QSL Coordinator Guidelines

The coordinator acts as a liaison between the coaches and the Executive board. The coaches represent the
teams and the coordinators represent a division of teams identified by their school grade.
(QSL Coordinator does not have to be a QSL Coach). The coordinator is expected to inform and
assist coaches to meet the philosophy and mission of the QSL: Provide recreational soccer
(developmental and instructional) for boys and girls. This includes assuring that all active players
play 1/2 of every game (Rules and Guidelines- Sec. I pg.3) and that coaches set a good example
for youth (Sec.2 pg.3).

                Coordinators are expected to participate in at least 7 meetings each season.

                March                 General board and planning meeting
                June                    General board and planning meeting
                July                     1st coaches meeting
                August                 Collect $/rosters from coaches
                September          General board and planning meeting
                October               General board and planning meeting
                November           Final coaches meeting

General board/planning meeting - provide input for league planning for the upcoming season.
Identify league needs problem areas, ideas for improvement of QSL programs.

Coordinators should contact last years coaches:

1. Find out if they will be coaching again in the fall.
2. Ask if coaches have any areas of concern left over from last year or have any suggestions or
   concerns for the new season. The coordinator can share these with the board at the June meeting.
3. Encourage coaches to call their players to get an idea of how many players will be playing next
   season and how many roster spots may be open (See league procedure #1).
4. Advise about uniform colors (for teams buying new uniforms) Keep a list of team colors to avoid duplication.

General board meeting:

1. Share concerns/suggestions from coaches.
2. Receive league timetable for the year including; Clinic/training dates; coaches meetings; $/roster
   due dates etc. (the league will mail a letter to coaches in late June notifying them of the meetings and clinics.
3. Preliminary identification of how many teams in each division (tentative field assignments).

1st coaches meeting:

1. QSL president will present general guidelines/timelines for the season to all coaches
2. Coordinators will then meet with coaches from their division:

                    A. Attendance, (make note of the coaches not at meeting)

                    B. Give each coach his/her packet containing, the official team roster from last year the
                         release forms, and any other forms the league may be using for the season.

                    C. Remind coaches of the due date for roster and $. (If roster, release forms or $ not in, the
                         team will not play any games. If a player has not turned in $ or release form the player is not
                         allowed to play in any game until both are given to the coordinator).

                    D. Find out teams roster needs/ place new players if coordinator has names (See league procedure # 2)

                    E. Remind coaches about clinics; uniform colors and Referee Comment cards, encourage coaches to fill out after their games.

After the meeting:

1. Call coaches that didn’t attend and arrange for them to get their packet.
2. Devise a conference format for your grade division (See league procedure #3) and notify the league
   commissioner of how many teams will be playing in your division and how many conferences you will have.
3. Begin preliminary schedule building (See league procedure #4).

Collect rosters / $ / release forms.

1. Check team roster-make sure that each player has $ and release form signed by parent. Any
   missing $ or forms must be turned in before the team or player can play.
2. Give a season game schedule to each coach and a copy to the league commissioner and the league referee coordinator.

After the meeting:

          Check rosters against last years roster to make sure that no players have been dropped or added without league approval.

Season starts late August:

          In the first few weeks of the season the coordinator needs to develop an awareness of any areas of concern
          or problems and bring them to the attention of the board as soon as possible or at the September board meeting.
          The league needs to be aware of any potential problems early so that they can be dealt with early and not
          continue to grow during the season.

Standings:

          The QSL will try to publish the league standings through the season and this will be done from the
          referee cards turned in after each game. The coordinator should keep track of his/her own divisions team
          records to assure accuracy of the published standings.

General board meetings:

1. Opportunity to deal with problems/ protests/ coach or player red or yellow cards (See league procedure #5).
2. Report positive aspects of the league and efforts - evaluate ways of improving.
   

Final coaches meeting - evaluate positives and negatives of the season. Identify areas of focus for next year.

1. Roster Openings:
   

The QSL teams are represented by a volunteer coach selected by the league. The QSL values the effort
and time given by our coaches. As long as the coach meets the expectations of the league they are allowed to
coach in the QSL. After the initial draft, the league has control of any roster openings that might occur.
Coaches may not "drop" or add a player to their roster. The division coordinator will fill any roster openings.
(Rule 3.1 pg.8) The league roster has room for 16 players. This is the current recommended size for any team.
If possible, 15 players is even better because it will allow coaches more flexibility in terms of substitutions and
playing time. No team should have more than 16 players.
(Rule 3.4 pg.8) New players
(Rule 3.6 pg.8) Coaching change
(Rule 3.7 and 3.8 pg. 8) Deal with player release and transfer. Review these two rules carefully: Basically, players
can't be released or transferred from teams without board appeal and approval. If a parent or coach asks about a
release or transfer, get as much information as you can as to the reason for the request and inform the parent or
coach that you must check with the board to see what procedure to follow. Contact the league President or
Commissioner immediately.

2. Placing New Players:
   
   Coordinators will receive the names of players wanting to be placed on a QSL team. New players can
   only be added to a team through the division coordinator. Advise your coaches to refer any player or parent
   to contact you for placement. Coaches may not add a new player to their roster unless they get the name from you.
   Encourage your coaches to call their teams very early so that you can get an accurate number of roster spots that
   would be available for new players. The coordinator should keep a list of new players by the date that they
   requested to play. when the number of roster openings are known, the new players can be placed on the
   teams at random. Players will not be allowed to request a certain team. New players need to be placed to assure
   (as close as possible) that all teams have the same number of players. For example, if one team has 12 players and
   another has 15, place three players on the team with 12 before placing one on the team with 15.  

     3.  Conference Format:

          As much as possible, the QSL should try to devise a schedule that will allow all teams to be competitive and have a
          chance to win occasionally. To do this the coordinator must evaluate the previous seasons standings and set up a
          schedule which will play teams with similar skill level against each other. The conference format will do this very well.
          Teams should be ranked according to their record from the previous season and placed into conference groupings
          based on how they did against common opponents.

          EXAMPLE:

                             A division has 14 teams; after looking at scores against each other the division
                             will be grouped into 3 conference.
                             Con. A.(top 4 teams) will play each other 2x and each Con B team once
                             Con. B (middle 4 teams) play each other 2x and each Con A team once
                             Con. C (lower 6 teams) play each other 2x

           This should allow all teams to be competitive within their own conference. There should not be any blow outs and
           every team should have a chance to win most games. Each year teams would be reevaluated and placed accordingly.
           If a team does really well it could move up to the next conference for the next season, and a team that struggles could
           be moved down for the next season. This would allow for some different competition each year, and flexibility for the
           coordinator. This format can be adjusted to the number of teams in a division (8 teams 2 conferences of 4) etc.

     4.   Scheduling:

           As soon as the coordinator knows how many teams and has decided on a conference format; notify the league
           commissioner. The league will assign fields to the coordinator. A game time format has been devised for
           each age group. Field availability is very limited so it is extremely important not to vary the schedule at
           all-if there is a problem, contact the commissioner before changing. (Rules 7.1-7.5 pg. 14) deal with
           game time regulations. Also note that gradesl-7 play quarters (to allow coaches more time to instruct
           players and make substitutions)

           The coordinator has a very important role in dealing with protests (Rules and Guidelines Section 4 pg.4)
           and coaches or players receiving either yellow or red cards (QSL Playing Rules 3.15 /3.16 pg.
           10 and 5.8 - 5.9 pg. 13). Review these carefully. The QSL places the highest priority on trying to make
           sure that all coaches and players exhibit conduct that shows good sportsmanship and commitment to the
           stated purpose of the league; Educational and Recreational enjoyment. The league will not tolerate
           in-appropriate behavior by coaches or players and the rules cited include penalties for infractions. The coordinator
           is the key to this process. He/she will have a good feel for situations within the age division and will act as a reporter
           (getting facts about any incident) and an interpreter (providing any extenuating circumstances needing to be considered)
           for the QSL board. It is very important that coordinators understand that they will not have to deal with all of these
           situations alone. The league policy is to make sure that all parties are aware that the QSL board makes the decisions
           about any situation, not the individual coordinator. If a coordinator becomes aware of a problem situation, notify
           the board immediately and the board will respond by interpreting the league rules or (depending on the situation)
           have different board members observe teams, coaches, players or parents having problems. If a coordinator is
           not sure of how to apply a league rule or runs into a situation that doesn’t seem to fit the rules, simply tell the
           person(s) that you will check with the board for clarification and get back to them.