American Youth Soccer Organization

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is a national, non-profit organization which provides soccer development and instruction for children between the ages of 4 and 19 in all fifty states and some territories of the United States. AYSO is mostly run at local levels by teams of volunteers, including administrators, coaches and referees, many of whom are parents or family of the youth they coach. The AYSO National Support and Training Center (NSTC), which consists of some 50 paid employees, is based in Hawthorne, California and provides programs for instruction of coaches and referees and child protection education to AYSO volunteers. AYSO is affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation.

In August 2006, the AYSO National Board of Directors named Rick Davis as National Executive Director. Davis was a standout on the popular New York Cosmos professional soccer team. He also was captain of two Olympic soccer teams and has been inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Until his appointment he served as AYSO's Director of Programs, where he was responsible for overseeing all coaching, officiating, and managagement training programs for the organization.

Structure

AYSO is a California nonprofit corporation. Local programs, which are called regions, are not separately incorporated. However, they are given significant autonomy in management of their operations, as long as they are in compliance with AYSO's Bylaws, National Rules and Regulations, and Policy Statements. Each region is managed by a regional commissioner in conjunction with a regional board. Groups of regions in close proximity comprise an "area", which is managed by an area director in conjunction with an area board. Areas are grouped into 14 "sections", each managed by a section director in conjunction with a section board. In addition, some regions administered directly by the NSTC, particularly those outside the United States, are part of the so-called "Section 99."

Regional commissioners, area directors, and section directors, as well as members of the National Board of Directors (NBOD) and certain "Special Directors," are the "executive members" of AYSO and vote each year for the NBOD, which consists of eleven members elected for staggered three year terms. The votes are cast, in person or by proxy, at the National Annual General Meeting, generally held over Memorial Day Weekend. Executive members separately vote for a member of the NBOD to serve as National President. Executive members are all volunteers.

Philosophies

AYSO believes strongly in five basic philosophies:

*Everyone plays. Each child on a team is required to play at least one-half of each game, and many regions have even more stringent minimum play requirements.
*Balanced teams. AYSO believes that children enjoy playing more, and learn more from the game, when teams are as closely matched as possible. Regions make every effort to balance teams each season by assigning players to teams based on their relative skill levels.
*Open registration. Any child who wishes to play may do so, regardless of ability.
*Positive coaching. AYSO holds that children develop best when they are given encouragement, rather than being "put down." AYSO expects coaching to be positive, instructional, and encouraging at all times.
*Good sportsmanship. AYSO tries to instill good sportsmanship in all of its programs.

Programs

Girls

In 1971, two San Fernando Valley residents developed AYSO's first girls' program. Currently, 40 percent of AYSO's players are girls.

Very Important Player

In the mid 70s, an AYSO coach chartered new territory as he welcomed the organization's first player with Down Syndrome. As a result of this landmark union, soccer was introduced into the Special Olympics. Today, AYSO offers its membership the Very Important Player (VIP) program for children with special needs. VIP boasts 75 programs and 1,500 players.

Sportsmanship

In the 1980s the policy Good Sportsmanship was adopted at the urging of Alan Witcher, a coach from the San Fernando Valley.

Extended Play

In some regions, after the regular open registration season ends, All-Star teams and tournament teams are formed in the separate divisions from the most skilled players in the league. Each region has their own version of this extended play season, if at all.

Programs outside the United States

In 1995, two AYSO parents established the first AYSO program in Moscow. Today, the Moscow program has almost 500 registered players. In addition, an AYSO program was started in Puerto Rico in the spring of 1998 and another in American Samoa in 1999.

Growth

Now one of the largest single youth sports organizations in the United States, AYSO is comprised of over 50,000 teams and 650,000 players, all supported by 250,000 volunteers. All players on a team are required to have the opportunity to play at least one half of every game. There are often two seasons a year, and teams are required to be formed new each year and balanced so that all teams are roughly equal in skill and ability of players. Players are taught the ethics of good teamwork and good character. AYSO has programs to encourage good sportsmanship not only among players and coaches, but also from fans and parents.

History

AYSO was founded by Hans Stierle in 1964. Stierle organized youth soccer games for the Los Angeles Soccer Club, a German club in North Hollywood that played against other local ethnic (mostly European) clubs.

To avoid the cross-town trip to the games, Stierle thought to get boys in his Torrance suburb interested in the world's most popular game. The first AYSO league started with nine teams, and stressed open registration: "Anyone can sign up; you do not need to belong to one of the ethnic clubs."

Stierle's own team had strong players from the LA Soccer Club team (including Sigi Schmid, who went on to play and coach at UCLA and coach the Los Angeles Galaxy), and won nearly all its games. To even things out and make the experience more competitive and enjoyable for the other teams, the policy of Balanced Teams was adopted, whereby the stronger players were distributed around the league. This had a slightly perverse effect, as some weaker players who formerly played every minute were forced to the bench by the newly-arrived stars. To overcome this, the policy "Everyone Plays" was adopted, which mandated at least half a game for all players. That, in turn, led to AYSO games being divided into "quarters" for the purpose of monitoring substitutions.

ponsorship

AYSO operates through player fees collected by the local regions and various sponsor categories. Premier sponsors include Score (uniforms), Kellog Frosted Flakes, Hyundai, and Herbalife. Ralph's grocery stores is a National sponsor. ClubSpaces is an official sponsor. Fold-a-Goal, People-to-People, Sports Pins International, Umbrella Stand and Zaavy are preferred sponsors. UK International (AYSO Soccer Camps), Sator Soccer (AYSO Store), Crown Awards and Dinn Bros are licensees.

Affinity partners

Positive Coaching Alliance, National Council On Youth Sports, USSF, MLS, NSCAA are just a few of the ten's of affinity partners.

References

External links

* [http://www.soccer.org AYSO - The American Youth Soccer Organization website]
* [http://www.aysohelp.org AYSOHELP - The American Youth Soccer Organization Instructor Web Page]
* [http://www.eayso.org eAYSO - The American Youth Soccer Organization Online Database & Registration]
* [http://www.aysotraining.org AYSOTRAINING - The American Youth Soccer Organization Online Training & Certification]
* [http://www.aysosoccercamps.org AYSO SOCCER CAMPS - The American Youth Soccer Organization Soccer Camps Registration and Informational Page]
* [http://www.aysostore.com AYSO STORE - The AYSO Store website]