Changes to local youth leagues

Some big changes already this offseason. Ripon, Escalon, and Modesto Rams have left the TVYFL to join a newer league based in Lodi called NorCal DYSA.

Manteca Jr. Buffs and Central Valley (Modesto) 49ers have joined Cen Cal.

The NYFL folded.

Riverbank has a new youth team called the Raiders.

Just a few of the changes for the upcoming season.

Delta appears largely unchanged but they may be because they and their teams do not update their websites very often.

3 of the best and biggest teams leaving the TVYFL makes them a weaker league as far as competition. I got to think there are some problems in hte TVYFL if 4 teams jump out. Too bad the local teams cant play each other.

Cen Cal still has a strong competition base and seems to be getting stronger.

Seemslike the TVYFL's leadership is the problem with that league. The opinion of some is that the "Executive Board" is making financial and organizational commitments for league members without input from the league members. Some of the issues that are making teams reconsider their participation in the league are:

* The TVYFL board is made up of hand picked members who are "elected" by the Executive Board first and then presented to league members.

* Rules are being decided and money is being spent in closed door meetings with only "Executive Board" members present. League teams have very little say, if any, on some of the critical decision made that affect the families in their programs. WHY?

* TVYFL does not allow league teams to have copies of the league By-Laws. If you are a parent of a child participating for a TVYFL team ask your League Rep for the By-Laws, he/she won't have them. WHY? Most other non-profit leagues publish By-Laws on their websites.

* The TVYFL collects over $500,000 per season from it's teams (Yes, over $500,000!) yet does not share financial information with it's members. Expenses such as cell phones, computers, travel, meeting costs, mileage reimbursement, etc., are not presented to league members but are listed on IRS tax filings. WHY? Do board members of a non-profit youth sports league really need iPhones and iPads?

* The TVYFL "Executive Board" started a franchise in Turlock and spent in excess of $50,000 on top of the line equipment and other start up needs without the knowledge of league members. Now they are facing financial setbacks from the venture as well as threats of legal action. No teams where made aware of this. WHY? Where did the start up money come from?

* The TVYFL charges each team $5 per child (football and cheer) for "administrative fees". There is no accounting for what this fee (approximately $12,000 to $15,000 total) goes to other than "administrative fees". WHY?

* TVYFL makes a habit of threatening teams who leave the league with legal action for thousands of $$$. What good does this do for the children they serve?

* TVYFL takes gate receipts from the Round Robin, Super Bowl and All-Star games but does not report the income to it's teams, nor does it break this money out in any statement of income. WHY?

* The TVYFL "Executive Board" started it's own "charity" from proceeds drawn from league events, again without the knowledge of or any input from member teams. There is no information on how much money is spent or who it goes to that is given to the league teams. WHY?

There are many other questionable actions taken by the TVYFL, most instigated by a long sitting board member, which go unanswered. What started out as a very good league has deteriorated into a Monarchy which drains members of resources, rules with an iron fist mentality and offers very little explaination as to how they use the funds raised by the families they serve. Sad.

As a non profit their books need to be open, if someone has the guts to stand up to them they will be in big trouble. It is doubtful that any local law enforcement would want to take on this unless their were clear and specific violations.

Sounds like the teams that left made a wise decision for the the kids that they serve. The real question is why do some of the teams stay? I can see the new teams with no money who they prop up but there are a lot of quality teams who would be better off in almost any other league.

In my opinion non-profit sports programs should be very transparent. They should freely offer their members all financial and organizational information and supply clear answers upon request, Especially when there are 100's of thousands of dollars going through the program.

You have to question the integity of the leadership when so many things (like what's listed above) are not addressed in an open forum. Not publising by-laws to the public and failure to disclose expenses in detail to members is inexcusable in my book.

you sound passionate the subject. I am pretty sure ALL 501c3 non profits have to make their books available to the public. You can press the issue. Best bet would be to find a parent who also happens to be an attorney, they may have an interest in some pro bono work on this. Good luck.

As far as the by-laws they are required to be on file with the State of CA so you should be able to get those from the Secretary of State's office. I am sure their is a form or two to fill out for that.

Interesting... A lot of conjecture and some serious allegations. All I can say is that after one of you bothers to check for yourselves, I hope you make the corrections on this thread so people can see you're honest men.

Not just a couple of busy bodies feeding a rumormill or bitter people looking for a place to hate.

NraDog posted this then took it down and private messaged me " I don't see any allegations of wrong doing, just opinions on questionable disclosure practices. If you would point out exactly which question/statement is dishonest, please feel free."

If the statements in this thread were not allegations of wrong doing on the part of the Board "secret meetings, wasteful spending, threats of lawsuit" what the heck was your point?

I don't think it was about truth because at no point do you mention knowing anything first hand and you have nothing positive besides "maybe it used to be a good league".

I'm not a huge fan but you strike me as someone with an agenda.

Amazed - Thank you for posting only half of the PM I sent you. Why not post the link that was sent as well? Obviously you do not wish to have the other information included in this forum for all to see. It's public information so anyone with a computer can find it.

Let me know if you would like me to re-post the ENTIRE message.

The topic of this thread is "Changes to local youth leagues" and there was a statement made about how there must be problems. My point is there are reasons why people can't seem to keep these leagues stable and bring all of the local teams under one cooperative. It amazes me how youth football can't stay on the same page but soccer, baseball and basketball can form leagues which stay somewhat stable and can even venture outside of their local area and play teams from other states under the same basic rules.

There was a chance to do that with the local youth football teams and have an extended area of play which would benefit the kids. I believe the positive direction changed for many reasons and I wanted to point out some of them.

If you are looking for positives there are some very good organizations in the area which do an outstanding job providing the experience of youth football to many kids whom might not have the chance otherwise. There are people working hard to make the football season happen who get nothing other than the satisfaction of seeing a smile on a kids face when he/she succeeds. Most of these people give more than one could ever take and don't get thanked enough.

Allegations, conjecture, agenda, opinion - whatever you want to call it, you have not countered anything written here with something of substance.

Check that link in the PM and then come back and say there's no point.

Here's the other half and there was no link so re-send if you'd like:

"I think the link below will support some of the opinions expressed. It's from 2009, I'm pretty sure the league was smaller back then (the last three pages in particular):

2009"

I'm confused though. What you just wrote has to do with all of youth football and I'm in agreement with that. But what you wrote on 3/29 is very specific and entirely an allegation of wrongdoing on the part of the TVYFL E-Board and nothing you wrote before or after ever mentioned other leagues having issues.

You leave us with two options:

1. No other Youth Football League has problems.

2. You have an axe to grind with the TVYFL.

You don't have to get uptight, it's just my opinion of what you wrote. I just wondered why someone would register just to participate in a thread that dealt with youth football in general and then devote all his/her time to berating one league.

So you're more concerned about "who" is saying it than "what" is being said.

Pick whatever option you've made up and let's get to the reason you registered just to participate in a thread that dealt with youth football in general.

It's important to be truthful. Please let me know which statements/opinions are completely wrong or misleading and I'll gladly remove them.

I came accross this thread while looking around sjspreps. My kids used to be in youth football which means I was in youth football at the local level as assistant coach a couple of years and head coach a couple of years. I joined to comment on your statements, cause its a forum.

Enough about me, you wrote "please let me know which statements/opinions are completely wrong".

When you make statements that include specific allegations of wrongdoing, it is not an opinion, it's an accusation. If you aren't the source of that information it's hearsay, and there is no such thing as "entirely wrong" you are either right or wrong.

Since you posted the accusations, you have to prove they're correct. As the reader, it's my position to challenge your statements if I choose.

Do whatever you want, I'm bored with the subject and tired of teaching. Lesson over.

It is months until the start of the season so at least you 2 gave us something to talk about. Every league has their issues and I think the TVYFL opens themselves up to more criticism by being so secretive about their finances.

In the end it would be great if all these local leagues could find some common ground so the kids could play each other without mom & dad trying to take the ball and going else where. That is the reason so many leagues exist and it is not just a local issue.

Back to changes in leagues how are the Central Valley/Modesto Raiders listed in 2 or 3 different leagues?

Seems to me if you have a copy of their tax returns it would say more than a computer,ipad and iphones.Returns of this nature are a little more indepth than that.Maybe letting everyone know where they can go to view these returns would be helpful.Why did you not include nyfl,dysa norcal,delta and cen cals tax return information?They do file taxes don't they?
Did a little checking prior to responding to this post and have to say nradog does have some inaccurate statements in his posts.
Superbowl,allstar and round robins :teams are told the dollar amount collected.
At the beginning of the year the TVYFL and their teams go over the expenses for the year which is then broken down per child so everyone can see where the money goes.
The TVYFL contacts vendors to set up bulk buying to get better deals for their teams.Teams order what they want through them and pay through them.Seems to me those products should also be on a tax return.Looks like someone left that info out.
What do the rest of the leagues do with their round robin,superbowl and allstar games monies?How much do these leagues take in annually?Amazed statement seems to ring true that you are only after one league.Doing a little research on all these leagues I mentioned the only one you could find any income info on was the TVYFL.Interesting!
Football nut,you wonder why these teams can't play each other,its all about winning and losing and bragging rights.It should be about getting the kids and leagues to know each other and to continue to help the youth of our local areas.Several years back two of these leagues got together to play a charity game.They called it the Holiday bowl.Unfortunately the team that lost was so sure they were better than the other team that they could never find the time to participate in the game again despite the winning teams efforts to keep it going.Too bad they did not focus on the good the game did for the charity they were playing for.
Maybe all the leagues could play a post season round robin for charity,no score kept.With no score kept how many do you think would be interested ?No embarrassing losses just something good for charity.

I dont see any of the leagues going for a post season tournament with no scores being kept. Part of the problem with our society today is everyone gets a trophy for trying. Football has a winner and a loser. There something to be learned from both and it is best to teach our kids now they wont always win and how to accept and overcome when you end up on the short end of things.

The idea of a post season tournament to determine a Valley champion would be great. I could see Delta and Cen-Cal doing something since their age and weight are very close. The MLYAC is very close as well in ages and weights. It seems 50/50 at best if the TVYFL would allow their teams to participate. I have no clue on some of these other split off/renegade leagues that have popped up over the last few years.