BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
Leaders from four Natomas soccer organizations are scheduled to meet later today in an effort to salvage a fledgling league formed only a year ago.
A Natomas United Youth Soccer League logo contest was held earlier this month.
The Natomas United Youth Soccer League is at risk of losing the Sacramento North Soccer Club after that board voted last month to severe ties and affiliate with another soccer league.
At issue, according to Sacramento North Soccer Club board members: lack of competition for its players and poor leadership at the league level.
Last May, the California Youth Soccer Association (also known as Cal North) approved forming the Natomas United Youth Soccer League which is made up of three separate soccer organizations – the recreational Sacramento North Soccer and Natomas Soccer clubs as well as the Natomas United Futbol Club for competitive play. With all three clubs combined, the Natomas United Youth Soccer League accounts for nearly 2,000 youth players.
A representative from both have said that neither the Natomas Soccer Club nor Natomas United Futbol Club plan to follow the Sacramento North Soccer Club and leave the Natomas United Youth Soccer League.
“The Natomas Soccer Club has been proceeding with plans for registering players in anticipation of the coming season,” Natomas Soccer Club president Antonio Ortiz said. “However, the uncertainty and possibility of what Sac North will ultimately chose to do will affect both the club and the league.”
According to sources with knowledge of the today’s meeting, but not authorized to speak on the matter, the mediation session will be between presidents from all four organizations. The meeting was reportedly scheduled by Cal North and attendance by all four presidents considered mandatory.
Cal North is the largest state youth soccer organization in the United States comprised of nine districts, 128 leagues – including Natomas United – and more than 188,000 members ages 5-19 years old.
Today’s mediation is likely in response to a plea made on April 10 by Natomas United Youth Soccer League acting president John Flores to more than two dozen soccer league presidents at Cal North’s monthly district-level meeting. Soccer league presidents from Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Solano, Sutter, Yuba, Yolo counties were on hand.
“The Sacramento North Soccer Club doesn’t want to play with us, which is detrimental to the one (Natomas) rec program left,” said Flores. “I’m asking for your help, your guidance and assistance.”
Soccer league presidents in attendance voiced concerns about the Sacramento North Soccer Club affiliating with a third league in three years, pointing to a previous affiliation with River City Youth Soccer two years ago. They asked whether the club’s parents had been surveyed and whether parents supported changing affiliation from the Natomas United Youth Soccer League to the Sacramento Youth Soccer League which could mean Natomas players traveling for games to Dixon, Clarksburg, Woodland, West Sacramento and Davis as well as parts of south and east Sacramento.
Sacramento North Soccer Club affiliating with the Sacramento Youth Soccer League could mean Natomas players traveling to Dixon, Clarksburg, Woodland, West Sacramento and Davis as well as parts of south and east Sacramento for games.
As of April 10, Cal North’s district-level commissioner Mark Dickerson said the only information he’d received from the Sacramento North Soccer Club had been a multi page letter written by a lawyer.
“… This affects the entire district,” said Dickerson.
Sources said the arbitrator at today’s mediation meeting will be a former Cal North commissioner from the San Francisco Bay Area. The meeting is meant to determine whether the relationship between the four Natomas soccer organizations can be salvaged.
The move by the Sacramento North Soccer Club to change soccer league affiliations dates to March 19. At that meeting the club’s board members voted 11-1 to seek affiliation with the Sacramento Youth Soccer League which currently includes 16 recreational and competitive clubs.
At the Sacramento North Soccer Club’s March 26 board meeting, there was a unanimous vote to affiliate with any soccer league, not just the Sacramento Youth Soccer League.
“Our priority is still affiliating with SYSL,” said Sal Garcia, acting president for the Sacramento North Soccer Club.
On April 4, then president of the Natomas United Youth Soccer League Sean Slay resigned from his post in hopes the move would dissuade the Sacramento North Soccer Club from leaving.
“I feel that my presence at the league is partly the reason … Sacramento North does not want to be a part of the program we created,” Slay said. “My hope is that if I remove myself, Natomas United can move forward as envisioned.”
The following week, on April 9, the Sacramento Youth Soccer League board voted to approve affiliation with the Sacramento North Soccer Club.
But at Cal North’s district-level meeting the next day, Dickerson said it was up to Cal North whether to approve the affiliation. He said a change in soccer league affiliations would also mean a change in soccer league boundaries and possibly impact use of soccer fields in north Natomas – for which city officials said no Natomas youth soccer organization has primary use agreements.
Sacramento North Soccer Club board members have said they would consider leaving Cal North to join U.S. Club Soccer or the American Youth Soccer Organization if not allowed to change soccer league affiliations.
Links to:
Letter from Natomas United Youth Soccer League dated April 11, 2013
Letter from Sacramento North Soccer Club dated April 12, 2013
This is just sad. I hope they get their act together before the registration is slated to start. My kids love playing soccer, but this turmoil with the league makes me wonder if it’s going to be organized enough for my family to participate.
Hello Everyone. I
was the Director for the Competitive Club last year (NUFC) and was very
instrumental the look and feel of the program last year. We work diligently to have the competitive club have the same look and feel of the two recreational clubs, so there would be slight transformation with those moving up to competitive play. This year Natomas United FC is an actual club with a Constitution, By-Laws and a board of directors (Like a corporation, but for non-profit).
Last year the program was a joint effort of both Sacramento North Soccer Club and Natomas Soccer Club. The program was under the umbrella of the league and both clubs. When I made decisions for the competitive program, it was under the guidance of those three boards. I have
been a volunteer with Sacramento North Soccer for over eight years as a coach, board member, then forming the competitive program, so it really heartening to see, what we have accomplished in the last five years be either tarnished or tainted by those with either lack of knowledge or their own agenda. Sacramento North’s current board has accused both Natomas United FC and last year’s Sacramento North board of paying for services for players that were not associated with Sacramento North.
This in fact is not true, as five of the thirteen teams from last year’s competitive program were registered under Sacramento North Soccer. The difference for the competitive player was the club (SNSC) collected $75 from each registered player for their uniform package! Registration for the competitive players last year was $175, which did not include the fundraising that the recreational program participated in last year (Mountain Mikes), so registration was $100, plus the $75 uniform package.
Here is what I posted on Facebook a couple of days ago to help out with the numbers that the current Sacramento North Board presented to their membership last week:
There were checks paid out to NUFC’s vendors (The said $16000) for
uniforms and patches, which were for the 199 players that played during the 2012 CCSL Fall season.
Looking at the numbers from last season: Registration: $100 (Which included all of the niceties that the recreational players had
(Referee fees, field fees, insurance, Cal North association fee, etc.)),
uniforms: $75 (($68 for the jersey package, which included the charge for
putting the patches on patches for each jersey, then the actual patches), which made registration costs = $175.
Let’s talk about the competitive uniforms now! Doing the math, with the mentioned $16000, which was money that was collected by both clubs for uniforms during registration, a non-issue, or as SNSC’s board has stated, been paid by SNSC’s parents.
There were 13 teams in Natomas United FC last year, with 85 children that were from Sacramento North Soccer Club the previous year (5 Teams). Natomas Soccer Club had 8 teams (114 children), which made the final count 199. Natomas Soccer Club paid Sacramento North roughly $8500, which covered the costs for their player’s uniforms and patches, which Natomas Soccer Club collected at their registration. Patches were also purchased in bulk for $2000 for 500 patches.
The numbers pretty much add up to $16000, which was collected during registration. This seems pretty straight forward. So, how did SNSC’s parents from last year pay for something that was already collected for? Is SNSC providing inaccurate information? This is information that SNSC’s board has access to, but would rather give false information, then the truth.
I hope they make this work. Going to Davis, Woodland, and Dixon for weekly games is ridiculous. It’s been great playing with neighbors and school mates. I wish those paying and playing had a voice in these decisions.
I would like to hear more about the allegations in the SNSC letter that Fees paid by SNSC parents were used to fund the creation of NUFC (Natomas United Futbol Club. Over $16,000 of SNSC monies were used to purchase uniforms for comp players.