Providing world class youth soccer programs that enrich children's lives.

AYSO 880 -- Romeo, Bruce, Washington Twp

WHEW! I've Registered, Now What

NEW! Parent Participation Policy

AYSO is an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to develop and deliver quality youth soccer programs which promote a fun, family environment based on AYSO's Six Philosophies: Everyone Plays®, Balanced Teams, Open Registration, Positive Coaching, Good Sportsmanship, and Player Development. In order to achieve this, we require each family to serve during the off-season, pre-season and/or during the season by volunteering for a minimum of five hours per season. If you serve on the Board, you are exempt from this policy.

Serving on the Board, coaching or refereeing will expand your social network, improve leadership and communication skills, and allow you to inspire and teach children and be involved in your community, all of which could lead to building a great resume!

The following are key positions that need to be filled in order to ensure a smoothly operating league and great season starts.

Each team must have:

Coach*
Assistant Coach*
LinesJudge*, Referee* or Assistant Referee* (U8 and Above, U10 and above two required)
Team Parent*
Field Striping/Maintenance (season long)
Event Helper

Regional Positions:

Referee Administrator*
CVPA (Child/Volunteer Protection Advocate)*
Coach Administrator*
Safety Director*
Uniform/Equipment Coordinators*
Field Director* and Pre-season Helpers and Season Stripers
Assistant Regional Commissioner*
Assistant Registrar*
Assistant Coach Administrator*
Divisional Coordinators*
Website/Communications
Tournament Coordinator
AYSO EXTRA Coordinator (AYSO's Elite Teams in U10 and U12)
Picnic Committee Chair and Committee Members
Secretary*

*Volunteer application required.

Training is available for all the above positions. Training clinics for any parent who is interested in becoming a certified coach, 5U-8U, can be set up, otherwise it is available online. If you are unable to volunteer your skills and time to one of the listed positions, we ask that you support the above staff by helping with low time-commitment type tasks that can alleviate the workload of our volunteers, ie. coming out pre-season for an hour to help Fields Coordinator lay out and stripe the game fields, working a time slot at Concessions, registration events, or the picnic, picking up litter/debris from our fields to avoid a $45/hour cleanup charge by Parks and Rec, etc.

Our parent volunteers are the lifeblood of an organization that provides a fun, lively environment for our children to learn and play soccer! Many hands make light work.

What Else Does My Child Need?

The registration fee includes:

Complete uniform (jersey, shorts, socks)
Supplemental accident insurance
Spring picnic (as long as there is a Picnic Coordinator and parent volunteers)
Medal (for first timers) and an Award pin (Fall Only players must email [email protected] to arrange for pickup)

In addition, your player will need the following at each practice and game:

Suitable footwear
- Tennis shoes (sneakers) are acceptable but may be slippery in wet weather in the grass.
- Soccer Cleats
Shin guards (mandatory) - Worn under the socks.
- Older players (10U and up) may wish to use shin guards with integrated ankle pads. While these are by no means required, they protect players from aggressive wild kicks during practice and games.
Age appropriate ball -- Put name on ball!
- Size 3 (Playground, 5U-8U)
- Size 4 (10U-12U)
- Size 5 (14U and up).
Water-Bottle
- This can be a prefilled disposable bottle, reusable bottle, juice or sport drink bottle, thermos or other suitable container.
- If your child is using a reusable bottle, please put your child's name on the bottle. Bottles left at the soccer field may end up in our trailer's lost and found box.
Cold Weather Attire - Late fall and early spring games may be played during less than optimal weather conditions. The following is acceptable to be worn during practices and games.
- Gloves - Soccer is played with the feet, not the hands. It is better to have warm hands that may slip on the ball on a throw-in than to be able to throw the ball perfectly but unable to because your fingers hurt from the cold.
- Sweatshirt, long-sleeve shirt, wind-breaker, hoodies or thermal underwear may be worn under the player's jersey. For players on Extra teams or teams playing interplay, sleeve color should match jersey color as closely as possible.
- Sweatpants, jogging pants, thermal underwear may be worn. If worn over the shorts, color should be black. Players on Extra Teams or teams playing interplay, if pants are not color of socks, they should be tucked into socks during game play.
- Hats - These may be worn during games but may not be held on the head by a string or tie under the chin. It is acceptable for hats to cover the ears.

If you find the need to purchase equipment for your child, check out this link for 10% off merchandise at Dick's Sporting Goods.

When Do Player Get Called?

Preliminary rosters will be given to coaches at the Coach's Meeting approximately one month before the first game day. They can start contacting the players listed on their roster (usually by email) and start holding pre-season practices. Players who were registered after Team Formation will be placed on a Holding List and will be given team assignments 2-3 weeks before the first game day. They will be emailed by the league and can still participate in any pre-season practice. This is to ensure that the efforts already made to balance teams are preserved.

We usually have a Parent Meeting 2-3 weeks before the game day at: Romeo P&R Bldg, 361 Morton Street, 7:00pm

Meet your child's coach for the Fall and Spring seasons
Get your player's uniform & Fall Game Schedules
Sign up for team duties or general league volunteer opportunities

6U may have 1 or 2 practices prior to game day, while 5U will begin on the first game day of the season.

Game Schedules will be posted on our website at least two weeks prior to the first game of each season. In addition, it’s a good idea to periodically check the website for current news, volunteer opportunities and general league announcements. Join SignUp Genius (free) to help with league duties, such as working the concessions stand (if applicable), field preparation, and Annual Picnic planning. Also, please make sure your email address is correct and up-to-date since this is the main way the league communicates. Check your Spam folder periodically.

What About Refunds

AYSO CORE POLICIES:

Full Refund
A full refund will be given if monies are taken by Region 880 and a team can not be assembled due to lack of players.

100% Refund (Less $25.00 Non-Refundable AYSO National Membership Fee)
100% refund will be issued before August 1st for the Fall Season.
An email must be sent to registrar.ayso880@gmail to drop and request refund.

50% Refund (Less $25.00 Non-Refundable AYSO National Membership Fee)
50% refund will be issued before September 1st for the Fall Season, as long as the player has not participated in any practices and picked up a uniform.

Fall Only Players (Less $25.00 Non-Refundable AYSO National Membership Fee)
$30 single season refund will be issued if cancelation of spring season is requested to the registrar via email: [email protected] by February 1st.

No Refund
No Refunds will be given starting on September 1st for those that register either strictly only for the Fall season OR those that register for both Fall and Spring seasons, even if you decide not to return to play for Spring season.
No Refunds will be given starting on March 1st for those that register strictly only for the Spring season.

All requests for refunds must be submitted in writing to [email protected] or letter mailed to AYSO 880, PO Box 289, Washington, MI 48094.

AYSO SELECT (Travel) POLICIES:

100% Refund (Less $25.00 Non-Refundable AYSO National Membership Fee)
100% refund will be issued before July 1st for the season. This is a year long commitment.
No refunds will be given after July 1st.
An email must be sent to registrar.ayso880@gmail to drop and request refund.
All requests for refunds must be submitted in writing to [email protected]

FAQ

1. How Do I sign My Child up to Play with AYSO?

Before each season, AYSO Region 880 sends a registration flyer home through the Romeo Community Schools and we publish an ad in the RWB Parks and Rec Spring Catalog. At the same time, our website http://www.ayso880.org is continually updated with the most current information. For more information, please click on "Registration" on the Top Menu.

2) What is Safe Haven Training?

Safe Haven is a program to protect children and the volunteers who work with them. All volunteers (coaches, asst coaches, referees, Board Members, etc.) must complete Safe Haven Training in order to participate in AYSO. The child protection aspect is intended to stop child abuse, educate or remove its perpetrators, and screen out predators before they get into the program. It includes proactive steps which provide a medium for positive, healthy child development, precluding the outbreak of child abuse in a weak, unfocused, non-empowering environment. Volunteer protection comes into play as a result of volunteer training, certification and continuing education. The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 provides certain legal protections for volunteers who have been trained and certified, and act in accordance with a written job description. Safe Haven has these three elements, giving volunteers the highest degree of protection available under the law.

3) What is the difference between AYSO and Travel Teams?

In AYSO one of the 6 philosophies is "Everyone Plays" - which means that each player is guaranteed to play at least one half of every game, despite the player's skills and abilities. Travel Teams do not have this requirement - your player may not play as often based on their skills in relation to the other players on the team.

4) Why Haven't I Heard from my Child's Coach?

In AYSO, coaches are volunteers (just like all other region positions). Each coach is requested to contact their players immediately following the Team Roster Posting. However, due to differing family and work schedules, this is not always accomplished in a timely fashion. In addition, sometimes a delay occurs in notification due to the lack of volunteers to fill the coaching positions. Rest assured that if you have registered a player with our Region, we will do our best to place your player on a team and notify the appropriate coach. Please be patient as this process may take several weeks after the team draw.

5) Who Do I Contact With a Question?
It Depends! Region 880 has a volunteer Board of Directors that is here to make sure the Region runs smoothly. These members can answer your questions. Please address your question to the Board Member who can most likely address your concern. For example, if you have a question on coaching, please contact the Regional Coach Administrator. If you have a question on registering your child, please contact the Registrar. If you have a question on uniforms or equipment, please contact the Equipment Director. For a complete listing of all Board Members, please click on the "Regional Board" button.