Dallas Goss
Professor X
English 101
December 3, 2012
Playing Soccer in AYSO On Saturday mornings all over the country, soccer fields are lined with players, coaches and parents cheering their children and teammates to victory. The seas of blue, green, and yellow uniforms are dotted with referees as the morning passes. The ongoing shouts of the players, the cheers from the parents and the referee’s whistle all combine to create an electric atmosphere. Many of the players on these fields play for AYSO. AYSO is the American Youth Soccer Organization. This is a non-profit organization that is a major contributor in youth soccer. The organization offers soccer to those players that want a less competitive and more affordable way to play soccer. In order to maintain its status, AYSO has developed five philosophies that govern how the organization can register and develop its players and teams. While these philosophies keep AYSO off the more competitive soccer fields, AYSO continues to maintain its place in youth soccer while creating a positive place for players to learn and play soccer. Club soccer teams hold tryouts each year to choose the best players available. This allows them to build strong teams on the competitive fields. Hundreds of player’s try-out for a club team with a fifteen-man roster. They go through a week of practices as the coach watches and picks the players for the team. (Heat) This helps to build a strong team, but it leaves several players with no team to play on. AYSO’s first philosophy does not allow the players to be “chosen”. Open registration means that any child between the age of four and nineteen can play soccer, regardless of the experience or skill. (AYSO). Players with several years of experience are registered with new players. Unlike the clubs teams, there are not try-outs for regular season play. By eliminating the try-outs, AYSO is able to take the pressure off the players. They are allowed to learn the rules of the game without the fear of not being good enough to make a team. On a U10 (under the age of ten) team there may be a nine or ten player roster. The games are played with seven players on each side. This means that two or three players are sitting out at any given time. Most leagues direct the coaches to play all the players during the games, but they are not told how long to play them. Competitive players may only play one quarter while their teammates play the whole game. This means the better players play a lot while the others may not. A current AYSO rule dictates that all players must play half the game before any one player plays the whole game. (AYSO) They do this to make sure that all players get the opportunity the experience play on the game field. After all, it is not fun to attend all the practices and then have to sit out and watch the games because there are other players on the team that have played longer or are more skilled. While the focus of competitive soccer is to win, AYSO focuses on the player and developing their skills while having fun. Competitive soccer is tough. Only the best players are allowed to play. If a child makes a team that is not as strong as other competitive teams they may lose and lose, continuously. There is no way of balancing the teams because each team advertises and recruits separately. They build the best team possible. Once a team is built, they may play together for several years, replacing only those that leave the team. This builds a strong team were the players know their teammate’s strengths and weaknesses. AYSO prides itself in allowing each player a fair chance of winning. In order to maintain the fairest teams possible, AYSO rebuilds its teams each season by balancing the teams according to player ratings. Each season the coaches rate their players and the end of the season. These are simple ratings that rank their skills in five to seven difference areas: dribbling, shooting or control. These ratings are