaches will be considered employees of the ASA. The ASA will enter into employment agreements with each coach, will issue paychecks, will withhold amounts required by law, and will issue appropriate tax documents.

All coaches will be paid on an established payment schedule and according to a salary plan established by the ATSC. Their duties and responsibilities will be specified by the ATSC and set forth in their employment agreements.

ATSC coaches will be supervised by Grant Smith, who has assumed a position as the ATSC’s full-time Director of Coaching. The Director of Coaching will be responsible for recruiting, placing, supervising and evaluating coaches with every team in the club.

The ATSC intends to have a professional, unified coaching staff that meets the needs of all players in the club. Coaches will be placed with teams and in age groups according to licensure, experience and expertise. Coaches will be evaluated each season and periodically moved from team to team to maximize player development opportunities. The standard term for a coach to be with a team will be two years.

Management of ATSC Team Finances

The ASA determined, with advice from professional advisors, that all member clubs and teams of the ASA (including travel teams within the ATSC) must be subject to appropriate accounting, financial, audit and tax controls.

Accordingly, by July 1, 2008 (i.e., at the end of the 2008 Spring season) each travel team will need to reconcile its team bank accounts, close all such accounts, discontinue collecting fees from parents, and cease making payments to coaches or making any other expenditures. Upon reconciliation of team bank accounts, all money remaining at the end of the Spring 2008 season may EITHER (1) be refunded to team parents, or (2) be paid to ASA, which will keep it in a separate account for use of that team; such funds may be used to pay for various “add-ons,” such as an additional tournament, or other soccer related activities.

Beginning July 1, 2008, all player payments will be made directly to the ASA. These payments will be used to operate the ATSC, and each team within the Club. In addition to paying the ATSC coaches, the ASA will issue necessary payments for each team to register players, receive uniforms, participate in leagues, apply to tournaments, and for other specified services/activities.

A detailed explanation of how much each player will be required to pay, what that payment includes, and what schedule it will be made on, will be made available to all families prior to club try-outs this spring (May/June).

Families of players for individual teams may still need to occasionally make additional payments, based on club-approved team activities, such as extra tournaments not covered by the general payment. These payments will be coordinated by the team, and made to the ASA.

Other Policies

In May & June of 2008, the ATSC will conduct tryouts to form teams for the next soccer year (Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 seasons). All tryouts will be conducted by the club and will include all players in an age group (for each gender). The coach(es) who have been selected to coach the team during the 2008-09 seasons, as well as additional ATSC evaluators, will be responsible for selecting the players for all teams in the age group.

Each team in the club will abide by the established uniform policy of ATSC. The club has recently entered into a two-year uniform purchasing cycle. More details on uniforms will be made available to each team.

ATSC policy is that players should not be “playing up” above their age level unless, in the opinion of the coach, agreed to by the Director of Coaching, the player is an "impact player" within his or her age group. As a general rule, a player is not an "impact player" unless he or she is playing a starting role on an "A" team within an age group.

ATSC, through its Board of Directors and its professional staff, will assume a majority of the decision-making concerning issues such as player development philosophies, administrative details, team formation, player placement, coach assignment and team activities.

Parents of players in the travel club will always be provided with ways to voice their concerns, suggestions and input. Parents will be informed of the methods to discuss administrative, financial and technical concerns with the appropriate management, staff and administrators of ATSC and ASA.

Understanding that this is a significant transition from the past, ATSC has adopted certain policies to ease the transition and alleviate questions and concerns that coaches, team managers, players and parents may have. These include:

Selection of team coaches for the 2008 – 2009 soccer year will occur only after much communication with the coaches involved and with careful consideration to the players/families it may impact. Coaches will be consulted about team placement and positioned with teams that minimize disruption within the club.

Most coaches that wish to remain with their current team will be allowed to do so for the 2008 – 2009 soccer year. Coaches wishing to be considered for alternate team placements may express that desire to the Director of Coaching. The Director of Coaching will be responsible for placing qualified coaches with every team in the club.

During age group tryouts conducted by ATSC, team coaches (most of them remaining with their current team) will have the first option to select players from their current team.

Players currently on ATSC teams who wish only to be considered for their current team may express that desire, and will be carefully evaluated for selection to that team.

Players currently on ATSC teams who wish to be considered for a different team may express that desire and will be carefully evaluated for selection to all available teams.

The following people may be contacted with questions regarding these areas:

Administrative Questions — Lizzy Stell, Director (703-241-0309; lizzy.atsc@gmail.com)
Player/Coach Questions — Grant Smith, Director of Coaching (703-734-3326; grantwsmith@verizon.net)
Governance Questions — Steve Lent, President (703-276-6671; president@atsc-va.org)
Boys Team Questions — Alex Palacios, Boys Commissioner (703-926-7818; apalacios@balfourbeattyus.com)
Girls Team Questions — Richard Easby, Girls Commissioner (703-534-3259; easbyr@verizon.net)