Sterling Youth Soccer Association Bylaws

Article I

The name of this association shall be Sterling Youth Soccer Association (SYSA).

Article II

The object of this association shall be to promote the sport of soccer; to establish and maintain a soccer training and education program; to affiliate with and cooperate with other similar organizations for the purpose of advancing the soccer effort; and to enter teams into competition by participating in any organized league or unscheduled competitive programs.

Article III -  Members

Section 1 - Regular Members (Executive Board Members)

The Regular Members of this association shall be limited in number and shall be open to any adult who seeks to dedicate his or her time, talents or efforts on behalf of the betterment of a soccer program. There shall be no regular membership dues. The only qualification necessary to be eligible for Regular Membership shall be faithful attendance to a minimum of at least one half of the scheduled meetings of this association.

Section 2 - Associate Members (Players and Coaches)

The Associate Membership will include any person registering to participate in any soccer program offered by the Regular Membership.The Associate Membership, unlimited in number, shall consist of  members who would not participate in executive sessions unless specifically invited by Executive Board Members.  Associate Membership will be for a period of one year from registration, provided he or she pays the established fee for that program.

Executive sessions are closed meetings of the Executive Board where only Board Members and invited participants are in attendance.

Article IV- Executive Board

Section 1

The Executive Board shall have general supervision of the association, its business meetings, fix the hour and place of meetings, and shall perform such other duties as are specified in these bylaws.

Section 2

Emergency meetings of the board can be called by any member of the Executive Board, provided at least 24-hour notice given to all Board Members.

Section 3

The members of the Board are expected to be present at all regular and special meetings of the Board. If any member is unable to attend a meeting, she/he shall inform the President or the Secretary of this inability prior to the meeting.

Section 4

If a Board Member is not present at three consecutive regular meetings of the Board, the President shall mail notice to such member that his/her membership is about to be terminated. If no response is made to that notice, the individual shall be considered to have resigned unless formal Board action is to the contrary.

Section 5

Any member of the Board may be suspended or removed from office by two-thirds vote of the Executive Board Members present and voting at a meeting of the Board.

Article V - Officers

Section 1

The officers of this association shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Registrar and six Directors. Two of these directors shall be the U6 Coordinator and the U8 coordinator, respectively (revised June 13, 1995). These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and other special articles the association may adopt on a yearly basis through the officers. Remaining Director positions will be defined in the SYSA Handbook.

Amendments to these articles may be submitted to the Executive Board (the Board) throughout for the year for consideration and action.

Section 2

The officers shall be elected by voice vote or ballot at the annual public meeting, to serve for one year or until their successors are elected, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the regular meeting at which they are elected. If a board member leaves prior to the end of his term, the person shall be replaced as soon as possible by a vote of the board, and serve until the next annual election.

Section 3

The president shall not also be a director. The president shall have the right to decide on issues voted by the Executive Board where a vote is considered a tie. In this capacity the president is the tie breaker.

Section 4

Powers and Duties. The powers and duties of the officers shall be as follows:

The President:
      1. shall preside at all general meetings and meetings of the Board.
      2. shall develop meeting agendas
      3. shall be the official representative of Sterling Youth Soccer and may appoint an alternate official representative of Sterling Youth Soccer to the WAYSA Board of Directors and may appoint an alternate official representative Of Sterling Youth Soccer to the Mountain Club Board of Directors (change voted August 31, 1995).
      4. shall perform such duties as required by members of the Executive Board.
      5. shall also cast the deciding vote on any issue that results on a tie vote otherwise.

The Vice-President:
      1. in the absence of the President, shall be vested with all the powers and perform all the duties of the President.
      2. in case of disability, resignation, or other long term absence of the President, shall assume all presidential duties until the next Annual General Meeting or any Special Meeting call for the election of a new President.
      3. The Special duty of the Vice President shall be to oversee and facilitate the workings of the committees of the board, and to perform such duties as required by members of the Executive Board.

The Treasurer:
      1. shall have charge of all finances of the Sterling Youth Soccer Association, including all fund raising activities and purchasing, subject to the Board policy, and shall report on the condition of same at all Board and General Meetings.
      2. Shall submit a written report at the Annual General Meeting covering the prior year’s activities.
      3. Shall be authorized to sign checks
      4. Shall perform such duties as required by members of the Executive Board.

The Secretary:
      1. shall keep minutes of all meeting of the Board, including a record of attendance.
      2. shall make these available by mail and insure that they are received by all Board Members and coaches at least three days prior to the next scheduled meeting.
      3. is responsible for all association correspondence.
      4. shall perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

The Registrar:
      1. shall keep accurate records of all members of Sterling Youth Soccer Association who are players, coaches, and/or members of the Executive Board.
      2. shall in a timely manner and as requested provide rosters of all teams to the President, the league to which the town belongs, and MYSA and shall provide individual teams rosters to each coach.
      3. shall upon request and in a timely manner provide an accurate, up-to-date list and provide for any changes in the rosters to all interested parties as mention in #1 and #2 above
      4. shall provide an accurate accounting of uniform sizes to the equipment chairperson to enable efficient uniform ordering
      5. shall provide all forms, information, and insure speedy payments required to and/or by any local, state and national organizations.
      6. shall ensure the timely rostering of teams with the state organization in order to insure insurance coverage for players, coaches and administrators.
      7. shall perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

Article VI- Meetings

Section 1

The only regularly scheduled meeting of this association shall be the annual meeting to be held on a day and time to be fixed by the Executive Board, and shall be for the purpose of electing officers, receiving reports of the officers and committees, and for any business that may arise. The meeting should be publicly  posted (at a minimum in a local newspaper) two weeks (14 days) prior to the scheduled date and open to the public.

Section 2

Any other business meetings or special meetings can be called by the president or by the Executive Board. Except in case of emergency, at least 3 days’ notice shall be given.

Section 3

A meeting shall be considered valid if, and only if, more than one half of the Executive Board is present.

Article VII - Committees

Section 1

Any committees, standing or special, deemed necessary by the Executive Board to carry on the work of the association shall be created from time to time by the Board as the need arise, and shall be appointed by the president or by the Executive Board, and shall include at least one Board member. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees

Article VIII - Amendment of Bylaws

These bylaws can be amended at any meeting of the Sterling Youth Soccer Association. Approval of bylaws will be by a two-thirds vote of the Board with a minimum of two-thirds of the Board members present, provided that proper notice is given in the call for the meeting.

Article IX - Playing Rules

Sterling Youth Soccer will follow the league rules of the league they are playing in.

Article X - Playing Time

Every player on a roster shall receive playing time equal to at least one-third of the total game time, to include playoff games. The only time a player is to receive less than one-third of the game time is for disciplinary action or injury.

Article XI - Drafting Procedures

Section 1

All rosters are to be filled by available Sterling players first using the existing drafting procedure, before going outside of the town. The drafting procedure will be defined in the SYSA Handbook.

Section 2

Once the draft is complete, the Registrar shall record and roster all teams with the state.

Article XII - Coaches Responsibilities

  1. Coaches are responsible for the conduct and behavior of their team, both players and parents, during practice and during games.
  2. Coaches may be required to serve on an Appeals Board.

Article XIII - Code of Conduct

  1. Sterling Youth Soccer Association expects all members of its community to abide by the Rules and Regulations described in the "SYSA Sportsmanship Handbook", and will take action to ensure compliance.
  2. All red card offenders, suspended players or coaches, shall appear before the Executive Board before resuming their duties as players or coaches. SYSA reserves the right to suspend or revoke the privilege of any player to participate in SYSA activities.

These Bylaws were approved by vote of the members of the Executive Board at a meeting of the Sterling Youth Soccer Association held on March 18, 1993.

These Bylaws were amended by vote of the members of the Executive Board at a meeting of the Sterling Youth Soccer Association held on June 13, 1995.

These Bylaws were amended by vote of the members of the Executive Board at a meeting of the Sterling Youth Soccer Association held on August 31, 1995.

Modifications of the SYSA By-Laws to be considered in 1999.

Proposed amendments to the bylaws are made for consideration by the incoming Executive Board for the 1999 term. The proposed changes are above and depicted in red and blue.

Previous Article VI (Executive Board) was moved to become Article IV (to be closer to officer definitions etc) and as a result previous Articles IV (Officers) and V (Meetings) were moved to Articles V and VI respectively.