AYSO Newsletter Aug/30 2007 To all Soccer Parents: We are now entering our fifth week of the season and I hope that your kids are having fun playing soccer. In this newsletter, I will be covering the following topics: 1, No keeper in Under 7 and Under 8 divisions 2. Positive Attitude, Positive Environment 3. Game Formats - Under 7, Under 8 and Under 9 divisions 4. Lost and Found 5. Importance of Volunteering 6. Spring Select 7. VIP Buddies 8. Keeping our parks clean ============================================================= No Keepers in Under 7 and Under 8 This year we have decided to follow the National recommendation that we not use keepers in under 7 and under 8 divisions. The reasons for this included safety reason, reluctance of kids to be a keeper, and to focus on having fun. No permanent decision has been made on whether to keep U7 and U8 without keepers. The board will evaluate it at the end of the season and make a decision at that point in time. In the mean time, if you have any feedback on games without keepers, please let me know. ============================================================= Positive Attitude, Positive Environment One of the important aspects of AYSO, is that we promote a positive environment during practices and games. At AYSO, improving your soccer skills and having fun is more important than winning. As such, we ask all parents to help us communicate this message to the kids. However, this message is not just for the kids, but for the parents and coaches as well. Kids learn from the environment around them. If they see a parent or coach acting in a negative manner, they start to act in a negative manner. Game time is not the time to coach. It is the time to relax and watch the kids and see what they can do. Shouting at the kids during the match is not allowed. So, sit back, enjoy the game and cheer them on. Encourage your kids to be good sportsmen, to honor the game, respect the referees and their opponents. ============================================================= Game Formats - Under 7, Under 8 and Under 9 divisions For those of you with kids in the under 7, 8 and 9 divisions, you have noticed that we play two mini games in parallel. The purpose of this is to have as many kids playing at any time, but not to have too many kids on the field. This allows more kids to touch the ball and be a part of the game. For the mini games, we have two formats. On odd numbered weeks, the coach divides the team into two equal teams. On even numbered weeks, the coach divides the team into a stringer team and a weaker team, known as the world cup team and Olympic team. The purpose of this is not to emphasize who the weak kids are, but rather to give the weaker kids a greater chance to actively participate in the game. We have been using this format for a few years now and it has proven quite successful. All kids are required to get equal playing time according to AYSO rules. That means that no child can play a third quarter until all kids have played two quarters, and no child can play four quarters until all of the kids have played three quarters. If you feel that your child is not getting fair play time, bring it up with your coach. ============================================================== Lost and Found If you have lost an article during a practice or game, or you have found an article, let us know. We will have a lost and found section in our newsletter. We also hope to have a lost and found section on our web-site. In the mean time, here is what I have: Found: Terman: Blue drawstring sports-kit bag, with "Play Soccer" & "Chlorox" logo. Contains a T-shirt (Banff, Canada), pair of white and blue Nike trainers. Terman: Green folding chair Jordan: House/car keys ================================================================== Importance of Volunteering As most of you know, AYSO is a volunteer run organization. No one gets paid for volunteering their time and we greatly appreciate those who do volunteer. Many people have said that the Palo Alto region is one of the best regions around. Unfortunately, every year it gets harder and harder to find volunteers. Most volunteer positions do not require a lot of time. This year, I will be doing a volunteer recruitment drive during the soccer season instead of during the off-season. In a future newsletter, I will provide a description of each position available. We will also list the positions on our web-site. Volunteers also include coaches and referees. Without coaches and refs there would not be soccer. Each year, we struggle to find enough coaches for our teams. The number of coaches we find dictate the number of teams we can handle. This results in kids being turned away. Something we don't want to do. A significant number of coaches now come from the high schools to make up for the lack of parent volunteers. We do offer coach training and referee training at various levels and various times of the year. Soccer experience is not really required at the U7 and U8 divisions. While it is too late for this year, please consider being a coach or referee next year. This is especially important for the North Palo Alto schools such as Ohlone, Duveneck, Walter Hays and Addison that supply a significant percentage of the players but very few coaches. ================================================================== Spring Select and National Games U10B Spring Select coach needed: AYSO sponsors a Spring Select program for AYSO players who played the previous fall. For more information, go to http://ayso26.org/springteams.html. If you are interested in coaching, please contact Ray Wong at raymond_wong@sbcglobal.net. U14G National Games/Spring Select team tryouts: Palo Alto has been invited to send a U14G team to the National Games to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii from July 6-13, 2008. Tryouts for this team are now scheduled for Oct 13, 20, 27 at Terman #1. For more information: http://ayso26.org/spring/springu14g.html. Spring Select tryouts are now scheduled for U14G, U16G and U19G. Please go to http://ayso26.org/springteams.html for more information. ==================================================================== VIP Buddies The Palo Alto AYSO VIP Program provides a quality soccer experience for children - and adults - whose disabilities make it difficult to successfully participate on mainstream teams. The VIP program gives everyone a chance to play. Our goals for every participating player are to: have fun playing soccer, understand the fundamentals of the game, learn teamwork and fair play, increase positive self-esteem, become more physically fit, and to meet and be comfortable with new people. We will practice and play: The location is Peers Park. Sundays from 1:30 to 3:00 pm From September 9th to November 11th For more information: http://soccer.org/Programs/VIP http://www.ayso26.org Volunteer We're looking for the volunteers. If you're interested in it, please contact Chuck below. Newsletter Newsletter Sep/14/2007 Newsletter Sep/7/2007 Newsletter Aug/30/2007 Newsletter Aug/8/2007 Contact Palo Alto AYSO VIP Program Coordinator & co-coach Chuck Malone : ==================================================================== Keeping our parks clean We have received several complaints from schools that the school yard is a mess after soccer. Please make a special effort to cleanup the yard after your game. It is important that we have a good relationship with the schools in order to keep using their fields. ==================================================================== Rain: If it is raining outside, please remember to call the rain hotline at 329-2697 to see if the fields are open. If they are, then it will be up to the referee to determine if the field conditions pose a safety threat to the kids. The referee has the power to cancel a game and their decision is final. If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving the newsletter, or you are receiving multiple copies, please let me know and we will update our email list. Thanks, Saul Rotblatt Regional Commissioner