MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER LEAGUE Constitution and Bylaws 1. Organization This organization shall be known as the Middle School Soccer League (MSSL), a nonprofit organization showing no discrimination with respect to age, national origin, race, religion, sex, or disability. MSSL is an independent organization of soccer teams formed according to the boundaries of middle school districts in the city of Huntsville, Alabama. The organization may unofficially be referred to as Middle School Soccer because it is a soccer program for boys and girls of eligible age in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. MSSL is not a program of Huntsville City Schools, of any individual middle school, or of any other recreation or athletic organization. 2. Objectives The objective of MSSL is to provide a competitive soccer program for eligible sixth, seventh, or eighth grade students. 3. Membership (a) Each city middle school by zone in the city of Huntsville, Alabama is eligible for team membership in MSSL. Private schools and home school umbrellas can also join the league. (b) Combined teams may join the league upon a two-thirds approval of the MSSL Board of Delegates. (c) A written proposal with rationale for forming a combined team must be submitted to the MSSL Board of Delegates. (d) School teams not within the categories described in sub-sections (a) or (b), above, may be added to the league upon approval by two-thirds of the MSSL Board of Delegates. (e) It is the responsibility of adult volunteers of each MSSL team community to provide management, organization, supervision, and funding for the operation of its soccer teams. 4. Board of Delegates (a) Each member team shall have one representative on the Middle School Soccer League Board of Delegates. The Team Delegate representative shall be the team manager or a person designated in writing by the team manager. If an individual is team manager for more than one team, they must designate a second individual to cast a vote for one of the teams. Each Delegate shall have only one vote in matters properly presented for vote by a Delegate. 1 Amended November 10, 2017
(b) The Board of Delegates shall select a Director, who will serve as the MSSL President, by majority approval. Other Officers may be selected at the discretion of the Board of Delegates, but will at least consist of the following members (8 total): i Vice President ii Secretary iii Treasurer iv Webmaster v Immediate Past President vi Two persons at large, appointed by the MSSL President (c) The MSSL Executive Board is comprised of the President and 7 named Officers. The two persons at large may be assigned specific roles and responsibilities such as Assistant Vice President or Assistant Treasurer. (d) The term of each member of the Board of Delegates is one year beginning November 1 prior to the new season, or until a new member is selected or elected. (e) If a new Executive Board member is not selected or elected to replace a vacating board member, then the President may re-assign duties of the vacated position to other Executive Board members. (f) If a new President is not selected or elected at the beginning of the new season, then the Vice-President will serve as the acting President until a new member is elected. (g) The MSSL President may name committees for designated purposes with the majority approval of the Board of Delegates. (h) The Board of Delegates may assess sanctions and penalties against any club or manager if rules are violated or conduct standards are compromised. This may be enacted by a two-thirds vote of the other members of the Board of Delegates. (i) A quorum consisting of a two-thirds majority of Delegates shall be present before association business is conducted. (j) Robert s Rules of Order shall be the final authority at all questions of procedures and parliamentary law not covered by this constitution and by-laws. 5. Duties of Officers (a) Powers and Duties of the President The President shall be the chief executive officer of the MSSL, subject to control of the Executive Board of Officers, and shall have general charge of its business and supervision of its affairs. The President shall preside at all MSSL meetings. The President may create ad-hoc committees as deemed necessary to the needs of the MSSL, and shall appoint members to such committees with the approval of the Executive Board. In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere provided in these Bylaws, the President shall sign, when duly authorized to do so, all contracts, orders, etc as necessary on behalf of the MSSL. The President shall have such other powers and duties as are incident to said office and not inconsistent with these Bylaws, including the power to make an Executive Decision regarding rules or procedures that are not covered in these Bylaws or in the Policies and Procedures manual. 2 Amended November 10, 2017
The President will be responsible for practice field assignments, final game scheduling and rainout rescheduling, or may delegate these duties to a Vice President of Scheduling. The President will ensure that proper MSSL policies and procedures are followed with regards to scheduling practice fields, game scheduling, including field location and time, and rescheduling of games cancelled due to inclement weather. The President will also act as the direct liaison with the Referee Assignor, and the City of Huntsville Parks and Recreation, or will assign one or more delegates to perform these duties. (b) Powers and Duties of the Vice President The Vice President shall be familiar with the affairs of the MSSL and, in the event of the disability or absence of the President from any place in which the business in hand is to be done, the Vice President shall have all the powers and perform all the duties of the President. The primary responsibilities of the Vice-President are: (i) to coordinate the rostering meeting and team brackets for the upcoming season, and (ii) to serve as post-season Tournament Director. (c) Powers and Duties of the Secretary The Secretary will be responsible for entering in the minute books the minutes of all meetings of all committees and the Executive Board and shall have charge of all books and papers pertaining to said office. The Secretary shall be responsible for the giving of all notices and for the making of all statements and reports required of the MSSL. The Secretary shall perform such other duties as are incident to the office, including the preparation of written documents for the Webmaster, and shall have such powers and duties, in addition to those provided elsewhere in these Bylaws, as may be at any time assigned by the Executive Board. (d) Powers and Duties of the Treasurer The Treasurer, subject to the control of the Executive Board and together with the President, shall have the general supervision of the finances of the corporation. Duties of the Treasurer include the care of, and responsibility for, all monies, securities etc. for the MSSL, supervision of any officers and any other persons authorized to deposit, handle and disburse any funds, ensuring retention of information as to whether all deposits have been duly made and all expenditures duly authorized and evidenced by proper receipts and vouchers. The Treasurer shall cause full and accurate books to be kept, showing the transactions of the corporation, its accounts, assets, liabilities and financial condition, which shall at all times be open to inspection of the Board of Delegates, and such statements and reports as are required by law. In cooperation with the Huntsville Parks and Recreation (HPAR) department, the Treasurer will be responsible for sending monthly invoices to each team for field usage, within 5 days of receipt of the HPARissued invoice to MSSL, as well as submitting payment to the HPAR in a timely manner. The Treasurer may recommend a person to serve as the Assistant Treasurer to the Board of Directors for approval. The Treasurer will be responsible for renewing the insurance 3 Amended November 10, 2017
coverage on or prior to the renewal deadline. Subject to the Board of Delegates, the Treasurer shall have such other powers and duties as are incident to the office and not inconsistent with these Bylaws, or as may at any time be assigned to the Treasurer by the Board. (e) Powers and Duties of the Webmaster The Webmaster shall be responsible for updates to the MSSL Website, including, but not limited to, tryouts schedule for each member team, season schedule, input of scores, rainout notifications, field changes, upcoming MSSL events, etc. The Webmaster will also be responsible for monitoring the MSSL emails, including the forwarding of emails to the appropriate Executive Board member. MSSL Website: www.huntsvillemssl.com 6. Meetings (a) The MSSL Board of Delegates, at a minimum, will meet for the following meetings during the season: a. Pre-Season b. Rostering c. Scheduling (typically within a week after Rostering) d. After-Action/Wrap-Up (mid to late spring) 7. Season (a) The MSSL season runs January through March of each year and is intended to end the week prior to the start of Spring Break for Huntsville City Schools. (b) Registration for the MSSL season will begin on or around the 2 nd week of November and continue until the end of tryouts. (b) The practice and games schedules of MSSL shall be arranged with intent to minimize conflicts with game schedules of the other club soccer organizations in Huntsville and with the Huntsville city middle school sanctioned athletic events. (c) Tryouts for MSSL teams may not be conducted unless there is a valid insurance policy in effect during the tryout period. 8. Team Selection and Roster (a) Every player MUST provide (to the team manager) proof of age (i.e. birth certificate or equivalent), a signed and dated Registration and Medical Release Form, and pay the registration fee, BEFORE being allowed to participate in any team tryout. (b) Each team will be responsible for setting up the tryout dates and times, and define the criteria for the player selection process. Each team manager will notify the Webmaster of their tryout dates and times so that they can be published on the MSSL website. (c) The roster for each team shall have a maximum of twenty (20) players. (d) Each team may roster a maximum of three (3) eligible players that do not attend the associated school as long as they are zoned for that school system. 4 Amended November 10, 2017
(e) Team managers shall submit rosters to the MSSL President at the Rostering Meeting and no later than the first game date. Additions to the roster will be allowed until the first day of the current season, but the amended roster MUST be re-submitted to the MSSL President for final approval/signature. (f) Each team roster shall be accompanied by a MSSL registration/ medical release form and date of birth for each player. (a) Once a player is officially rostered to a MSSL team, no transfers from one MSSL team to another will be considered or approved. The only exception is if the team on which a player is rostered disbands entirely at any point during the season. 9. Player Eligibility (a) Players shall be students in the sixth, seventh or eighth grade. (b) Players are eligible to play for the school that they attend if that school has a MSSL team. If a player tries out for his/her school s MSSL team and is not selected, he/she is eligible to play for another school s MSSL team. (c) Players that do not attend a school with a MSSL team are eligible to play for the school for which they are zoned if that school has a MSSL team. If a player tries out for his/her zoned school s MSSL team and is not selected, he/she is eligible to play for another school s MSSL team. (d) Players that do not attend a school with a MSSL team and are not zoned for a school with a MSSL team are eligible to play for a MSSL team of their choice provided they live within the boundaries of Madison County, Alabama. (e) Players that are currently enrolled at a middle school that is part of AHSAA (i.e. Madison City schools) are ineligible to play with MSSL, with the following exception: if a player is in 6 th grade, and lives in a school zone with a MSSL team (i.e. Hampton Cove) but attends a school that is part of AHSAA (i.e. Holy Spirit), that player is eligible to try out for their MSSL school zone team, since they are not eligible to try out for the sanctioned school team (only 7 th and 8 th graders are allowed to try out and play on sanctioned school teams). (f) Seventh (7 th ) and eighth (8 th ) grade players currently enrolled at a middle school that is part of AHSAA that do not try out, or try out but are not selected for, their school teams are NOT eligible to try out for a MSSL team, EVEN IF they reside in a MSSL school zone. (g) A player who has reached his/her 15th birthday before August 1 of the current school year is ineligible. 10. Managers and Coaches (a) Each member team manager shall have overall general responsibility for that team. The manager shall represent the member team as Delegate to the MSSL, or alternately designate another person as Delegate in writing. (b) It is the team manager s responsibility to ensure proper conduct of the coaches selected. The manager and coach of a team may not be related by blood or marriage. (c) The team manager is responsible for selecting his or her successor as team manager, and shall designate the succeeding team manager in writing to the MSSL President in a timely manner. 5 Amended November 10, 2017
(d) Coaches must sign and abide by the MSSL Coaches Code of Conduct in order to participate in the league. 11. Conduct The actions and behavior of players, managers, and coaches must be above reproach. Any serious infraction will be subject to review and action, including sanctions and penalties, by the Board of Delegates. Additionally, player parents/legal guardians must sign and abide by the MSSL Parents Code of Conduct in order for their child to participate in the league. 12. Insurance (a) Every team in the MSSL must be insured with an insurance policy that, at a minimum, provides supplementary coverage for accidents and injuries incurred in tryouts, practices, games, and other team activities. (b) It is the responsibility of the MSSL President to assure and verify that every team in the league is covered by a valid insurance policy as specified. (c) Insurance policies must be purchased by the MSSL Treasurer on behalf of the MSSL for all member teams in the league. 13. Funding (a) Each team manager shall be responsible for collection and administration of funds necessary for operation of the member team. (b) Each team shall collect sufficient funds from its rostered players, or sponsors to cover the cost of the following for each season: -two new size #5 soccer balls for use as game day balls -lighted field charges for games and practices -field lining charges for game fields -referee scheduling charges for the season -per game, half the cost of one referee and two line judges -corner flags -uniforms for each player -MSSL dues (c) MSSL bears no responsibility for providing, monitoring, or auditing of funds of any club team. The team manager shall ensure that the team is properly funded for its operation. (d) Teams must be in good financial standing with the league in order to participate in a MSSL season. 14. Playing Rules (a) MSSL will be governed by the rules of National Federation of High School Associations. (b) It is the responsibility of the team manager to purchase the current copy of the NFHS rule book and have it on hand at each game. 6 Amended November 10, 2017
(c) Players/coaches/bench personnel disqualified for a red card offense during a MSSL game will be barred from participation in their team s next contest within that season, whether regular season game or tournament game. (d) Notwithstanding the specifications of NFHS rules, NO monetary penalties shall be assessed against MSSL teams. (e) Where NFHS rules are in conflict with this document, MSSL By-laws will control. 15. Publicity Any media outreach (to include news releases) shall be coordinated through the Middle School Soccer League Board of Delegates. This provision does not cover information disseminated through school media or other internal sources. 16. Amendments Proposed changes to the MSSL Bylaws must be presented in writing to all MSSL delegates prior to the meeting at which the amendment or change is to be presented for vote. This constitution and by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the MSSL Board of Delegates. 17. Adoption This constitution and by-laws are adopted by vote of the MSSL membership teams as designated below: 7 Amended November 10, 2017
Member Teams: Whitesburg (Lions) Hampton Cove (Bulls) Mountain Gap (Grizzlies) Buckhorn (Bucks) Challenger (Eagles) Huntsville (Panthers) Pineview Christian Academy CCA (Falcons) - 2016 Revisions Index: Amended November 10, 2017 (Proposed) Amended November 2, 2017 Amended November 25,2013 8 Amended November 10, 2017