Saturday, August 28^th – AYSO Road Show/Coaches and Referee Training. We don’t expect anyone to have to jump in to coaching AYSO soccer without providing you free training.  This is that opportunity for you.  If you have never taken coaches training, we do require (or at least strongly encourage) that you do attend if you are available.  The training courses will be held at Perry Jr. High School at 9499 Weston Road, New Hartford.  Registration is from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, with an Introduction Ceremony at 8:00 am.  The guest presenters include the AYSO National Coach, John Ouellette, and Bill Finkel of the AYSO Soccer Camps. 

The training begins at 8:30 with the various courses being conducted as follows:

Teaching Speed Part 1 with John Ouellette – 8:30 am to 9:45 am

U-06 Coaching – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

U-08 Coaching – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

U-10 Coaching – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm (with an hour for lunch)

U-12 Coaching – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (with an hour for lunch)

Basic  Referee – 8:30 am to 6:00 pm (with an hour for lunch) – For those that have not taken the U-08 Official Referee course and to obtain certification in order to referee AYSO games.  Most AYSO referees for Region 840 have this certification.

U-08 Official Referee – 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm (with an hour for lunch) – This is good for U-06 and U-08 coaches or anyone that would like a basic understanding of the AYSO laws.

U-08 – Basic Upgrade Referee – 8:30 am to 3:00 pm (with an hour for lunch) – For those that have taken the U-08 Official Referee course and to obtain certification to referee AYSO games.  Most AYSO referees for Region 840 have this certification.

U-08 – Intermediate Referee – 8:30 am to 7:00 pm (with an hour for lunch) – This is the next level referee course and requires the basic referee certification, completion of 25 games as a referee with at least five U-12 games, complete and pass the Intermediate Referee Course, and be observed (mentored) in a U-12 game.  I plan to take  this course.

Quick commercial break for refereeing…  I think everyone knows how hard it is to get referees for all the games each weekend.  This is because we have so few to choose from.  With 41 teams in our area, it is sometimes difficult to cover them all each and every weekend.  And, as frustrating as it sometimes is with being a referee and never making the right call, it is a very rewarding experience and good exercise.  Plus, it gives you an appreciation for the game and its laws that you can’t get from being a spectator or even a coach (such as why handling the ball infractions don’t always result in a penalty, what is offside and when is it called, etc.).  I would encourage all of you to think about becoming referee certified and helping us out.  You may even want to ask the parents of your players to get certified since you are already committing a large portion of your time to coaching.  I know that the time commitment for becoming certified is a lot (8 hours for the basic referee certification), but one day of commitment will pay large dividends for you and the region.  Thanks for your consideration.

To register for the road show, print and fill out the attached 3E2010RoadShowRegForm and send it to Mike Wessing.  His address is on the form.  Make sure you check the line that says My region will pay the fee since your region will pay the fee. 

You also must register for the training course that you intend to take.  Do this by going to www.eayso.org and clicking on the Enroll to take a class link.   Search for courses offered in Section 3, Area E.  Click on the course and hit the Course signup button.

One more thing that you need to do if you haven’t already is take the Safe Haven course.  This is mandatory for all coaches, but you only need to take it once in your life and it is good forever.  If you haven’t taken the Safe Haven course, you can take it on-line by going to www.soccer.org and click on the Online Training link.  You will need your AYSO ID# which you can get by signing on to www.eayso.org.  The on-line course takes less than an hour.  Make sure that you get Safe Haven certified before the season starts.

Saturday, September 11^th – First game of the season.  Practices can begin as soon as the fields are ready.  We will give you that information at the coaches meeting.  We will have practice schedule times for you to sign up for at the coaches meeting.

Saturday, October 30^th  – Last game of the season.  The season will consist of 8 games.