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Spring Soccer registration is here!
Our first season of Spring Soccer will be played on Saturdays beginning Feb 21, 2009, and ending May 9, 2009. There will be no games played on Saturday, Mar 14 (second Saturday of the SUSD Spring Break) nor on Saturday, April 11, 2009 (SUSD school three day weekend).
This first season of Spring Soccer is for 4 through 7 year olds. Age is as of July 31, 2008. If you have a player who turned 4 years old prior to Dec 31, 2008, and you are willing to coach a team, please register and indicate that you will be a volunteer coach.
Spring Soccer is similar to our Fall Soccer program with a few exceptions:
1. Players must be 4 to 7 years old as of July 31, 2008.
2. Fields will be less centralized -- likely three playing locations in central Scottsdale.
3. Uniforms will be two colors -- one for the home team and one for the visiting team.
4. Players receive participation medals instead of trophies.
5. Less reservable practice space because of other sports using the Scottsdale fields.
6. Hot weather at the end of the season instead of the beginning of the season.
The ten game season is $70 for 4-5 year olds and $85 for 6-7 year olds if registration is completed by Jan 14, 2009. The Wait List begins on Jan 15 and ends Feb 28, 2009. Wait List registration is $100 for 4-5 year olds and $115 for 6-7 year olds. Due to limited game fields, we expect to have more demand for participation than we can supply. Please register early! Click here to access the registration system, which is the same one used for the Fall League. If you already have a Blue Sombrero user ID and profile, your registration will be quick and easy.
We are a volunteer organization and we need coaches! As you register your player, please sign up to coach if you can. Soccer is a simple game to coach for teams of this age. We need you to help provide this great experience for our young soccer players! Thanks to all past, present, and future coaches who volunteer their valuable time for the kids!
Why Spring Soccer for only 4-7 year olds?
During the Spring, the City of Scottsdale has more demand for Saturday field use than they have supply. We are "starting small" with our Spring Soccer program and will expand to older age groups as we work out field availability with the City. We came close to having a division for 8-9 year olds in Spring, 2009, but the field and equipment issues could not be solved in the time we had to insure a class program. We continue to work toward an 8-9 year old division for Spring, 2010, and will announce this for 2010 when we know we can provide what it takes. Thanks for understanding the situation.
FAX troubles? Here is a solution. . .
There have been reports of troubles faxing with our shared voice and fax line. If you experience trouble, please use this dedicated fax line: 480-588-1306. No cover page is needed. We apologize for any inconvenience.
A Word About Jewelry -- you have been warned
For player safety, jewelry is not allowed to be worn during practice or games – No Exceptions. For girls in particular, wait until after the season to get those ears pierced. Pierced ear “starter posts” must be removed for a player to be allowed to play. No Exceptions. Taping is not an acceptable solution. No Exceptions.
Recreational Soccer NEWS UPDATE / 14 year olds can play Fall Rec soccer!!!
If you are a 14 year old player and thought you were done with Rec soccer, think again! By popular demand, we are continuing with the top age group for Fall Rec soccer including 14 year olds. We are again taking 12, 13, and 14 year olds into the oldest age group, calling it U15 (Under 15). If you are still 14 as of July 31, 2008, then you can play! Please follow the registration directions and you will be placed on a team.
Please understand that we will spread the 14 year olds evenly across all teams. No single team should have more than one more or one fewer 14 year old than any other team. If you have any questions, please send them to info@asusc.com
ASUSC Scottsdale Soccer Recreational Program
ASUSC Recreational Soccer is a community based soccer program for players ages 4 through 14. Coaches are selected from parent volunteers who make the program run! Currently there are over 2,300 recreational soccer players at ASUSC organized into roughly 220 ‘pure age group’ teams – 5 year old boys teams play 5 year old boys, 8 year old girls teams play 8 year old girls, etc.
The season runs from September to December with a break for Thanksgiving. Games are played on Saturdays between 8 AM and 4 PM, with an occasional game on Friday night between 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM. Practices are generally one or two days per week, Monday through Friday, between 4 PM and 8:30 PM; but the coach and the team can arrange practices to fit field availability and the needs of the team.
Applications are accepted from May to August 15th and team formation begins in mid-August. After August 15th, the Wait List begins from which players are placed on teams on a first come, first served basis to fill openings as they arise. Requests for a teammate, coach, or practice location are considered for applications postmarked up to June 30th and we try to honor requests throughout the team formation process.
Click here to get started with online registration or select Registration from the left menu.
Can a team reschedule a game?
The answer is no. With over 220 teams and thus 110 games each Saturday, it is not possible to efficiently mold a game schedule to the busy lives of all coaches, players, and families. We continue our practice of not allowing games to be switched, delayed, or rescheduled. It would never be possible to accommodate the desires of all, so we refrain from doing this for anyone. If a team knows it will be unable to field the minimum players needed to play, the coach needs to send email to recsoccer@asusc.com and referees@asusc.com The coach needs to also notify the affected division coordinator and the coach of the opposing team. In the unlikely event of a team cancellation in a division with an odd number of teams, the "other" team may request that the division "bye team" be contacted to see if the "bye team" wants to play a game that week. The division coordinator can help with that determination. Games are not officially made up but the coaches can agree to play somewhere at sometime if they choose. No Club facilitation of such games will be offered; it's just too much work in addition to all normal Club tasks during the season. We hope this makes sense.
Key dates for the Recreational League
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May 19, 2008
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Registration begins for the 08-09 soccer season |
| June 30 |
Last postmark date for Early Registration price
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| August 15 |
Last postmark date for Regular Registration price |
| August 16 |
Registration price increases to Wait List price |
| September 20 |
Recreational games begin / ages 7 and younger
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| September 27 |
Recreational games begin / ages 8 and older |
| November 22 |
Recreational season ends / ages 4 and 5 |
| December 7 |
Recreational season ends / ages 6 and older |
Team size information for 2008 Fall season
The chart below shows the team size information for this season.
If you wonder why we are here . . .
The following article appeared in the East Valley Tribune on May 1, 2008, (Sports Section). We encourage you to fit this subject matter into discussions of sports and sportsmanship with your player(s) and other families. If a small percentage of our players and families "get this message", then your participation in youth sports has paid life lesson dividends, which is really what this program is all about. Thanks for reading!
Good sports: Foes carry hurt HR hitter around bases
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND, ORE. With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. Her first home run cleared the center-field fence.
But it appeared to be the shortest of dreams come true when she missed first base, started back to tag it and collapsed with a knee injury.
She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as a single.
Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team {the opponents -- ed} stunned spectators by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count, an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.
Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the career home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Tucholsky.
The umpire said there was no rule against it.
So Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace put their arms under Tucholsky's legs, and she put her arms over their shoulders. The three headed around the base paths, stopping to let Tucholsky touch each base with her good leg.
"We didn't know that she was a senior or that this was her first home run," Wallace said Wednesday. "That makes the story more touching than it was. We just wanted to help her." Holtman said she and Wallace weren't thinking about the playoff spot, and didn't consider the gesture something others wouldn't do.
"I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation," Tucholsky said.
As the trio reached home plate, Tucholsky said, the entire Western Oregon team was in tears.
Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, a 14-year coaching veteran, called the act of sportsmanship "unbelievable."
Tucholsky's home run sent Western Oregon to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington's chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.
"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said.
"It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run."
ASUSC Rec Soccer Coaching
Volunteer coaches indicate their interest in coaching during their player's registration -- look for the Volunteer question. If you become interested in coaching a team after your player registers, please send Email to info@asusc.com.
We collect all coach names and form teams based on the coaches who have volunteered. Coaches cannot request players but players, during registration, can request a coach. Nearly all volunteer coaches are selected to coach a team as we never seem to have enough volunteers. Coaches are contacted during August, are asked to complete a Disclosure Form and a Practice Field Request form, and both are to be brought to the coach orientation meeting which is held in early September. Team rosters are handed out during that meeting. Coaches contact their players in the second week of September and begin practice at that time. Games usually begin the last Saturday in September.
Team picture days are scheduled for all recreational teams at Mountain View Park, usually on a Sunday in October or November. Games are played at Mountain View Park and Thunderbird Park. The recreational soccer season concludes in late November for 4 and 5 year old players and in December for all other players. Each player receives an award for participation.
Playing Locations and Times
Recreational games are held on Saturdays at one of two sites: 4 and 5 year olds play at Thunderbird Park, 92nd Street at Thunderbird Road in Scottsdale, adjacent to Zuni School; 6 through 14 year olds play at Mountainview Park / Cochise School, Mountainview Road at 86th Street. Game times for all ages start no earlier than 8am and complete in the afternoon.
I've Now Registered -- What Happens Next?
Once you have registered, your player information goes to a gender / age group coordinator. This volunteer is in charge of forming teams. That takes most of the month of August. At the end of August or early September, the volunteer coaches are given their instructions for the year along with their team roster. So around Labor Day, or shortly after, each player should hear from their coach -- and then the fun really begins! Practices begin immediately, organized by the volunteer coach.
What About Practice -- Day(s), Time, Location?
Your volunteer coach chooses the day(s), time, and location of practice. Most teams practice on days Monday through Thursday, times between 4:30 and 7:30 PM, although coaches and teams can determine a practice schedule that is right for the team and especially for the coach.
Practice field space in Scottsdale is at a premium and sometimes even our volunteer coaches don't get assigned their first or second choice. Practices are geared toward the coach's schedule as the time your coach puts in is precious to all. Within the limitations of field space, team size, and volunteer coach availability, it is sometimes difficult to please all with practice times and location. Since there are so many variables in determining practice day(s), time, and location, this is one of the last things that is known -- after players are assigned to teams, after coaches have requested their preferences, after the limited amount of practice field space has been assigned to coaches. So practice information for your player is not available until your coach calls to let you know they are your coach.
Practice sessions are age group appropriate -- usually once per week for 4 and 5 year olds for an hour or less. Older players practice up to 90 minutes two times per week. The coach and team decide how much practice is the right amount.
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