AYSO and Region 255 need your help to ensure a successful season.

• Learn the game The best way to learn the game is to attend a referee course. We offer courses in every city. Go to eayso.org to sign-up.
• Volunteer When parents help out, everyone wins! As you may already know, AYSO is an all volunteer organization. With every new season comes a need for your help as a volunteer. You can help out today by becoming a coach, referee, board member or team parent. There is also a need for registration, picture day and field maintenance helpers. Click here if you are interested in donating your time and energy.
• Be a respectful spectator by using using trash cans for trash, leaving your pet at home, and by allowing the referees to do their job on the field. Volunteer staff is there to make sure the game is enjoyable and safe for the players. Under exceptional circumstances, unruly spectators may be asked to leave the field.
• Teach good sportsmanship by making sure your child attends and is on-time for practices and games. Players must wear shin guards at practice and at games. A ready-to-play soccer player attends practice and games with  water or a sports drink to stay hydrated,  their own soccer ball, cleats, and shin guards.
• Please remember that coaches are not baby sitters; if you are dropping your player off make sure they have everything they need and that you are on-time to pick them up. The coach should be able to reach you at all times.

Every sport has its own rules and regulations to try to make the sport as enjoyable to watch and play as possible. One of the main differences between soccer an the other main sports is that there are no time-outs and the game is continuously flowing. You have all heard all the rules how to act on the sidelines, about being positive, supporting the team, not yelling at the referees and other guidelines that are required in every sport. But when it comes to soccer…

What Exactly Does This Mean?

We all hear parents..and coaches.. say: “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Next time you hear yourself or somebody else say that, step back for a minute and see if your actions TRULY back this up. For example:

• Let your child play. Just let the coach, the ref and especially the players have fun!
• To help make life easier for your coach, the players, and yourself, give support to your child and the team, but do not give orders or direction to the players, even your own. It is up to the coach and the players to make the decisions. Your direction may be different than what the coach wants and this does not help the team and may frustrate your child.
• Do not publicly question the referee’s calls. Try to enjoy watching your son or daughter play. Do not try to alter the game from the sideline by yelling at the referees. The referees really are not biased against your team and they can make mistakes also… just like the rest of us.
• Help your child work toward skill improvement during practices and during the week and have your child work toward hard work, good sportsmanship and fun during the game. The sport will teach your child.
• Teach your child always to play by the rules. Do not ridicule or yell at your child for making a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes and players will learn by those mistakes. What may seem innocent may not. For example… Never blame a child for losing a game. There are more than one player on a team. No player can lose the game all by himself.
• Bring a chair, sit back and relax and have fun!

The joy of this non-stop play is that the game is taken out of the hands of the coaches and the parents and is preserved for the players. Whereas, in other sports, there is time for instructions from the coach or parents, there is little time in soccer for a player to listen to the sidelines and then react. This gives the player the ability to learn and to make his or her own decisions-important life tools.

Volunteer Application
Every volunteer (coach, referee, board member, team parent, etc.) must submit a Volunteer Application each year. They are delivered to AYSO National Headquarters for an annual background check, which screens for volunteers’ suitability to work with our participants.

How to create an account and register as a Volunteer

Concussion Awareness class (online)
You must have submitted a Volunteer Application before you can access the short webinar.

1. Go to AYSO’s Learning Management System: AYSOU
2. Enter your login information from ayso255.org
3. Click My Courses and choose CDC Concussion Course

Safe Haven training 
All volunteers in Region 255 must take Safe Haven course. All volunteers are required to complete this prior to receiving team contact information and prior to holding team practice, so please complete the course at your earliest convenience. Please check our website for date/time or go to AYSOU to find classes offered nearby