Frequently Asked Questions

General:

Where can I find ...?
Note may times most of what you are looking for will be on our homepage under "Important Documents".

What if I cannot find ...?
Your Division Commissioner is your advocate and there to help you.  We ask that you do look around in this document and the other coaching tabs so as to reduce duplicate work and communication for your DC.

Can anyone coach?
Yes, please see "How to Become a Coach".  Note while anyone can volunteer to coach, in doing so they are stating that they will uphold AYSO philosophies and not doing so may affect their applications in the future.

Do I have to play a player 3 quarters of the game?
YES! There are only exceptions if the player is not present for the whole game, but in general if present for 3 quarters the expectation is 3 quarters of play.

I have a problem with Coach/Parent/Player what do I do?
Please see the sections "Need Help?" or "Problem with Coach"

I have a uniform issue, how can I resolve it?
At the beginning of season there should be a Uniform Request Form under important documents on our home page.  You can also reach out to [email protected] and copy your Division Commissioner for their knowledge.

Pictures Pictures Pictures?
Picture information will be communicated as we draw closer to the picture dates.  If you have an issue you can contact [email protected] and again copy your Division Commissioner for their knowledge.

Team Formation:

I signed up to Coach, will I be guaranteed to get a team?
First, Thanks for being willing to coach!!!!  The answer is in most cases probably, but NOT in every case. The most likely case a volunteer would not get selected as a coach would be we enough coaches for a division.  More rare could potentially be not completing requirements or upholding AYSO Philosophies.  We encourage you to communicate with your Division Commissioner early in the recruiting process and be on track with clearances and trainings.

Will my child(ren) be on my team?
YES! We place coaches children on their team.

Can I request an assistant coach?
Yes, but...

• All coaches have to fully meet all requirements (cleared and completed all trainings) 
• Assistant Coaches are not given priority in regards to player participation in the event not enough head coaches are found and player cuts must be made.
• Assistant coach requests are meant to enhance a coaches ability to develop players, NOT to stack a team or allow for best friends to play together. As such if AYSO philosophies (e.g. Everyone Plays, Balanced Teams, Good Sportsmanship) are at risk the request will NOT be honored.

Can I request my players friend or my cousin to be on my team?
NO! The only request that we consider is assistant coach request, which has to be a fully qualified coach.  Many other AYSO regions will not even allow for an assistant coach request, we recognize the need for coaches to have support and our own need to grow our qualified coaching community. Also logistically it is just sort of impossible with ~1500 players and ~150 teams to handle too many individualized requests.

How are teams chosen?
Teams are balanced for skill and age to the best of our abilities and information.  This is why player evaluations are vitally important to complete, as if two players are not rated 1 is amazing and 1 is just starting their soccer journey there is no way to distinguish this.  The only players guaranteed to be on a team are the coaches players and even then those are factored in for the balance of skill and age.

I have a player that can't make practices can they change teams and will I get another player?
We do not move players around to other teams for this reason as it could upset the entire balance of team formation.  Their would be 2 options.  1) Player drops 2) Player doesn't make practices but still plays in games. We know the latter is not idea, but it is the policy of the region that the player would still play 3 quarters of the game.

For option 1, the player can request a refund prior to season by filling out the Refund Request form under Important Documents on our homepage.  Once season starts, they would need to request to be dropped by communicating with [email protected], we also suggest copying Division Commissioner and [email protected].  If they refuse to do the communication but are clearly not playing reach out to your Division Commissioner.  In the case a player is dropped, if there is an unassigned player (e.g. waitlist) and it is early enough in the season we will add a player to your team. If the player is not dropped from your roster, we are not able to add another player to your team.

Field Space and Practice Times:

How do I request practice space and time?
Find the Practice Field Request Form under important documents on our home page.  When filling it out you will be asked for your top 3 practice options and then will be assigned based on availability.  If you have multiple teams submit multiple requests, the field coordinator will do his/her best to give you the best combination for both teams.  Special requests are not able to be handled very often but reach out to your Division Commissioner.

How do I know what field space and time was assigned to me?
Find the Practice Field Assignments document under important documents on our home page. Note if you have multiple teams one of your teams may be on the field space of another division.  E.g. you coach U8 team and a U10 team your U8 team may be listed on the U10 tab.

I don't like the option given to me or my schedule changed can I change my practice time?
So not liking the option you were given, NO that alone would not be enough to request a change.  Your schedule changed, submit a new field request with your updated top 3 options and discuss with your Division Commissioner.

I only got a 1/4 of a field assigned can I get more space?
By and large the answer will be no, especially at popular practice times (e.g. 5:45-6:45) as we have a lot of teams sharing fields.  We recommend working with the coaches you are sharing the field with and perhaps scrimmaging one another or even running drills together.

I want space to scrimmage can I move my neighbor?
NO!  You can work together to perhaps have a scrimmage together but you cannot move or expect to move your fellow coach from their space.

I see open field space can I use it?
NO!  Just because it is open or you think it is when you start it does not mean it will remain open or that we are permitted to use it at that time.  There are divisions e.g. U16 that will have weekday games and other programs such as Football or United that may also have field permits during our practice times.

Player Evaluations:

Where can I find the link?
When it is closer to the time to fill them out their will be a link under important documents on our home page.

Do I have to do them?
Yes, please spend the time to complete them they are the only method we have to attempt to balance teams to create a better experience for all players. We have spent time to try and make it much more painless for you, but feedback to improve is always welcome.

How do I know what to rate a player?
First in lower divisions it is unlikely that a player is perfect in every category, so 5s across the board would be very rare.  In general, think of a players abilities relative to his/her peers in their division, not just your team.  So for example your team has lost every game, is it NOT like you would have a bunch of players being rated with 5s and 4s on your team.  If your team is about 50% win/loss, you most likely have a 4/5 and 1/2 and a bunch of 3s.  If you win a lot perhaps that is more 4s/5s....  Use your best judgement or if don't know ask your Division Commissioner for help.

Will the parents see the ratings?
Currently NO. We recognize how difficult of a position that could potentially put you in as you could coach the same child again.  However, we do encourage you to provide feedback to parents so they know how to support their child.  In the future if we are able to implement, outside evaluators this may change.

Hmmm maybe I will just purposefully under rate my child, my AC's kiddo, or his/her buddy or
We do use the ratings to balance teams and therefore look at them and this does become obvious overtime.  So it may trigger a change to your rating during team formations.