This region is made up of volunteers...

Attention New & Returning Volunteers
see below for information re: the Fall Recreation season

Parents just like you. If you would like to volunteer in any way, just ask anyone wearing a "Green" AYSO logo shirt (these are the board members) and they will direct you, even if you do not know much about soccer.

Our coaches attend age-specific training clinics each season with practice times that are age specific at our fields. 

Our area of greatest need right now are referees. If you are interested in volunteering to become a referee, AYSO has referee clinics that you can attend. Won't you please consider becoming an AYSO referee? New referees are NOT expected to referee games played by our teenagers. New referees will start reffing games of younger aged children.

SERVICE ANIMALS on AYSO Region #470's SOCCER FIELDS:
AYSO Region 470 pays for an exclusive use permit giving us use and control our fields and the areas surrounding our fields.  Our use permit requires us to to comply with our AYSO national bylaws and Region #470's insurance policy guidelines.

All AYSO Region #470 participants agree and understand that NO PET shall be permitted at any AYSO activity or event regardless of venue or location. This policy includes but is not limited to practices, games, picture day, opening ceremonies, team parties, tournaments, etc. This Policy is consistent with those of neighboring Regions and is in keeping with the AYSO Insurance Policy, which does not cover animal bites or related injuries.

Properly registered service animals are generally exempt from this Policy.  However, only service animals for players, referees, and coaches are allowed within 10 yards of the edge of the field between the goal lines, commonly referred to as the touchline.  Prior to the start of a match, notify an AYSO #470 Board Member (lime green polo shirts) of the presence of your service animal to ensure compliance with our use permits.  All animals, including service animals for non-participants, are restricted to areas outside of the fences surrounding our fields.

Service animals are allowed under the following conditions:
ADA in public places: The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to employers, state and local governments and public places.  The law narrowly defines service animals as any dog that is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a physical or mental disability. “Emotional support animals do not qualify as service animals under the ADA, the Arizona Civil Rights Act, nor the Disabled Persons Act”.
State and local governments, businesses and nonprofits generally must allow service dogs to accompany people with disabilities in any part of a facility open to the public, unless doing so interferes with legitimate safety requirements, or the dog is out of control.

If you are bringing a legal service animal to our fields, we require that you first inform a member of our Board (lime green polo shirts with AYSO #470 logo) that is present at the game so that they can provide guidance on ensuring that the animal does not interfere with the game and remains in control.

Thank you for your understanding and support,

Disclaimer: AYSO is obligated to observe and respect existing regulations and laws regarding the presence of service animals at our fields. Service animals are defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as only dogs or miniature horses that have been trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Other animals, whether wild or domestic, do not qualify as service animals.

Code Of Conduct

As a parent, you play a special role in contributing to the needs and development of youngsters.

Through your encouragement and good example, you can help all the boys and girls learn good sportsmanship and self-discipline. In AYSO, young people learn to work together, to sacrifice for the good of the team, to enjoy winning and deal appropriately with defeat - all while becoming physically fit and healthy. Best of all, they have fun.

Support Your Child
Supporting your child by giving encouragement and showing interest in their team is very important.

Help your child work toward skill improvement and good sportsmanship in every game. Teach your child that hard work and an honest effort are often more important than victory - that way your child will always be a winner despite the outcome of the game!

Always Be Positive
Parents serve as role models for their children. Be aware of this fact and work to be a positive role model. Applaud good plays by your child's team as well as good plays by the opposing team.

Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from youth sports.

Remember: Your Child Wants To Have Fun
Remember that your child is the one playing soccer, not you. It's very important to let children establish their own goals - to play the game for themselves. Take care not to impose your own standards and goals on them.

Don't put too heavy a burden on your child to win games. Surveys reveal that 72% of children would rather play for a losing team than ride the bench for a winning team.

Children play for the fun of playing.

Reinforce Positive Behavior
Positive reinforcement is the best way to help your child achieve their goals and overcome their natural fear of failure. Nobody likes to make mistakes. If your child does make one, remember it's all part of learning, so encourage your child's efforts and point out the good things your child accomplished.

Don't Be A Sideline Coach Or Referee
AYSO coaches and referees are usually parents just like you. They volunteer their time to help make your child's soccer experience a positive one. They need your support, too.

That means refrain from coaching or refereeing from the sidelines. In a volunteer organization like AYSO there's always an opportunity to take your interest in coaching or refereeing to the next level and become one yourself!

What is Safe Haven^®?

AYSO’s Safe Haven^® program is designed to address the growing need for Child and Volunteer Protection in youth sports. The components of the program help create a safe, fun, fair and positive environment - “safe haven” - for all participants.

History

Kids Zone® was the "brainchild" of then Region 234 Commissioner Steve Hamann in 2000. Steve sensed during his field "walkarounds" that the environment was changing. There was more tension, more shouting (definitely more attitude) and less fun than the Region's parents and volunteers had come to expect.

A man of action, Steve came up with a plan that he believed would remind parents that their behavior at games is crucial to setting a good example. His plan included three-inch Kids Zone buttons distributed to parents and coaches and field signs to remind visitors of appropriate conduct. In Region 234 it quickly became obvious to parents that it was up to them to ensure good sideline behavior or suffer the consequences.

Steve approached staff members at the AYSO National Office to help him get his plan under way. The National Board of Directors (NBOD) and National Office staff members provided partial funding and support to implement the plan and that, as we say, was the beginning. The plan was for Region 234 to pilot the program that fall and then make the project ready for national implementation the following year. Steve and Region 234 did an exemplary job and provided the NBOD and National Office staff with reports, ideas and help to launch the new program.

Since its inception, we have added a Kids Zone Parent Pledge and other assorted materials and paraphernalia. Currently the Kids Zone program is being used in nearly 50 percent of our AYSO Regions. Kids Zone does help in controlling negative sideline behavior, but it is not a magic potion, it takes continual reinforcement and commitment to the ideals of good sportsmanship and the AYSO philosophies.

AYSO Joins Worldwide RESPECT Campaign

AYSO has brought the worldwide RESPECT campaign to American youth soccer this fall with its own distinct attitude:”RESPECT Starts.With.Me.”

Watch the AYSO RESPECT STARTS.WITH.ME.video  

No one is perfect. Mistakes get made. But when Respect is the foundation of our relationships, we treat each other with courtesy, consideration and patience. Kids watch the behavior of adults and they learn how to relate to the world around them.

The RESPECT Campaign began as a “respect for referees” initiative in Europe and has now spanned the globe, picking up meaning as it has traveled. Under its umbrella U.S. Soccer, the governing body of all soccer in America (AYSO is a member), has launched a fan-respect campaign for fans in the stands; the European Football Union (UEFA) added a diversity and inclusion component and AYSO has kicked the ball further, by embracing it as a campaign for parents, players, referees and coaches.

In AYSO, Respect isn’t about “the other guy,” it always starts with “me”. It means respectful behavior towards other parents, referees (who volunteer their time to ensure that every game is fun, fair and safe), coaches (who dedicate hours every week to make sure every player is learning soccer and having a great AYSO experience), administrators (who give countless hours to register players, line fields, hang nets, set up schedules and rosters, process money and so much more) and, most importantly, the kids that we all care so much about.

Youth sports are as much about learning life lessons as learning the sport on the field. So the RESPECT Campaign encourages everyone to work together to ensure our players are learning the lesson of Respect.

The AYSO “RESPECT.starts.with.me” theme was unveiled at the 2012 National Annual General Meeting in Seattle as the AYSO Section Meeting theme for 2013. But there has been such a wave of requests, that AYSO is breaking with tradition and the theme debuted for the 2012 fall season.

In 2013, AYSO will hold 11 Section Meetings across the nation. These are annual training conferences for volunteers with programming on AYSO coaching, officiating, management, marketing, instruction, development and more.  They include workshops, networking events, vendor shows, awards and an opportunity to connect with other volunteers. All AYSO volunteers are invited to attend.

Respect may not specifically be one of the Six Philosophies of AYSO, but it is embedded in everything AYSO does. From Good Sportsmanship to Kids Zone®, Respect on the field, on the sidelines and in the community is what makes AYSO the special organization that it is.

Remember, in AYSO, “RESPECT STARTS.WITH.ME!”