Charging that the Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League
organization needs to be more inclusive and democratic, a group of
current and former coaches and parents are circulating a petition
that seeks to change league bylaws.
Charging that the Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League organization needs to be more inclusive and democratic, a group of current and former coaches and parents are circulating a petition that seeks to change league bylaws.
OVYSL President Jack Salvemini, who has been president for the past five years, said the group represents a small minority of disgruntled coaches and parents, most of whom have been kicked out of the league or left voluntarily due to disputes with rules and policies.
“I think it comes down to a personal vendetta against me … to tell you the truth,” Salvemini said. “There’s no incentive for me to do anything wrong here. It’s a volunteer thing and we’re all working hard for the kids.”
According to former OVYSL board member Ballan Campeau, who is leading the petition effort, more than 50 signatures had been gathered in support of the petition effort. Campeau said the OVYSL board and Salvemini had been notified earlier this month of the group’s demands.
Campeau said the OVYSL’s bylaws are antiquated and need to be changed to allow coaches and parents more input into the league’s decision-making process. Campeau said the fact that the OVYSL boards of directors elects its own members makes the league’s governing body exclusive. He said the league is already losing coaches and players because of its methods.
“The whole problem is the (OVYSL) board is totally autonomous – the board is absolutely unaccountable to anyone,” Campeau said. “Some try to say that it’s a benevolent dictatorship but I would say only one of those words applies. If you continue to frustrate people and drive people away then you can’t continue to build a good league.”
The OVYSL consists of 150 teams and about 1,500 players competing at various levels from recreational to Class I select. The league includes players from Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin and some from South San Jose.
No estimates about how many players and coaches have left the OVYSL due to disputes over league rules are available. CYSA chair John Murphy and District II representative Dave Mann did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The petitioning group includes Campeau, former coach and parent Bob Whitling, Live Oak High girls soccer coach and current OVYSL assistant coach Tony Vasquez, former OVYSL board member and parent Jill Riolo, and current league parents Michelle Pusateri and Cindy Downing.
The group has charged that the OVYSL board, including Salvemini, has unfairly sanctioned them for alleged violations and refused to give them due process.
Campeau was kicked off the OVYSL board after allegedly breaking league rules by applying for coaching positions in other area youth soccer leagues and registering a team of his OVYSL players in another league. But Campeau said he didn’t break any league rules because he hadn’t yet been accepted by another league, and he wasn’t given a hearing on the matter before the league’s board.
Salvemini insists Campeau “poached” players from the OVYSL for his team in another league in violation of league rules and that he was properly banned from the league.
Whitling chose to leave the OVYSL after he was not chosen to coach a team that he had coached for years when it moved up to the Class I (highest) level.
But Salvemini said another more qualified coach was chosen instead and Whitling was offered the opportunity to continue coaching at a lower level.
Vasquez was temporarily suspended for the alleged “poaching” of OVYSL players who also happened to compete on his Live Oak team. His suspension, issued by the District II board, was overturned by the CYSA North governing body. He was reinstated by the OVYSL board.
Salvemini said he stands by the allegations against Vasquez and the OVYSL board is requesting another review of the case by CYSA North authorities.
Past OVYSL President and current board member Craig van Keulen said the heart of the dispute is the local league’s status as a player developmental league that establishes playing levels based on player skill and advancement.
Van Keulen said some coaches are too focused on keeping players together in order to produce winning teams rather than encouraging individual players to advance to higher levels of play.
OVYSL rules require that teams be re-drafted and more advanced players try out for higher levels of play, while some coaches and parents have expressed a desire to keep a group of players together throughout an entire team’s rise through the ranks.
OVYSL Vice-President Don Mott said the group is essentially reviving issues that the league’s leadership thought it had already resolved, pointing out that the group’s Web site includes testimonials focusing on individuals’ issues with the league.
“A lot of this is stuff we heard before when we went through a very difficult process a few months ago and a few years ago when dealing with some of our coaches,” Mott said. “They’re making a big deal out of issues that we thought we’d resolved already. Every league is going to have disgruntled parents – we’re not unique. But it’s a small group of disgruntled folks who can make the most noise.”
Salvemini said all coaches agree to adhere to OVYSL rules when they sign on, and are welcome to go elsewhere if they disagree with them.
While Campeau and Whitling readily admit they and the rest of the core group of petitioners have had issues with the OVYSL board, they said those issues are ancillary to the real issue — reforming the league’s operations.
They said they believe revising the league’s bylaws and offering a more democratic system of governance will eliminate issues similar to theirs in the future.
“Our aim is to change the (OVYSL) constitution not necessarily to address individual people’s issues about their particular instances,” Whitling said. “We do want to play in the OVYSL. We’re playing in San Jose now but we want to come back. We had no other recourse (but to leave).”
The group’s letter to the board says the league’s bylaws “by limiting control and voting rights within the OVYSL league to board members only, are both dysfunctional and fail to meet the organizational standards of CYSA (California Youth Soccer Association).”
The letter goes on to request that the OVYSL rewrite its bylaws so they reflect those of other regional leagues, including the following changes:
• establish membership for each league team.
• establish voting rights for each member.
• allow members to air their concerns at regularly scheduled meetings.
• consider annual changes to the league’s constitution and bylaws.
• require that the OVYSL’s president and board of directors be elected by the membership.
• allow members to participate in tasks such as coach selection.
• require publication of the league’s constitution, bylaws, procedures and rules on the OVYSL Web site.
• complete all this by Sept. 1.
Upon receipt of the group’s letter, Salvemini sent an e-mail in response requesting that Campeau provide a list of the names on the petition so the OVYSL board could respond to each of the signatories’ issues. But Campeau responded by asking that the group be invited to a future board meeting at which the petition would be submitted and the group’s demands officially announced.
Campeau said he hoped the group would be invited to the OVYSL board’s next meeting on Thursday.
Salvemini said he and the board are reluctant to invite Campeau and his group to a board meeting because of doubts about the group’s motivation and desire to reach a resolution on the issues. But he said he will ask the league’s board at Thursday’s meeting if it wishes to invite the group to a future meeting.
Salvemini added that the league is already reviewing its bylaws, which were last updated in 1996, and is considering an expansion of its membership. Currently, only league directors are members.
But Salvemini also pointed out that the OVYSL’s 17-member board opens all its positions to interested applicants every year and advertises the openings in local newspapers with typically little or no interest. He added that he believes the league’s bylaws are similar in nature to other regional youth soccer leagues.
By contrast, the Pride of Morgan Hill softball league’s board also elects new board members, who serve for an indefinite period until they decide to leave.
Salvemini said the league had conducted a survey of its 27 competitive league coaches and 24 had indicated they approved of the operation, with one more coach expected to also approve.
Campeau said he will forward the petition and the group’s demands to District II, the regional governing body, and to CYSA North, the state-level organization, if the OVYSL board fails to consider the proposed changes.
