FALL 2010 Season
July 2010

This instruction sheet covers the NJYS and MCYSA policies and procedures with respect to carding players.  It also attempts to answer many of the more common questions which come up during the course of the season.

WHO:

Each club is required to select one Primary Carding Contact (PCC) and an Alternate Carding Contact (ACC) who will be responsible for reviewing packets and all other carding paperwork before it is submitted to a league official.  The league does not care what position these persons hold within the club.  That choice is entirely up to the club.  The names, street addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of both the PCC and the ACC must be submitted during the club registration process and must be immediately updated if changed during the year.

1.      The ACC is an emergency backup.  99% of carding transactions should be handled by the PCC.

2.      The PCC will be the only persons in the club who communicates with the club’s District Commissioner (DC) or the League Registrar. 

3.      All communication of the PCC with the club DC and the LR must be by email only.  Absolutely no phone calls are allowed.  Emergencies do not exist.  Proper team planning in advance eliminates all cases of alleged emergencies.

4.      DCs and the LR will not deal with coaches, parents, team managers, etc.   Clubs will notify their members that if there is a question concerning carding, the PCC is the individual to be contacted. 

5.      DCs and the LR have a responsibility to train the PCCs, representing the 70+ clubs, so that they are knowledgeable about the carding process. However, PCCs should always take the initiative and attempt to find answers in the handbooks referenced below before emailing their DC or the LR.  If the answer can’t be located in either of the handbooks, the DC and the LR will be happy to help.

6.      DCs and the LR cannot and will not train 700 coaches, 1400 assistant coaches, 700 team managers, 20,000 parents, 40,000 grandparents, etc.

7.      The PCC is the person who will be contacted when paperwork is completed and ready for pickup or with information indicating that mistakes have been made that must be corrected.

8.      All PCCs and ACCs must read the MCYSA handbook located at www.mcysa.org/HandBook/HB.htm and the State handbook located at www.njyouthsoccer.com/regforms/CoachesHandbook.PDF.  All coaches and team managers are encouraged to read these documents.  Almost all questions can be answered by reading the above documents.

WHEN:

 1.      During a normal week the deadline for carding a player for Sunday is 9:00pm on Thursday evening.  There are no exceptions. It is strongly suggested that the PCC send your DC or the LR an email advising that paperwork is coming.

2.      The final date for paperwork to be in the hands of the club’s DC for the start of the season on September 12^th is August 31st .  Since DCs operate on a strict first come, first served basis, it is highly recommended that paperwork be in their hands well before that date. All paperwork for Labor Day tournaments must be in the hands of the DC by August 24^th.

3.      Card the team early and ad players later.  It is strongly recommended that coaches immediately schedule a player-parent signing event and determine who will be attending.  This should be scheduled no later than August 13^th.   Only those players who will attend that meeting should be placed on the GotSoccer roster submitted to the DC.  Other players can be added later.  Do not wait until Johnny or Susie returns from out of the country/state because they are the best player. 

HOW:

1.      The procedures for registering clubs and teams on the GotSoccer website were covered at the league meting held on July 22^nd

2.      Whereas previously carding was done by hand, now it will be done by computer.  However very few procedures have changed.

3.      A few examples of changes:

a.      Only one copy of the roster needs to be given to the DC for validation.

b.      Add forms will no longer be used.

c.      Passes may never be handwritten.

d.      When a change is made to a roster, the old roster will be brought to the DC who will destroy it and a new roster will be validated.

e.      Volunteer coaches will have a pass for each team they are carded to.  Coaches must use the pass for the team they are coaching on game day.

f.        DCs will no longer be able to correct errors on rosters by initialing the corrections.  If a mistakes made on a roster, a new one will have to be printed.

4.      Once a roster has been printed from the GotSoccer website, DC and the LR do not care who physically delivers and picks up the paperwork.  However, no one should ever ring the doorbell, honk the horn, knock on the door, or ask the DC’s family to let the DC or the LR know that something is being dropped off or for any other reason unless the DC or LR specifically instructs the PCC to do so.

5.      Paperwork can be mailed to the DC or LR.  However, never use a method which requires a signature. If you want the paperwork mailed back, always include a self addressed stamped envelope and never use a method that requires a DC or the LR to drop an envelope any place other than a normal mailbox.

6.      Directions to DC and LR – get the address from the league web page and use a search engine for directions.  No one should ask a DC or the LR for directions to their house, even via email.

7.      Whoever drops off paperwork should place it in an envelope in the location the DC or the LR has designated and which the PCC has conveyed to them.  If it's raining or if rain is in the forecast, put the paperwork in a waterproof bag.  Email the DC that the paperwork has been dropped off.  The DC or LR will email the PCC when the paperwork can be picked up. The email address of the PCC must be printed on envelopes used to drop off paperwork.  DCs and the LR do not have time to look up those email addresses. Do not ask the DC or LR to contact the coach when the paperwork is ready for pickup.

8.      Every team must have a unique name.  Examples of invalid names are "North Hatfield 86/87" or " North Hatfield U09, NHSC McCoys." Age and/or birth year cannot be part of the team name.  Teams must have 'real' names that uniquely identify them.  Examples of valid names are  "North Hatfield Cougars" or "North Hatfield Wild Tigers."  If your club has a policy that all teams must be called “Cougars” that is fine but then each team must have an additional real name after “Cougars.”  Examples would be “North Hatfield Cougars Stars” or “North Hatfield Cougars Pumas.”

9.      Never, ever use staples.

10.  All submitted paperwork must be sorted by type.  That is to say - all the player passes in one group; all the medical release forms in one group; all the membership forms in one group; etc.  Each set of papers must be in the same order that the players are listed in on the team roster.  There are no exceptions to this. The DC does not have the time to sort out all the paperwork.  The birthday on the birth certificate must be highlighted with a yellow highlighter.  Medical release forms must be notarized.  If there has been no change in any of the information on the medical release form, you may use a prior year’s form. You must use a coach’s membership form for a coach, not a player membership form.  You must also submit a copy of the coach’s license which the DC will keep.  There have been no changes in the forms on the state website since last year.  But do not use older forms.  If needed, download the latest forms from the NJYS website at http://www.njyouthsoccer.com/regforms/regmain.htm. Packets and paperwork not properly submitted, even if there are no other errors, will not be processed.

11.  Player passes must be signed by the player.  Printing is not allowed.  An eight year old can sign his/her name and your DC will expect you to make sure that they use their best efforts to sign, not print, their first and last names. 

12.  The player must always be listed by the exact name on his/her birth certificate.  You do not need to include the player’s middle name but if you do, the signature and everything else must include it. The name on both the player pass and the team roster, as well as the signature, must exactly match that name.  However, Chris is acceptable for Christopher as it is a shortened form of the name but Jackie is not acceptable for Jacqueline as the letters are changed.  Initials are never allowed. Nicknames cannot be used.  If a player goes by his/her middle name, the paperwork must nevertheless use their first name.  Players who refuse to abide by these rules will not be carded.

13.  Paste the photo over the words “Attach photo here.”   DCs will not glue photos to passes.

14.  You cannot use polaroids or photos from old player passes. Digital photos are allowed as long as they are printed on premium photo stock paper.  No other paper is allowed.

15.  DCs and the LR do not correct carding paperwork mistakes, errors or omissions.  They will email the PCC to pick up the paperwork so the team can correct the mistake.  That is why it is to everyone’s advantage for the club’s PCC to check every team’s paperwork in detail before it is dropped off.  This is also true for ads/drops to the roster, including secondary paperwork, later in the season.  All too often, PCCs think their teams have learned to do this simple paperwork yet it winds up with the DC or the LR in need of correction.  Please do not waste everyone’s time with incorrect and incomplete paperwork.

16.  It is the responsibility of every team to check that the DC has dated, signed and stamped the passes before they are laminated.

17.  DC’s sometimes miss invalid passes or paperwork.  This does not relieve the Club from any errors.  The paperwork must meet the State Guidelines and is the team’s responsibility.

16.  If the LR is unavailable for an extended period of time, the league president will sign as the secondary league official.

17.  Only the DC who originally carded a team can add or drop players on that team.  PCCs cannot ask another DC to do them a favor.  If the DC who has carded your club will be away on vacation or otherwise unavailable for an extended period, he/she will have let the LR know.  Email the LR who will handle the transaction.

18.  U7 children and younger may not play travel team soccer.

19.  A full-sided team needs 11 primary players to be carded.  A small-sided team needs 8 primary players to be carded.

20.  Hardship teams are permitted by the state when teams do not have enough players to continue in the spring season.  Generally this involves combining two teams from within the same club.  Once a PCC has read the applicable provisions in the State Handbook, he/she should email the LR for directions.  The MCYSA league registrar is also the North Area Travel Commissioner.  His approval as well as that of the MCYSA president is required for the creation of hardship teams.

21.  Out of state players are carded by the team’s DC and not by the state office.  The DC will need to make sure that the out of state player has a signed player pass from their home state. The player will also need to execute a medical release form, a SAGE form and a NJYS membership form.

22.  Non-volunteer coaches must be on the roster of a team in order to coach on the sideline during a game and must present proof of having been carded to the team to the referee before the match.  There are no exceptions.

23.  NO PASS – NO PLAY OR COACHING ALLOWED.

 Created by League Registrar Art Vespignani

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