T O R S O

Thirty & Over Recreational Soccer Organization

"Because we still love the game."

Team Rep Handbook - 2007 / 2008 Playing Season

The Team Rep Handbook documents all activities that a TORSO Team Representative will normally encounter during the TORSO playing season. This information is meant to be a reference source for the TORSO team reps for any questions that may come up during the season. Use the following table of contents to move to an appropriate section.

I. Team Finances        Back to top

The team fee assessed each team is used to pay for the seasonal budget of the TORSO league. About 80% of this money goes to paying referees. The team fee may be adjusted each season due to expected expenditures for the coming season. TORSO tries to maintain a minimum treasury to run the league and not to accumulate money.

Important Deadlines        Back to top

• August 1, 2007 - $100 Pre-Season Team Fee Due

• August 2, 2007 - $50 Fine for not paying Pre-Season Team Fee by August 1, 2007

• August 11, 2007 - Turn over Pre-Season Team Fee checks to the TORSO Treasurer

• September 9, 2007 - $500 Remaining Team Fee Due

• September 10, 2007 - $50 Fine for not paying Remaining Team Fee by September 9, 2007

• September 16, 2007 - Turn over Fall season checks to the TORSO Treasurer

Future Important Deadlines        Back to top

• January 1, 2008 - $100 Pre-Season Team Fee Due

• January 2, 2008 - $50 Fine for not paying Pre-Season Team Fee by January 1, 2008

• January 9, 2008 - Turn over Pre-Season Team Fee checks to the TORSO Treasurer

• February 17, 2008 - $500 Remaining Team Fee Due

• February 18, 2008 - $50 Fine for not paying Remaining Team Fee by February 17, 2008

• March 9, 2008 - Turn over Spring season checks to the TORSO Treasurer

The team fee is broken into two parts.  A pre-season fee of $100 is due by August 1st for the Fall season and January 1st for the Spring season. This $100 insures the team a place in that season's schedule. If this $100, plus any outstanding money owed the league, is not paid by the August 1st/January 1st deadline, a $50 late fine is imposed on the team. All payments should be in the form of a check made out to TORSO. No cash, please.

These checks will be turned over to the TORSO Treasurer for deposit on August 11, 2007. This gives the Team Rep time to collect money from the team players to fund the Pre-Season Team Fee.

The remainder of the team fee needs to be paid prior to the first game of the season. If the remainder of the team fee, plus any other outstanding money owed the league, is not paid prior to the first game of the season, a $50 late fine is imposed on the team.

These checks will be turned over to the TORSO Treasurer for deposit on September 16, 2007. This gives the Team Rep time to collect money from the team players to fund the Fall season.

Field Fees        Back to top

Field fees are collected by TORSO from each team playing at the various fields and then a single TORSO check is sent to the field owner for all the teams playing there.  Here are the field fees for the various fields:

• Kingwood Fields - $150

• Cypresswood Park - Currently no field fees

• North Harris County College - $125

• Meyer Park - Team pays field fees directly to Klein Soccer Club

• Bear Creek Park - $180

• George Bush Park - $150

• Quail Valley Fields - $100

• Bayland Park - Team pays field fees directly to Westbury Soccer Club

Team Fines        Back to top

• Missing 2 League meetings in a season - $25

• Forfeits - $25

• Late Game Sheets - $10

• Using an Ineligible Player - $50

• D & P Fines - Varying amounts

TORSO has a League Meeting at the beginning of the season, in the middle of the season and at the end of the season. The league meetings are always held at the Nanes Clubhouse, always on a Thursday, and always at 7:30 pm. If the team is not represented by someone at two of the league meetings during the season, the team is fined $25.

If a team fails to field enough players for a scheduled game, they will be fined $25.

Game sheets must be turned in by the Home team within 14 days after the game. Failure to do so will result in a $10 fine. The game sheets are used to pay the referees.

Using an ineligible player in a game will result in a $50 fine. This and the above two items will be discussed more fully under the topic of Game Sheets.

The D & P committee, Discipline & Protests, assesses fines in various amounts to teams and players for activities occurring during TORSO games that violate TORSO and FIFA rules. This will be discussed more fully under the topic of D & P.

Yellow and Red cards are normally defined as player fines and need to be paid in order for the players to regain their eligibility, but if the fine remains unpaid at the end of the season, it becomes a team fine and must be paid for prior to the start of the next season.

Team Financial History        Back to top

The main instrument used to communicate the financial status for a TORSO team is the:

"TORSO Financial History Of The Team and Fine History By Player"

This report is prepared and sent to the Team Rep whenever the team incurs a debt or makes a payment.  The report consists of two sections.  The first section details all debts and credits related to the team as a whole.  The second section details all Yellow and Red cards issued to players on the team.

Each item on the report has the following fields:

• Type - P for Team, Player, and Field Fees and any team fines, C for Credit Outstanding, F for Forfeit, Y for Yellow Card, R for Red Card

• Cost - the dollar amount of the debt

• Date Incurred - the date the debt was incurred

• Date Paid - the date the team paid the debt

• Name - the name of the player receiving the Yellow or Red card

• Violation Description - the description related to the normal debt item or the reason the Yellow or Red card was issued to the player

If Date Paid entry for an item is blank, the item remains unpaid and the entire item line is in Bold text.

This is an example of a Yellow card line on the Financial Report:

Joe Foosballer received a Yellow card for Ungentlemanly Conduct on 9/9/2007.  The fine has not been paid and therefore, the line is in Bold text.

For Yellow and Red cards, there may be two additional lines under the report line for the Yellow and Red card.  The first additional line:

"This player's next yellow card will cost $5 the next red card will cost $20."

concerns the Progressive Fine System that TORSO operates under where the first two Yellow cards in a two season period cost $5 and the first Red card costs $20. Since this is Joe's first Yellow card, this line indicates what the costs will be for Joe's next Yellow and Red cards.

Since the Yellow card remains unpaid, there may be two additional lines under the report line for the Yellow and Red card. The second additional line:

"This player's eligibility will be lost on 9/24/07 if the fine remains unpaid."

indicates that Joe will become an ineligible player on 9/24/2007 if the Yellow card remains unpaid.  A player has 14 days to pay for a Yellow card before the player's eligibility is lost.

II. Player Registration        Back to top

The topics covered under Player Registration will playing seasons, age requirements, player registration fees, filling out the Player Registration forms, and filling out the Player Passes.

Important Deadlines        Back to top

• September 1, 2007 - All players must be re-registered for the Fall 2007 Playing Season

• January 31, 2008 - Players who turn 30 by this date are eligible to play in the Fall 2007 Playing Season

• August 31, 2008 - Players who turn 30 by this date are eligible to play in the Spring 2008 Playing Season

• Wednesday (during playing season) - Player registration forms received by the TORSO Registrar will normally be eligible for the following Sunday's game

Playing Season        Back to top

The Texas State Soccer Association South (TSSAS), the state governing body, has a playing season that starts on September 1, 2007 and continues until August 31, 2008.  A player that is registered at anytime during that year long season for a team is registered for the remainder of that year long period. All players must be re-registered for the next playing season that starts on September 1, 2007.

TORSO divides the TSSAS playing season in to two parts. The TORSO Fall season runs from September 1, 2007 until January 31, 2008. The TORSO Spring season starts February 1, 2008 and continues until August 31, 2008, which is the end of the TSSAS playing season.

Age Requirement        Back to top

A player is eligible to register with a TORSO team and participate in a TORSO playing season if that player's 30^th birthday occurs prior to or during that TORSO playing season. If a player wishes to play in the TORSO Fall season, his/her 30^th birthday has to occur prior to February 1, 2008. If a player wishes to play in the TORSO Spring season, his/her 30^th birthday has to occur prior to September 1, 2008. All players must satisfy this age requirement in order to register with a TORSO team.

Player Registration Fees        Back to top

• Normal Player Registration: $20.00

• Multiple Player Registration: $5.00

• Transfer Player Registration: $6.00

A Normal Player Registration is for a player that has never registered with TORSO or any other TSSAS affiliated league during the current TSSAS playing season. Any registrations for this player in prior TSSAS playing seasons has no bearing on this seasons registration. The Normal Player Registration fee is $20, $5 TSSAS player registration fee and $15 mandatory TSSAS medical insurance fee. A TORSO player can only be registered with one TORSO team at a time.

A Multiple Player Registration is for a player that has never registered with TORSO during the current TSSAS playing season but is currently registered with another TSSAS affiliated league during the current TSSAS playing season. These players are called multiple players because they are registered with more than one TSSAS affiliated league. The Multiple Player Registration fee is $5, just the TSSAS player registration fee. A Multiple player can be registered with one TORSO team and as many TSSAS affiliated leagues as they desire.

A Transfer Player Registration is for a player that has already registered with TORSO during the current TSSAS playing season but would like to stop playing with that TORSO team and transfer to a different TORSO team.  The Transfer Player Registration fee is $6, $5 TSSAS player registration fee and $1  TSSAS transfer fee.

Filling Out the Player Registration Form        Back to top

Player registration is accomplished using the US Soccer Registration Form. These forms are supplied to the TORSO Team Rep by the TORSO Registrar at the beginning of the playing season. The filled-in forms supplied for returning players at the beginning of the 2007 Fall season, contain all of the player information in the TORSO Registrar's Player Database. The returning player needs to correct any information that has changed and then sign and date the form. The TORSO Registrar also supplies blank forms that contain TORSO League and Team information and the Team Rep information at the bottom of the form. These forms can be copied for as many players as necessary. The US Soccer Registration Form is mandatory for all player registrations, new, returning, multiple, or transferring players.

Biographical Information        Back to top

At the top of the form is the Biographical Information area. Fill in the Player's Last Name, First Name, and Middle Initial in the first two boxes. The ID Number is assigned by the TORSO Registrar, so do not enter any information in this area. Fill in the Area Code and Phone Number, Address, City, State, and Zip Code in the next set of boxes. Enter the Sex and Birth date, month, day, and year in the next set of boxes. If you enter the player's email address, the player will be added to the TORSO Registrar's email list and will receive periodic messages relating to team schedules, meetings, special events, and standings.

The player then signs the form next to the X and enters the current date beneath the signature.

Registration - Season        Back to top

This section already has the AMATEUR, OUTDOOR, COED, and O/30 boxes checked. If this was a pre-printed form from the TORSO Registrar, the PRIMARY LEAGUE NAME of TORSO, L# of 19, the T# for the team number of the TORSO team, and the PRIMARY TEAM name of the TORSO Team.

If this is a Multiple Player Registration, the MULTIPLE box should be checked, the MULTIPLE LEAGUE NAME should be entered, and the MULTIPLE TEAM NAME should be entered.

If this is a Transfer Player Registration, the RELEASE box should be checked, the RELEASE TEAM NAME should be entered, and the RELEASE DATE should be entered. The releasing team rep should send an email message to the TORSO Registrar releasing the transferring player and the TORSO Registrar will sign in the MANAGER SIGN box.

Team Representative        Back to top

The Team Representative's Name, Address, and Phone should be entered in the appropriately named boxes in the Team Representative area.

Yellow and Red cards are normally defined as player fines and need to be paid in order for the players to regain their eligibility, but if the fine remains unpaid at the end of the season, it becomes a team fine and must be paid for prior to the start of the next season.

Filling Out the Player Pass        Back to top

Information needs to be filled in on both sides of the Player Pass.  On the front side of the Player Pass the Adult box needs to be checked. The I.D. NO. is assigned by the TORSO Registrar, so do not enter any information in this area. On the next line the player's last name and first name should be printed on the Player Pass. The player's birth date should be entered in the correct boxes. The player should sign the Player Pass on the Player's Signature line. Finally, a clear picture of the player, not a black and white Xerox copy, should be cut and pasted into the small box on the right of the Player Pass.

On the back side of the Player Pass the date should be entered as Month/Year. So if you are registering a player on October 18, 2007, then the date should be 10/07. Any players being registered in August 2007 should have a date of 9/07. The Season is 0708. The Team is your team name. The League is TORSO. The Div is your division, either 1 or 2. The League Registrar field should be left blank. The TORSO Registrar will sign the Player Pass.