AYSO serving Los Altos since 1968!

Region 43 serving Los Altos since 1973!

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Spring Select and Tournament Play

Last Updated: January 2, 2008
[ Reg Info ]  [ Leagues ]  [ Spring Setup ]

Although many parents desire it (over 500 in Spring 2004), we are not able to get fields for a full, open registration Spring season. So, like neighboring regions, we have been supporting a limited spring Select and Tournament play -- for our third year now. This can be as simple and cheap as our Fall program (PCSSL only) or as elaborate and expensive as a traveling tournament-only club like team.

NOTE: Our neighbor Region 64 West San Jose (Valco shopping area) has an open registration, fall-like soccer program in Spring. Contact them and register there for more details. See flyer.

We operate a select team program in the spring for boys and girls in the U10, U12, U14, U16 and U19 age brackets. The objective of the program is to provide an opportunity for players to play at a higher level than is possible in the fall season. Teams are chosen through try-outs that are held at the end of the fall season into early January. Teams begin practice after the February school break if only participating in the 10-week Peninsula Coast Spring Soccer League (PCSSL) season. PCSSL games begin in late March and end Memorial Day weekend. A team could choose to only participate in tournaments instead of PCSSL. This can be more expensive but can be more rewarding. A team can also participate in Winter tournaments, indoor soccer, and/or Futsal (indoor soccer on a basketball court). Teams can do any or all of the above items, depending on the committment of the coach and players.

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Registration Information

Spring Select play is a coach driven activity. If a coach comes forward, they will call tryouts, set a budget and expectations, collect fees to cover uniform, ball and registration costs, and the like. They need to find field(s) for practice and games -- usually by kindly asking the big time block users (Little League, Pony Baseball, MVLA Soccer Club) for some time. The region only gets involved to verify the team roster as all players must have played in AYSO's Fall program to be on the roster and covered by insurance.

The following is specific information on individual teams being formed that we know of:

Eligibility

Any player who is registered with the an AYSO region in the Fall 2007 season before and at least half the games were played in the appropriate age bracket is eligible to try out for a select team and participate. Players play in the same age bracket as in the fall, except that a player who played up in the fall may play in his/her standard age bracket in the spring. A player could potentially play-up if skilled.

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Leagues

[1] Pacific Coast Spring Soccer League (doc updated 2 Jan 2008) (Mar-Jun) is comprised of AYSO select and CYSA Class 3 teams from San Jose to San Bruno. The season runs from late March through late May with games on Sundays. Half the games will be home and half in other peninsula cities nearby. Regions / teams are asked to submit a referee or two to the pool as well. Teams must provide a home game field for 1/2 the games..

[2] Winter FUTSAL leagues (Dec-Feb)
For the real die-hard teams, winter FUTSAL leagues start in December and go through to February. Futsal is a FIFA sponsored sport of soccer on a basketball court -- the same thing we played in Spring 2004. There are unlimited, on-the-fly substitutions and so the game is fast paced like basketball but really hones ball touch skills due to the close proximity and speed of the action. Palo Alto Soccer Club hosts a Futsal league in Redwood City gyms and plays on Sundays. MACSAL hosts another FUTSAL league in San Jose.

[3] Indoor Soccer (Dec-May)
At Off the Wall Soccer in Santa Clara. Played on turf inside a hockey rink with walls. Based on professional indoor soccer.

[3] There are many tournaments available. See the AYSO National tournament list for many near term examples. Teams can also sign up to play in some US Club and CYSA tournaments that are open to USSF members. Finding the tournament lists and deciding which ones to attend is a team / coach function. All expenses for tournaments are carried by the team at the discretion of the coach and parents. Tournaments typically have entry fees of $300 or more per team and may require travel and hotel stays. Some examples of popular local tournaments are:

Concord Cup is a mid-May weekend tournament open to AYSO teams from throughout northern California and Nevada. There are two games on Saturday and one on Sunday morning. Top teams play a championship game on Sunday afternoon. Most of the teams stay overnight in Concord on Friday and Saturday nights.

Davis World Cup is the premier AYSO tournament held in northern California. It is held on Memorial Day weekend. Teams come from throughout northern California and Nevada. There are two games on Saturday and two on Sunday. The top teams play championship games on Monday. All the teams stay overnight in Davis or Sacramento.

[4] AYSO National Games are held every two years with teams selected through a lottery. They will be next held in 2008 but the region must have participated in the lottery the year before to send a team.

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Level of Play

All of the teams that play in the spring leagues and tournaments are select teams so that level of play is significantly higher than in the fall AYSO season. Players are in better condition, the game is more physical and players are expected to be committed to improving their skills. The rosters are limited to allow for 3/4 playing time like in Fall so players must be committed given the large number of distractions, holidays and similar issues during the Spring.

Player Selection

Players are chosen based on their play in the fall season and tryouts at the end of the season. Factors that play a part in player selection include skill, speed, effort, understanding of the game, practice habits, positional needs and team chemistry. Availability for practice and family volunteer commitment also play a role.

Practices

Practices are generally held twice a week. Due to our limited size, we have been working with the local baseball organizations to obtain practice and game slots for the few teams we support. Because there is limited practice field availability, players must be available on the assigned practice days.

Playing Time

Select teams operate under AYSO guidelines. Players are guaranteed to play at least half of each game and most coaches give their players close to equal playing time. Coaches are expected to demonstrate good sportsmanship and positive coaching.

Player Committment

Players are expected to make a serious commitment to their spring team. While some players are involved in other sports, most coaches require that select team practices and games take precedence over other sports. Players must make a commitment to the team.

Parental Committment

The local region does not provide support to the spring teams. Each team is responsible for registering in any league, applying to tournaments, and handling its own finances. All parents are expected to help. Teams that can provide certified referees have a better chance of being accepted by tournaments.

Coaches

Coaches who have participated in the preceding fall season, have several years of coaching experience, and hold the appropriate AYSO coaching certificates are the ones who usually run a Spring team. Most teams have assistant coaches who also have AYSO coaching experience. Coaches are approved by the Spring Coordinator and board. Note that as of 2008, tournaments can only accept teams with coaches of the appropriate training level for the age group of the team. That is, U12 trained coach for a U12 team, Intermediate trained coach for a U14 team, Advanced trained coach for a U16 team, etc.

Cost

The spring season is more expensive than the fall season. Each team pays for its uniforms, registration fees, team events and travel costs individually. So costs are a little higher as volume purchases are not available. The cost per player is typically around $250 plus the cost of meals and accommodations at any out of area tournaments that may be committed too. The coach should draw up a rough budget, collect all fees, and reimburse parents as appropriate. Like in Fall, AYSO is still an all-volunteer organization and so coaches cannot be renumerated except maybe for their direct expenses for the team and players.

This is still an AYSO sponsored, insured and managed activity even though the coach is collecting and expending funds directly. Parents who are concerned with any expense abnormalities should contact the Regional Board.

Questions

We are still looking for a spring coordinator. Contact the RC with general questions about the program if a coach or contact the respective coach if a player.

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