Tryouts for U12B Select Forge

Sunday February 21

The Forge, an AYSO U12 Boys Select Team, is looking for some additional team members to play with them for the spring season at the Bernalillo soccer fields in the Duke City Soccer League. (The team is open to boys who were under 12 as of 8/1/2009.) Tryouts will be held at Montgomery Park on February 21st. Registration will be from 1:30 to 2:00, and tryouts will be from 2:00 to 3:30. Bring water, shinguards, and soccer cleats.

U13G Wildfire Wins in Arizona

The U13G Select Team, Wildfire, went to the Fort Lowell Shootout in Tucson on the weekend of January 16th and came away with second place in the Silver Bracket. Congratulations to the Wildfire - way to represent Region 104!

The tournament was set up with three brackets of eight teams each, so there was plenty of competition.

In addition to tournament play, Wildfire players participated in the Soccer Olympics. Anna Jenkins won the U13G juggling competition and the team won the shootout competition. Congratulations to Anna and the team!

Wildfire is one of our Select Teams, who are chosen by tryouts to compete in the Albuquerque Metro League and represent Region 104 at local and regional tournaments. For more information about the Select Teams program, check out the Select Teams page.

Spring Game Schedules

Coming Soon

The first game of the spring schedule is Saturday March 6. The spring game schedules have not yet been developed, but we expect to have them posted by February 20.

AYSO Duke City Shootout Tournament Date Announced

May 22 and 23, 2010

The AYSO Duke City Shootout will take place on May 22 and 23, 2010 at the Farmers Insurance Soccer Complex in Bernalillo. This is our annual fun and exciting tournament for AYSO ACT and Select teams as well as club teams from Albuquerque and beyond. You can find all the details on the tournament page.

AYSO Adds Sixth Philosophy

Player Development

"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.

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, get your players off to a good start for the season by explaining the 1000 Minutes program and encouraging them to participate. You can give them suggestions for things to work on during their individual practice, or you can have them download the 1000 Minutes Manual and work on foot skills. A little practice goes a long way!

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 out an incident form and turn it in to the Safety Director within 24 hours. If you have questions about how to fill out the form, please contact the Safety Director. For more information about the Soccer Accident Insurance, see the information in the Parents section.

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 Child and Volunteer Protection (CVP) class, called Safe Haven. 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 Division Commissioner 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

"Sandia Serves"

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, called "Sandia Serves", 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 have questions about the program, you can contact Patty Zamora at 844-2146 or pgzamor@sandia.gov.

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. If you are coaching an older team, practicing twice a week for 1.5 hours and attending games, you will get about 100 hours over the course of the season, so keep track and submit your hours!