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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-10 - Parks and Rec Advisory Council Meeting Minutes MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF RYE BROOK PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COUNCIL 938 KING STREET RYE BROOK,New York 10573 January 10, 2012 Convene Meeting: Chairman Marc Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 8:30pm The following Members of the Council were present: Advisory Council Members: Chairman Marc Zimmerman, Ken Frankel, Sari Jablon, Frank Carbone Brian Funtleyder, Jamie Schutzer, Adam Berman, Glenn Brettschneider Absent Council Members: Kevin O'Neil Recreation Department Member: Robert Bertolacci, Parks &Recreation Superintendent Carmella Swick, Sr. Office Assistant 1. Minutes: Chairman Zimmerman asked for a motion to accept the November 1, 2011 Minutes. Committee Member Berman made the motion to accept the November 1, 2011 Minutes and Committee Member Jablon seconded the motion. The November 1, 2011 Minutes were approved and accepted. Committee Members Brettschneider and Schutzer abstained from voting on the Minutes. II. Public View Points: Cheryl Artabane, a Rye Brook resident, commended Kyle and Janice on the great job they are doing with the Teen Night program. There was a bowling event in October and a Dodgeball Tournament in December. The two upcoming trips scheduled are Snow Tubing in January and the Broadway play, Spiderman, in March. Ms. Artabane said she hopes the sign-up for the teen program continues to grow and she is available if her help is needed. Chairman Zimmerman noted that all the basketball teams in the lower grades were put together perfectly, and there have been competitive games in the younger kid age groups. The recreation staff did a great job and the kids are having a great time. Committee Member Berman asked Superintendent Bertolacci if we could sell food at the basketball games. Superintendent Bertolacci said it is not worth the cost of buying supplies and paying staff to sell at the games. Committee Member Berman commented on the Little League letter sent out to the parents, particularly that the letter covered all the points that were discussed. 1166105.1 III. Superintendent's Report a. Recreation Basketball Superintendent Bertolacci reported that he was told by a coach that the "best"player on the team quit and requested a player from another team to avoid getting "blown out" of every game. Chairman Bertolacci denied the request. Superintendent Bertolacci said that part of his budget process this year will be that if a player drops out after the teams are made, there will be no refunds to that player. This change would have to be approved by the Village Board. As of now, if a player drops out of the program and a refund is requested, it is given with a pro-rated amount. Committee Member Carbone said that one of his basketball games was a blow out because two kids did not show up, but his team was not discouraged. Instead, it gave them more incentive to work and not depend on that one good player--the players go out and do their best on the court. Committee Member Berman had two comments: I. If a player drops out once the program starts, that player shouldn't get any refund back unless that person is out due to any injury. 2. At one of the games he attended, there were only 5 kids on each team and the coaches agreed to play 4 on 4 and have one kid sit on the bench. He suggested that did not help the kids learn anything, and they should have played the game with the 5 players and either given extra time-outs so the kids can rest or borrow a player from another team. He asked if we could send out an e-mail to the coaches asking them to play 5 on 5 games and give extra time outs if the players need to rest. Chairman Zimmerman commented that he has heard very positive feedback that the basketball program is running well and very organized. He said that in the 2-3 and 4-5 grades, the coaches are as strong a grouping of coaches that we have had in a long time, and are excellent with the kids. He commented that there is confusion about entering the lane on free throws with the new "on the release" rule, which is different from other programs' "when it hits the rim" rule, and that we should address this issue next year. Committee Member Funtleyder raised the issue of the kids not being able to cross the "blue line" defensively in the old gym. He said the line is almost at the foul line, and prevents the kids from playing aggressive half court defense. Superintendent Bertolacci explained the reason for the rule is that at the lower age levels, less kids that can handle the ball, and we want to give more kids a chance to succeed by letting them handle the ball to that line without being pressured. Committee Member Berman said another issue is the 3 point line, which exists at the high school gym and at BelleFair, but not in the elementary school; and suggested the 3-point rule be eliminated. Committee Member Berman also commented that the roster of one of the 6-7 grade teams is completely unfair and blows all the other teams away. He said that the basketball sub-committee already has suggested that the teams be reviewed beforehand by the Recreation Department or Superintendent to avoid that situation. 1166105.1 Committee Member Schutzer said that one referee for grades 2-3 last Saturday did not know the recreation basketball rules well enough. Committee Member Schutzer suggested that in that situation, the coaches could review the rules with the referee to avoid any misunderstandings. IV. Old Business a. Little League Sub-Committee Committee Member Carbone reported on the Little League sub-committee meeting held last week. There were about 40 kids that attended the baseball clinic held last Wednesday night. The feedback from the parents was very positive and we hope to get kids back into our league that did not play last year. Every point on the survey that was sent out was very positive. Committee Member Carbone said the subcommittee discussed each Major League team having one 5th and one 6th grade coach, instead of two 5th or 6th grade coaches. Players in the 5th grade that continue to play the following year would stay on with the same 5th grade coach on the same team which would give the team some continuity. After the two coaches are selected, an e-mail can be sent asking for additional assistants. Minor League coaching will be the same as it has been in the past. Chairman Zimmerman's opinion is that there may be more kids who would play if they knew that at least one friend is on the same team with him/her, and asked if that kind of request could be considered. Superintendent Bertolacci said he will only consider negative requests. Committee Member Carbone said there will be a mandatory coaches' clinic for all coaches in March. Committee Member Berman asked what would happen if a coach can not make that particular date. Superintendent Bertolacci said he would work something out. Committee Member Carbone said there will be a lot of kids in the 11 and 12 year old age bracket that will not have travel teams to play on this summer, and that we want to have a tournament team for 5th, 6th and 7th grade players that also will play in the summer as a Rye Brook sponsored team. We will go with a high division 11U team or low division 12U team if we do not have a lot of 12 year olds. Committee Member Carbone stated that he would put 14 players on a team. If one of the players goes on vacation or camp for 2 or 3 weeks and they are willing to pay the fee, let them play for the team. If this team works out, we can go all the way next year with a 12U and IOU team and possible a girls team if there is enough interest. If this council agrees we can bring the proposal to the Village Board for approval. Chairman Zimmerman said it would be good to push this agenda when we are sending out another Little League letter. Committee Member Schutzer asked what system do we use to send out information about recreation programs. Superintendent said our information goes out through Community Pass. We cannot send out any e-mails through the school. Chairman Zimmerman raised the issue about use of metal bats for Little League. He commented that he has found no definitive authority that indicates that there is a safety benefit to using a wood bat over a metal bat, and suggested that he felt metal bats are better from a teaching standpoint so little kids can handle the bat easier, and it difficult to teach a kid who does not have 1166105.1 enough upper body strength to handle a bat correctly. He stated that we should put the right tools in their hands to learn the right way. He also noted that metal bats also are used in the high school. Committee Member Berman said he would like to be on record saying if we change from wood bats to metal bats and there is an incident, even though it may have happened with a wood bat, it hasn't happened, and that is not to say it couldn't happen. Chairman Zimmerman said there is no formal authority that definitively found wood bats are safer than metal bats. People need to assume the inherent risk involved when they are playing a sport that has a bat and hard ball being thrown near or at somebody and that uses a bat to hit the ball into a field of play that contains other people. Committee Member Berman said that kids using metal bats will be able to get around quicker because the bat is lighter. That becomes more of an issue. Committee Member Carbone said he coached in Little League and Travel and did not see any balls hit that much harder. There were more strikeouts in Little League because the bat drags because its heavy. Superintendent Bertolacci said to change from a wood bat to a metal bat would be a recreation decision in conjunction with the Village Attorneys. We have to make sure that the Village will not be in any liability by switching back to using a metal bat and someone gets hurt. We want these kids to succeed and if wood bats is deterring that, then it is certainly an issue to look at. Chairman Zimmerman asked for a vote from the Council that the Rye Brook Little League should permit the use of metal as well as wood bats. Chairman Zimmerman asked for a show of hands for approval. All approved except Committee Member Berman who abstained. Superintendent Bertolacci said he will present to the Village Board that we believe the goal of the program is to teach the kids and to teach them properly, we want to be able to use metal bats. Committee Member Carbone said there would be another Little League sub-committee meeting after the next baseball clinic next Wednesday. Committee Member Berman asked if there is anything new with the Men's Softball League. Superintendent Bertolacci said there will be a meeting for Men's Softball next month. V. New Business: Committee Member Brettschneider inquired about volleyball for the older girls. He said there is a volleyball program for the middle school girls but there wasn't anything in the brochure for the high school girls. Superintendent reported that there will be volleyball for the older girls. Kyle is waiting for Justin, Blind Brook Varsity Volleyball coach, to give him the dates he is available for the program. 1166105.1 VI. Adjournment Chairman Zimmerman asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Committee Member Berman made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Committee Member Jablon seconded the motion. All approved. The meeting was adjourned at 10:1Opm. The next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will be on February 7, 2012 at 8:30pm. Minutes prepared by Carmella Swick. 1166105.1