1000 Minutes Party

Every summer the Region holds a party for players who complete 1000 minutes of practice during the season and turn in their paperwork. (See the 1000 Minutes page for details). This year's party is a little behind schedule. According to the powers that be, "We apologize, but due to some unfortunate and unforeseen events, this year's event will be later than normal. Rest assured that we are working on it, and you should be notified within the next week or so." So, hang tight; the party is coming soon!

Summer Goalkeeper Training

Back by Popular Demand

As a follow up to last fall's wildly popular goalkeeper training sessions, we are offering keeper training this summer for anyone interested in honing their keeper skills. Jerry Duran will be training goalkeepers on Monday nights at Ross Enchanted Park from 5:30 to 7:00 starting on June 22 and running through the summer. If you are new to goalkeeping and want to know where to start or you are a veteran goalkeeper hoping to learn something new, this is the place for you! Each week will focus on something different, so you can make it a regular part of your summer fun.

AYSO Adds Sixth Philosophy

"Player Development" became the sixth philosophy of AYSO as over two thirds of the Executive Membership voted to add the first new philosophy of the organization in nearly 25 years. It joins Everyone Plays™, Balanced Teams, Open Registration, Positive Coaching and Good Sportsmanship as the foundation tenets of the organization. The vote took place May 24 at the organization’s National Annual General Meeting in Dallas, Texas.

The goal of Player Development is to embrace the objective of improving the soccer skills and knowledge of every AYSO player, from VIP to U-19.

The effective date of the new philosophy is August 1, 2009 and the change will roll through materials as they are reprinted to ensure there is minimal budget impact at any level of the organization.

The new philosophy will be incorporated into AYSO’s by-laws and have as its description: We believe that all players should be able to develop their soccer skills and knowledge to the best of their abilities, both individually and as members of a team, in order to maximize their enjoyment of the game.

Select Team Tryouts

Tryouts for Select Teams for the 2009-2010 season are complete. Missed tryouts and still want to get on a team? Contact the team coach and see if there are plans for supplemental tryout. You can find the coaches' e-mail addresses on the Select page.

Summer Soccer Camp

If you are looking for a summer soccer program, look no further. The Soccer Academy will be offering summer soccer camps at Montgomery Park again this summer. This is the 19th year the Soccer Academy has provided their fun, effective program for young soccer players. Programs are available in both half-day and full-day formats for beginning soccer players aged 5 and up and for Middle School and Advanced players. There is even an advanced goalkeeping session for players wanting to improve their keeper skills. Check out the details on the Summer Soccer Camp page.

1000 Minutes to Better Soccer

Attention all players: Do you want to get a party, recognition, and a cool shirt just for increasing your soccer skills? Then join the AYSO 1000 minutes program! Any player from U5 to U19 is encouraged to join. What is the 1000 minutes program? Click here for more information.

Coaches, the end of the fall season is a great time to emphasize the 1000 Minutes program to your players. Have them download the 1000 Minutes Manual and work on foot skills over the winter break. Both you and they will be amazed at the result!

Uniform Drive

Donate you old uniforms and soccer equipment, and we will send them to orphans in Honduras. See the Uniform Drive page for all the details.

Field Markers

I'll bet you thought field marking happened by magic; illusive fairies descend on the fields at night and paint lines so we can play soccer. Well, it's something like that. It is our dedicated corps of volunteer field markers, often unseen and unacknowledged, who make sure our fields are properly marked for each game. They battle the elements and the city's mowing and watering schedule for the players. So if you happen to see someone paining lines on our fields, take a minute to shake their hand and say, "Thanks!" And if you'd like to volunteer to be a field marker, please e-mail the Field Marking Administrator. He will set you up with equipment and training.

Field Marking Information

Field marking instructions are available on the referee page under "Useful Links." The information is presented as a slide show. Just click on each page to advance, or move your mouse over the lower right corner for more controls. This technology is experimental, so take a look and let the webmaster know if you like it or if you have trouble with it.

Injury Forms

Coaches, remember that if a player ever gets injured at a practice or a game, you are required to fill our an incident form and an injury notification form and turn them in to the Safety Director within 24 hours. These forms are available in the parents' portion of the website.

Safe Haven (CVP) Training

In an effort to protect all of our players and volunteers, AYSO requires all volunteers who will be working directly with the children to take our Safe Haven Training. All coaches, assistant coaches and referees are required to take the class.

Region 104 implements this policy by requiring new volunteers to take the Safe Haven class from a certified instructor. Volunteers are required to take this class once. The best bet for this training is the Annual Coach and Referee Meeting. New referees who miss the Annual Coach and Referee Meeting can get their Safe Haven training as part of their referee clinic. If you are a coach or assistant coach who has never taken the Safe Haven course before, and you miss the annual meeting, you must attend one of the Safe Haven classes shown on the training schedule.

On-line Volunteer Application

In addition to taking the Safe Haven class, every AYSO Coach, Assistant Coach and Referee is required to fill out a volunteer application and have an AYSO staff member verify his or her ID before you the first practice or game. In the past, you filled these out at your Safe Haven class, but now we also have a way to fill out that form on-line. Read the instructions, print your form, and either have your DC check your ID and sign your form, or take it to the AYSO Training Center about 15 minutes before the start of a class and have the instructor check your ID and sign.

Sandia Volunteer Service Awards

Attention Sandia National Laboratories Employees - Your Volunteering Efforts May Result in Funding for AYSO! Sandia National Laboratories has a tradition of recognizing the volunteer support of its employees. Realizing that there are many employees involved in a wide variety of civic activities outside of work, they have developed the Community Service Awards program to provide financial support for employee involvement.

Sandia National Laboratories employees volunteering 100, 250 or 500 hours to AYSO in a calendar year are eligible to participate. Record your hours by logging on to the Sandia Serves website (accessible from inside Sandia only) or fill out the form in the Service Award Flier and forward to Steve Nickerson for submission with Sandia.

If you are a Sandian and you expect to volunteer 100 or more hours to AYSO this year, keep track of you hours, and file the form after the first of the year.