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American Youth Soccer Organization

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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 60 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.

Contents

1 Structure

2 NSTC

3 Philosophies

4 Programs

4.1 Girls

4.2 Very Important Player

4.3 Sportsmanship

4.4 Extended Play

4.5 Programs outside the United States

5 Growth

6 History

7 Sponsorship

8 Affinity partners

9 References

10 External links

Structure

12/27/2009 American Youth Soccer Organization - …

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AYSO 1/5

A typical youth soccer game.

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.

�STC

The NSTC (National Support and Training Center) is located at 12515 S. Isis Ave. in Hawthorne, California, just

5 miles SW of Los Angeles International Airport. Here the AYSO National Headquarters are run by nearly 60 paid

employees. They range from the National Executive Director (NED) to the National Marketing Director (NMD),

and the Player Programs Coordinator (PPC). They also run the day - to - day accounting practices. The NSTC has

recently posted an application for the position of "Controller", who would supervise the entire Accounting Dept.

Philosophies

AYSO believes strongly in six 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.

Player Development. 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.[1]

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 charted 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. Other regions and areas have parallel "extended

play" programs that operate at the same time as the standard primary program.

On May 4, 2009, AYSO announced the launch of AYSO FLEXTM as an umbrella for a number of new pilot

programs to encourage the growth of extended play options. Currently, regions and area are permitted to apply to

pilot "Extra" programs, to operate at the same time as the standard primary program. Under the Extra program,

there are two options--"Concurrent", in which players must play in the standard primary program to participate in

Extra, and "Side-by-Side", in which players participate only in one or the other program. More details about these

programs are available at AYSO FLEX (http://www.aysohelp.org/FLEX.htm)

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 comprises 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.



This page was last modified on 12 November 2009 at 21:03.

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.

Sponsorship

AYSO was started in a city in LA county called Torrance. AYSO operates through player fees collected by the

local regions and various sponsor categories. Premier sponsors include Score (uniforms), Kellog's Frosted Flakes,

Hansen's, 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

1. ^ AYSO's sixth philosophy was added in 2009. See [1] (http://www.ayso.org/aboutayso/news/09-06-

28/Player_Development_Becomes_New_Philosophy.aspx)

External links

AYSO - The American Youth Soccer Organization website (http://www.soccer.org)

AYSOHELP - The American Youth Soccer Organization Instructor Web Page (http://www.aysohelp.org)

eAYSO - The American Youth Soccer Organization Online Database & Registration

(http://www.eayso.org)

AYSOTRAINING - The American Youth Soccer Organization Online Training & Certification

(http://www.aysotraining.org)

AYSO SOCCER CAMPS - The American Youth Soccer Organization Soccer Camps Registration and

Informational Page (http://www.aysosoccercamps.org)

AYSO STORE - The AYSO Store website (http://www.aysostore.com)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Youth_Soccer_Organization"

Categories: Children's sport | Soccer governing bodies in the United States | Youth soccer in the United States



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