MCLA Changes For Upcoming Year

[OAKS]

We also discussed the people who wear their helmets so high on their heads that they look through the bottom holes of their facemasks.

"popping a wheelie"

Completely agree. Can't we say it's dangerous or something?

[PigPen]

The next item that will be banned are mullets.

-Baltis are still in- I grow one every season.

[John Paul]

JP what was the result of the vote on my proposal to ban the use of soccer cleats in MCLA competition?

I forgot to bring it up. My bad Danny. Should have been first on the agenda. We still have time though. We'll make it a priority at the December meeting. (December 14 at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott, by the way.)

[TexOle]

Are soccer cleats legal with the requirements for length and hardness? I have yet to test any with my electron microscope.

[LaxRef]

Are soccer cleats legal with the requirements for length and hardness? I have yet to test any with my electron microscope.

The NCAA rules just say the cleats have to be less than 1/2 inch. There's also the clause about not being able to wear anything the officials think is dangerous.

It's the NFHS rules that talk about Rockwell hardness.

[LaxRef]

LaxRef - these are all toungue in cheek. If you knew Danny his biggest pet peeve is people wearing soccer cleats on the field. I remember walking with him at nationals two years ago and he was said something like "man that kid is wearing soccer cleats, he must suck" and you know what? Danny was right.

The running while cradeling without the ball is not talking about hidden ball tricks but rather kids just running up and down the field. Watch for it next time you ref, its pretty funny.

Ah, well that makes more sense. When people start talking about rule changes, I have a hard time thinking of it as a joke!

Yes, I have seen people cradle without the ball, and they do look a little goofy. But it's probably better for them if they cradle all the time rather than forgetting to cradle sometimes when they have the ball.

[Danny Hogan]

JP what was the result of the vote on my proposal to ban the use of soccer cleats in MCLA competition?

I forgot to bring it up. My bad Danny. Should have been first on the agenda. We still have time though. We'll make it a priority at the December meeting. (December 14 at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott, by the way.)

good to know you still have your ear to the street. keep fighting the good fight.

[PigPen]

I remember walking with him at nationals two years ago and he was said something like "man that kid is wearing soccer cleats, he must suck" and you know what? Danny was right.

Yah-but danny played devil's advocate himself one time with me-Mark Lamb from A&M was the example-it confused Danny-"He wears soccer cleats-and he's an All American-that doesn't happen"

[LaxTV_Admin]

I would absolutely love to see someone run out on the lacrosse field with a pair of jorts and some mitres

Back to the topic..., couple of questions.

1. Will there be meetings published from this meeting? Will they include the items that were tabled for discussion in the December meeting?

2. Is there a time-table on the publishing of the new by-laws? If so, when and where?

3. JP, your comment about the agenda makes perfect sense, but just because I am curious, will the Board be publishing an agenda prior to the December meetings or will it be more of whatever was tabled at this meeting and then stuff that kinda comes up at that meeting?

4. If no agenda will be published can we be certain to get a vote on Danny's proposal to make soccer cleats illegal? I would guess that would pass unanimously

[Ken Lovic]

Minutes from the meeting will be distributed to Conference Directors by the end of the week. First week of school at Tech and I am busy with some welcome back to school events I have to handle. Sorry for the delay. I will get them out as soon as I can.
In the minutes will be updates on by-laws and tabled discussions.

[LaxTV_Admin]

Minutes from the meeting will be distributed to Conference Directors by the end of the week. First week of school at Tech and I am busy with some welcome back to school events I have to handle. Sorry for the delay. I will get them out as soon as I can.
In the minutes will be updates on by-laws and tabled discussions.

Thanks Ken. No problem about the time (at least for me). I just wanted to know if they would be available.

[Zeuslax]

One of the things I would like to see our league discuss and possibly debate are the merits of what people think are the greatest successes and issues within/across the league. The reason I ask is because we have such a large and varying membership body and I would assume the thoughts would be diverse.

We have some that are positioning their organizations for varsity status and others that are truly virtual varsity. To be honest, we have plenty of teams that are just fine with playing regional games against other fairly organized regional teams. Basically the league provides them with some higher form of structure and an outlet for this level of play. This is a huge cross section.

[Pinball]

One of the things I would like to see our league discuss and possibly debate are the merits of what people think are the greatest successes and issues within/across the league.

This was done to the best of everyones abilities as each conference gave a report about their each league. Not only were problems in the league discussed but also the positives that people viewed. I got a pretty good understanding of many teams from listening to the other directors.


On another note i would like to mention that the Board of Directors and Executive Board came to a consensus that Division 2:
WOULD NOT BE A DEVELOPMENTAL LEAGUE WITH ITS MEMBERS GOALS TO ATTAIN DIVISION 1 STATUS, IT IS A LEAGUE THAT IS INTENDED FOR SCHOOLS WITH A SMALL UNDERGRAD POPULATION.

An exact definition will be proposed at the December meeting and hopefully enacted for the 2009 season.

[John Paul]

You are correct though Anthony. That diversity can be a good thing, but it also presents some real challenges as we try to serve everyone. Since we have specifically defined Division 2 as the same as Division 1, just for smaller schools, we have to be careful that we maintain expectations for everyone at a high level. There is no developmental level in the MCLA. We run into problems when we admit and/or keep teams that aren't meeting the minimums. That is not to say teams can't be helped to develop, inside and outside of the MCLA, but we are trying to define and emphasize minimum standards. One suggestion at the Board meetings by a couple of conference directors was that we put a two year moratorium on admitting any new teams. We never really got into that discussion, but it shows there's a concern.

[Timbalaned]

You are correct though Anthony. That diversity can be a good thing, but it also presents some real challenges as we try to serve everyone. Since we have specifically defined Division 2 as the same as Division 1, just for smaller schools, we have to be careful that we maintain expectations for everyone at a high level. There is no developmental level in the MCLA. We run into problems when we admit and/or keep teams that aren't meeting the minimums. That is not to say teams can't be helped to develop, inside and outside of the MCLA, but we are trying to define and emphasize minimum standards. One suggestion at the Board meetings by a couple of conference directors was that we put a two year moratorium on admitting any new teams. We never really got into that discussion, but it shows there's a concern.

So if the D2 is not a developmental league are all teams that are technically in the large division by the rules set going to be forced to play in D1 this year. Seems to me if there is no developmental part of it, teams should be in the correct division whether they go 0-13 or not. They can still schedule D2 games if they want, but they should have to play those D1 league games.