Monitoring The MPS Impact

[FSM]

On the subject of the SOEs, perhaps this might clarify the problems of our system. On the "And Again" coaching forum, a coach from North Carolina commented on a recent talk and ODP training session to '93 boys given by Steve Heighway, Liverpool FC Youth Academy Director. He said that Heighway was very complimentary of the US athlete but felt our system and the overemphasis on winning is holding back the development of the US players. When he ran the training session he wanted to see the technical level of the players. He ran a few technical exercises and then played some SSGs with conditions that empahsized the techncial aspects just worked on. His comment at the end was that the players tactical awareness was better than their technical ability and he would expect the boys at this age to have it just the opposite. In the coach's opinion, he felt this was a nice way of saying the boys were not technically proficient to the level Heighway would expect of 93s. I think it may also indicate that players are being coached on the tactics that will help win games. In the simplified form, an example would be "When in doubt, kick it out."

I believe that MPS shares the same philosophy that too early a focus on competition holds back player development, and thus their reason for starting the SOEs and not playing in MAPLE at U11/U12. I believe when first started they had intended to have kids in them until U13 or U14, but had to modify the plan to meet the American market.

Exactly!!

Do you want to buy a bridge also?

Nonprofit

Non Profit really doesn't mean what people think it does. They distribute out the income the same way as any regular business. I heard that the govt. is looking into clubs throughout the country to determine if truly non profit. The status should be used more for Town soccer clubs which are true non-profits. So don't get fooled by any clubs claim of non profit. Clubs are still run to make money.

:

Non-profits, aka "Doing well by doing good".

First, the directors, admin and coaches can get reimbursed for ALL expenses, including travel. This is all tax free.

Anything left can be distributed as salaries.

The government is looking into some clubs for payments to
"subcontractors".

It is alleged that many of the payments to coaches and referees go unreported to the IRS. I'm sure everyone is shocked by this. ;)

[pitch420]

Do you want to buy a bridge also?

Trying to unload the one you bought?

Aren't non-profits required to file annual financial statements? These are public records so if someone was really curious or concerned, they could probably find out where their club fees were going.

I tend to believe that most soccer clubs organize as non-profit corporations. It should be noted that there is a significant difference between a non-profit and a charity. As was noted before, non-profits operate in may ways identically to their "for profit" cousins but in the end there are no share-holders to which profits are disbursed. Every non-profit operates via their constitution and by-laws. You can get a great feel for what these look like by viewing the corporate documents of MAPLE and Mass Youth. Both are posted on their web-sites. In essence the non-profit is run by a Board of Directors and Officers elected by the membership. The corporate documents will designate the mechanisms used for these elections. My experience is that most newly formed non-profits are limiting involvement in these elections. The older model was for any parent of a kid in the program to be considered a member and thus able to show up at the annual meeting. At a minimum they were allowed to vote for the officers. This resulted in lots of "bloodless coups" when one dissatisfied faction within an entity would get more votes at the annual meeting. Then get their slate of officers and Directors elected and wrestle control of the entity fro the ruling faction. Since the people initially forming the entity represent that ruling faction (and generally want to keep it that way), and they control how the thing is set up and run, newer formation documents often create a membership limited to a more select few. Sort of the soccer version of an oligarchy. MAPLE has this type of set-up. Each club is a member but they get differing numbers of votes based on their number of clubs at certain levels. This type of corporate organization (which is often more limiting than MAPLE) tends to perpetuate the status quo. There is a special type of non-profit which most commonly is designated a 501 (C) 3 charitable corporation. 501C3 is the section of the IRS regulations dealing with these type of entitites. This designation, which requires application and approval from the IRS and DOR, are for tax exempt entities, contributions to which will be tax deductible. Along with other benefits, they can also avoid paying sales tax on purchases. All non-profits face regulation and scrutiny. In Massachusetts the big issue tends to be the amount of reserves. Big bank accounts draw unwanted attention from the AG's office. The issue of under the table payments is also drawing attention.

Martha Coakley received a B.A. degree, from Williams College in 1975, and a J.D. degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1979. Coakley resides in Medford, Massachusetts, with her husband, Thomas F. O'Connor, Jr. In her spare time, Coakley is an avid reader, and enjoys downhill skiing, walking her Labrador Retrievers, Jackson and Beauregard, and kayaking with her husband on the Mystic Lakes.

[Blue Devil]

Why the Martha Coakley reference?

[MASC]

Harvard, BC, BU, MIT, etc. are all non-profits. Has any one looked at their salaries?

Non-profit does not mean that people are not charged a significant price for services rendered.

Has anyone looked at the tuition charges? Can you imagine what the tuition would be if they were for profit and had to pay share holders?

None of the clubs charge enough to pay full time staff wages competitive with public or private sector jobs, e.g. entry level teaching (statewide average of $32,000/year not including employor co-pays, etc.).

No one gets rich from club soccer. Most lose money and almost all involved have "real" jobs that pay the bills.

Harvard, BC, BU, MIT, etc. are all non-profits. Has any one looked at their salaries?

No one gets rich from club soccer. Most lose money and almost all involved have "real" jobs that pay the bills.

I wonder if this is accurate. It's undoubtedly true for the coaches in the trenches but if you run a very large club I think you can do quite well. I believe there was an item in the news last year about club administrators/DOC's making very large salaries. At least one fulltime club administrator of a large Mass club can be found on many weekends at his Nantucket home.

Every corporate entity, for profit, non-profit, LLC must form and file with the Sec. of the Commonwealth. You can look these entities up on line. Generally you are better off using the search by individual field as opposed to corporate name only because clubs can form using any name and then operate as a D/B/A. Just for information MPS is a non-profit as is FC Greater Boston. The only bigger club that I know of as being formed and operating exclusively as a for profit entity is the Aztecs. One of the big values of being "for profit" is that you can seek investors and then sell stock to raise capital. You amy also find that some clubs are part of a bigger corporate web that include for profit entities interested in owning RE or sports facilities.

[ggrevisited]

Sorry MASC, I strongly disagree...I know up on the North Shore there is at least one club that has full-time coaches/staff who are doing quite well for themselves without working any other job. Don't know about MPS but I'm sure that those who are in full-time capacities are doing OK for themselves...

[pitch420]

Sorry MASC, I strongly disagree...I know up on the North Shore there is at least one club that has full-time coaches/staff who are doing quite well for themselves without working any other job. Don't know about MPS but I'm sure that those who are in full-time capacities are doing OK for themselves...

But theyre working for it especially dealing with Parents!!

[ggrevisited]

Absolutely...:)

Seriously, I have no issue with clubs coaches/full-time staff being paid well for the work they do; they should and I think that many would love to be in the position of coaching full-time without having to work for additional income...just wanted to disagree with the statement that it is rare...