General Questions
When does the fall season start?
Practices usually start about Aug 15. The season starts 1 or 2 weeks after Labor Day, depending on age. The regular season ends before Thanksgiving with playoffs for some of the older divisions after that.
When does the spring season start?
Practices usually start about Feb 1. The season starts the first weekend in March. The regular season ends in early May with season ending tournaments usually scheduled mid-May. These dates can vary year to year by up to 2 weeks.
What kind of volunteer jobs are available?
Coaches and Assistant Coaches, Referees, Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator, Division Managers, Picture day events coordinator. For these latter positions we will ask you to sign for specific hours of duty on specific days.
Why is it necessary to register so early?
The logistics of running the program are complex. A lot of up-front work is required. We need to secure facilities, buy uniforms, equipment, assemble balanced teams, recruit and train coaches and referees, create player game schedules, etc. All of those activities require planning that is dependent on the number of players that we have. The closer we get to our final player count the more accurately we can prepare for the season.
Where do my fees go?
We buy uniforms, balls, goals, nets, cones, pictures, trophies, etc. We pay for the training and training materials of board members, coaches and referees. We pay for player insurance, AYSO membership fees, player clinics. We pay for meeting space, meeting expenses, advertising, printing costs and more. In addition to our own internal costs we support the city’s park and recreation events. Our budget is available to the public for viewing. Please note that none of this money goes to salaries – everyone is a volunteer including the regional commissioner. To request a copy of the budget contact
[email protected].
Can I request that my child play with specific children or a specific coach?
You can and we will try to accommodate requests when possible, however our policy of building balanced teams supersedes all requests.
Will I have the opportunity to pay with a credit card?
Yes
Why does AYSO play short-sided games (less than 11 players on a team)?
The number of players on a team is determined by the player’s age group. It has been recognized around the world that younger players can only keep track of a limited number of teammates, that they develop more by getting more contact with the ball and by getting more attention by the coaching staff. Our coaches too can better focus on a smaller number of players in the critical development years. We all want smaller class sizes in school to improve our children’s education and same principles apply in soccer or any other learning activity. Did you know that those “rival” organizations that try to use this against AYSO are violating their own parent organization guidelines? No joke – check it out!!!
Are scholarships available?
A limited number of scholarships are available however you should be prepared to put in volunteer time. Specific volunteer activities and fund-raising opportunities will be available for this.
Can I request that my child play up in an older division?
Yes under the following conditions:
- The parent must be the certified coach for the team
- The player must be evaluated by members of the board
- The move must be approved by the Regional Commissioner
Can I request that my child practice, or not practice, on certain days?
No. Practices are scheduled by the coach to fit his/her schedule. We have no way of knowing the coach’s schedule in advance and we can’t wait until teams are formed to place your child so we cannot accommodate requests to avoid certain days. Also, moving a child from one team to another after the fact is disruptive to both teams and creates much more work for our volunteers
Game Related Questions
What is a "free kick"?
Any one of a number of situations in which a team is awarded an opportunity to put the ball back into play with no opponents within 10 yards of the ball. Examples include, kick-offs, corner kicks, goal kicks, and direct & indirect free kicks awarded after a foul.
Why does the referee not call a foul for something he just called a foul for earlier in the game?
It may be a case of the referee applying "advantage". This is a situation, where if, in the opinion of the referee, it would be to the advantage of the team that was fouled to allow play to continue than to stop play to award a foul. An example would be a player getting tripped as they are attacking the goal, but recovers from the trip and continues his attack. It would take away a clear goal scoring opportunity if the referee were to stop the game at that point to award the foul. If, within a few seconds, the advantage does not materialize; the player appears to stumble, recover, than fall before taking the shot, the referee can then still call the foul.
Why doesn't the referee call any "handballs"?
The foul is actually "handling the ball", which implies that it is not only contact with the hand, but contact with any part of the hand or arm that is deliberately used to control the ball. Who decides if it was deliberate? If, in the opinion of the referee, the contact was deliberate and not incidental, it materially affected the game, then a foul was committed. Many so-called "handballs" called for by sidelines are just incidental contact between the ball and a players hand or arm that, in the opinion of the referee, has no consequential effect on the game.
Why doesn't the referee call more fouls?
Soccer referees are actually instructed to avoid calling fouls as much as possible in order to avoid disrupting the flow of the game. If a referee feels he can control the match using tools other than signaling fouls, they are encouraged to do so. You might see evidence of this when a player comes in a bit hard on a challenge, and the referee may speak to the player briefly in passing rather than stopping the game to award a foul on a questionable offense. Many successful referees can get by with communicating with players during the match and preventing problems before they arise. If you walk away from a game and can't recall that the referee had much involvement, then you just witnessed a very well officiated match.
Why does the schedule seem to come out so late every season?
The scheduler is one of many volunteers that are involved in orchestrating the start of every new season and is responsible for scheduling hundreds of games in a typical season. In an effort to include as many kids playing as possible, sometimes teams are added to the schedule at very late dates, which, of course, disrupts much of the schedule as the changes will reverberate through the schedule in the form of field and time changes to accommodate the extra games. Other disruptions include late field information; sometimes school districts or cities are not very prompt at issuing permits or will even revoke or change permits at the last minute, and sometimes during the season! New teams form at the last minute, teams fold at the last minute. Every one of those changes has a big impact on producing a timely schedule. Every effort is made to produce a quality schedule that takes into account field availability, local field restrictions, SAT testing, even distribution of games from field to field, and of course, maximizing the number of kids playing soccer.