A couple of things:
Insurance:
Cainhoy, that has been a hot topic for a very long time. US Club especially gets very pissy about the rule and has taken it to US Soccer on several occasions. The problem is not in SCYSA, but in the insurance company. Insurance companies like to know there risks before they right a policy and the only way they can know their risks, is if they insure everyone on the field. They are the ones that require the risk management papers and documentation, because they want to have a little control over what risks are being taken with the people they are insuring. When you add in another unknown group then you add in an unknown risk that the insurance can not control. Now the coach is being allow to control the risk for the insurance company and not the insurance company. And while I doubt you would ever expose your team to any risks, there are some overly enthusiastic coaches that would. SCYSA does give the option of a club to purchase their own insurance for the games that the SCYSA insurance will not cover but most clubs find it to be a hassle and just do not bother. You could also get parents to sign a waiver for those games if you feel it is a must play game. You can also check with the President of SCYSA but I believe if both teams are covered by insurance then you may be okay, the key word being "may". SCYSA likes to error on the side of the kids protection.
Money:
SCYSA runs a break even or loss on the registration of players each year and ODP. They make some of their money on sponsorships, leagues, and the state tournaments. That 350k has been being stocked piled over a lot of years. That is not a one or two year profit. That is 10-15 years of working to save every cent they can. A long time a long SCYSA almost went belly up because of piss poor money management. Some of the older ones like Bob and Fred where elected to at the time to clean up the financial mess that was left for them. So they are very cautious about just throwing money around, sometimes I personally think a little too cautious. But then would I rather have people in charge that are too cautious or bankrupting things.
The field issue has been a problem for a long time. Nothing like having a coastal team and a CESA team meet in Columbia on a CUFC field to cause conflicts. Especially when you have a year like a few years ago when CESA and CUFC where pissing all over each other. Including trying to ban each other from using their fields if they wheren't playing each other. You can not leave it to the clubs to work out, trust me. So that was when SCYS decided it was time to look into purchase land for fields, so that SCYS can try and stay out of the crossfire between the clubs. Also the clubs have been less willing to hold the state cups and had tried using it as leverage against SCYS. There was a coastal club that was suppose to hold the cup and they elected a new board and the new board presient did not like the SCYS president. So the coastal club waited to the last second and tried to cancel the cup to screw SCYS and the entire state. Luckly, there was another coastal club that stepped in and everything worked out. There is a lot of history to why things are the way they are.
Board members:
Fred is a good guy and good for the board. He is very black and white on the issues and I can assure you that he knows those by-laws by chapter and verse. He does not allow emotion to effect his vote or decisions. I have seen him hate voting a certain way on emotion but still vote the other way because that was the way the rules where written. And then turn around and help get the rule changed so that it made sense for the members. He knows a lot of the history of the club and why rules where put into place. I have thought a rule was stupid and then have Fred explain to me why it was there and the person that caused the rule to be put into place. He is like me in that he can come across arrogant but like me it is because he is just a smart a$$ at heart. And that humor while funny doesn't always come across very well when people are angry at you. Fred is an asset to the board.
Board:
I keep seeing this statement about the same old board members. Maybe my count is wrong but I think there are on three truly old ones left. There has been an almost complete turn over on the board in members and positions. If you are complaining, then run for a seat. As Cainhoy pointed out, they had one person for the Coastal District commissioner to run and most districts do not have a vice commissioner. I run my mouth a lot but I at least ran and served of the board for several years.
