PROGRAM

First and foremost, AYSO provides a recreational soccer program for children ages 4 ½ through 18.  AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) is a national organization with 650,000 registered players and 250,000 registered volunteers.  It delivers programs through individual organizations  called Regions.  Mt. Diablo Soccer is Region 223.  The regions are grouped into Areas and Sections.  Mt. Diablo Soccer belongs to Area 2C. which is made up of the Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa and Solano counties.  Area 2C is part of Section 2, which covers the states of Oregon, Washington, northern California and most of Nevada (except Las Vegas).

In Mt. Diablo Soccer, our fall program has over 1,300 players and operates in a regular season that begins typically after Labor Day in September and ends in mid-November.

Although we play in the cities of Concord and Clayton, we accept registrations no matter where you live.

Click here to view a short video produced by AYSO National to introduce AYSO to parents of new players.  Or you can watch it on the home page.

AYSO PRINCIPLES

AYSO was founded on five key principles which affect every aspect our program.  They are:

• Everyone Plays!
• Open Registration
• Balanced Teams
• Positive Coaching
• Good Sportsmanship

The first three principles need clarification:

"Everyone Plays" means that every player on every team must receive a guaranteed amount of playing time.  The national minimum is half the game, but in our region we require a minimum of three quarters, with some exceptions.

"Open Registration" means that we accept every player who registers, provided we have space in the respective age group.  Although we evaluate players, the only reason we do this is to assure “Balanced Teams” by assigning players to teams that we strive to make as "balanced" on paper  as we can.

"Balanced Teams" are not so important when the children are 5, 6 and 7, but once they reach the age of 8 years old, they are playing on larger teams and fields thus balance becomes critical.  The result is that, at this age, we generally do not grant or even consider requests for players to play together or to be assigned to a particular coach.  Teams are put together every year – they do not continue on from one year to the next. 

Our region belongs to Area 2C, which also serves local Regions in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa and Solano counties.

We make up our teams afresh each year and we try our best to balance them, especially once the play moves to larger fields in U10.  Please read our page on this for more detailed information

Volunteers

Volunteer Program Principles

Volunteer Point Program

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

At the regional level, AYSO is an all-volunteer program.  Every board member, regional volunteer, coach and team representative – everyone is a volunteer.  Unlike other youth sports leagues, we do not pay referees – they too are volunteers.

Participation in AYSO cannot be made conditional on your volunteering but unless nearly everyone volunteers to do something, we would not be able to function.

We offer training programs for all our volunteers, especially coaches and referees.

Our goal would be to have teams provide at least two volunteers to train and participate as referees.  Your child's team may be ineligible for the playoffs if your team does not provide any referees to the program.

Master Schedule of Games

TEAMS,GAMES AND PRACTICES

Teams are divided into groupings by age called divisions.  The youngest divisions, U6, spans one and a half years; U8 is divided into U8 (7 year-olds) and U7 (6 year-olds); all the other divisions span two years; except the oldest division, U19, which spans three years.

Age is determined on July 31 before the season begins.  A player must be at least 4 years and six months old on that date and cannot have reached the age of 19.  Only in very rare cases can we register players who are too young and we absolutely cannot register a player who is 19 or older.

A full listing of our divisions and age groups is available.  We often allow players to move up to be with their classmates - this can happen for players born in August through November, because the school cutoff date is December 1.  All requests to play up must be approved at registration by a commissioner.

The program for high school age players is slightly different.  Teams play one game a weekend but the season starts earlier in mid to late August and ends in late October or early November so as not to conflict with high school soccer.

Every team also has one practice a week (except for the very youngest players, 4 ½ and 5 years old).  Practices can take place on a fixed day and time each week.  These times are assigned to teams after the teams have been formed, so there is no point asking for assignment to a team that practices on a particular day.

Team and field sizes are as follows:
 

For our players 8 to 18 years old, there is also a winter season which starts in December and then continues and ends in late March.  Once the winter/select season ends, players may also play on tournament teams all the way through June/July.  These tournaments may involve travel to other regions.

Field Page

Area 2C Locations

WHERE DO WE PLAY?

All of the practices take place at public parks or schools in the cities of Concord/Clayton area.They may include but are not limited to:  Ayers Elementary, Boatwright Sports Complex, ClaytonCommunity Park, Highlands Park, Highlands Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, Mt. Diablo Elementary, Newhall Community Park, Pine Hollow Middle School and Silverwood Elementary.

  Registration

Refund Policy

REGISTRATION AND FEES

We start registering players for the Fall Season in the preceding December.  Registration is done on-line and in person.  It can be done at any time via http://www.eayso.org/ .  Typically after the final registration event, we fill up to the point where there is some chance there is no room on teams throughout divisions and the later you leave it, the more likely you will be out of luck.  We do not give preference to returning players after the last registration event.

In Fall 2009, we are charging $95 for players who register before May 1st, 2009.  After that, the fee rises to include a late fee of $10.  We also are holding a one-time early bird special - for the 2009 season.

Our fees include a uniform - jersey, shorts and socks - you must buy shinguards and shoes (sneakers OK but everyone wants to play in cleats).  The fee does not include team and individual photos, buttons, trophies or a team banner.

We have a full refund policy for players who withdraw before they play or who are not placed on teams.   Partial refunds are available in some other cases.  We do not give refunds after the first games are played unless additional criteria are met.