What's the difference between AYSO and JUSA?
How are JUSA teams formed in the Fall?
What does "U10" mean? Aren't they all the same age?
Can I still register a player after last day of registration?
How can I become a coach?
What is a "freeze"?
Why do games have "quarters"?
Why do we pay referees?
What size ball does my child need?
What are Red and Yellow Cards?
Why won't the referee explain what the foul was?
What side of the field do teams setup on?
Who is responsible for setting up the field?
What are the opportunities for my player to advance to Club play?
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What's the difference between AYSO and JUSA (and other local organizations?)
It is common for youth sports groups to "affiliate" with national organizations (like Boy Scouts, Little League, Pop Warner, etc.) When JUSA was getting started in the mid-1970's, there were two youth soccer groups. AYSO had started in Torrance in 1964, and was "going National" (here's a link to their history). The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) had set up a regional group in California in 1974 (CalSouth) (here's a link to CalSouth history). None of the original founders of JUSA remain active, but we have a sense that they were all familiar with USSF, which was one of the earliest members of FIFA, and they had no experience with the new AYSO. They were also very much interested in "club soccer", which AYSO did not support at that time. So, they chose to affiliate with USSF / CalSouth.
As soccer spread in Southern California, different groups affiliated with either AYSO or USSF as their governing body, and the result is a patch work. Many counties have only one relationship, but lots of places have both AYSO and USSF groups in the same town. North Orange County is mostly CalSouth, and JUSA is the largest organization by far. South County and the South Bay are almost entirely AYSO.
Fortunately though, the programs are more alike than they are different. Both stress that everyone who signs up will play. (AYSO guarantees one-half the game. JUSA Recreation guarantees three quarters of each game for players from U6 through U10.) Both have formal programs to ensure children's safety. Both train and pay referees. There are minor differences such as how many players are on the field for specific age groups. Both depend on volunteers.
JUSA is the largest organization in our area, North Orange County, with players at all levels of soccer from age 4 to age 16. Most of the players at our local high schools started loving soccer in JUSA when they were babies!
How are JUSA teams formed in the Fall?
Teams are formed first by city (Anaheim, Placentia, Yorba Linda) and then by a draft of players from the public school that they live closest to. This ensures that players are on teams close to where they live and do not have to drive a long way for practices or games.
Once teams are formed, the volunteer coach from each team then chooses the days and times of the practice location for the team; usually the school or park nearest to them (another good reason to be a coach! Make your own schedule!)
Can I still register a player after last day of registration?
The last day of registration is important to stick to so we can form teams, and get information and field space set for our teams as soon as possible. It sounds early, but there is a lot to do between the end of registration and the start of practices. Our volunteers want the season to go as smoothly as possible, and ending registration on time prevents future frustrations.
Fall Soccer plays August - December and Spring Soccer plays February - May each year. There are All-Star opportunities in the Fall that can play through January of the following year.
We begin looking for coaches as early as February and March. Since teams are formed in early June, we need to recruit enough coaches so that every team will have a coach on "draft day." Since coaches get to start their roster with a few players (see "Freezes"), they need time to get permission from the parents.
There is a place within the online registration form to indicate "I want to be a coach." We will add you to our list and reach out to you with next steps.
There is a list of requirements to be a coach; CalSouth rules state that we "Live Scan" (fingerprint) every person who has close contact with players. Learn more in our COACHES' CORNER!
Each coach gets to begin team formation with some players already on the team; those players are "frozen" to a team and can't be drafted by another coach. The number varies according to the total size of the team. Of course, the players have to have registered (and paid) to be frozen on a team, and, their parents have to give permission.
Why do the younger games have "quarters"?
JUSA guarantees that every player under age 11 will play a minimum of three quarters of each game (unless injured, arriving late, or leaving early). Normal soccer matches (not "games" - sigh) are played as two equal "halves" and the game is continuous during each half. To monitor that kids get the required playing time, we actually stop the game approximately half way through each half (when the ball goes out of bounds, for example), and call "substitution". Coaches are supposed to call off players and send on the new ones. (What actually happens is all the players run to the sidelines, drink water, and the coach tries to explain all the things they should have learned at practice, and the referees tries in vain to get them back on the field.) But, we want everyone playing; no benchwarmers here!
For two reasons: (1) we were finding it almost impossible to recruit referees, and (2) all the cities and leagues around us began paying their referees. Now that money is involved, we seem to be more able to recruit referees, and they are more motivated to attend training. It costs money to be a referee (training, uniforms and travel), just like teaching, we want the best on the field!
What size ball does my child need?
Players in U6, U7, U8 use a "Size 3" ball. Players in U9, U10, and U12 use a "Size 4" ball. Players in U14, U16, and U19 use the adult "Size 5" ball. The size is stamped on the ball itself, and should be on the package in the store.
What are the Red and Yellow Cards All About?
Like any game, there might be a player that commits a foul. Soccer rules call for a team to get a "free kick" when a foul is committed. When a player on a team does something especially bad (or just a regular bad thing too often), the referee will punish that player. (In referee talk, it's a "misconduct.") A "caution" (yellow card) means that the player is put on notice that bad behavior cannot continue. When conduct goes beyond bad to horrible, the referee will "Send Off" (red card) the player. So that the sidelines know when conduct has gone from being simply a foul to a misconduct violation, the referee holds up a yellow card to indicate Caution and a red card to mean Sending Off. Any player or coach that receives a red card can not play or coach for 1 game after the violation.
Why won't the referee explain what the foul was?
One of the main principles of soccer is that the game should go on continuously. (Contrast this with American football where the game stops for five minutes while the referee waits for a ruling from the booth!) In adult play, the referee simply blows the whistle, indicates which team gets a free kick, and restarts the game. In adult play, the referee never talks to people on the sideline. It's pretty obvious what the misconduct was and no one expects an explanation. All that matters is who gets to kick the ball. This causes a problem in youth games where the sidelines (and even the coach) may not be familiar with soccer and do not understand what is going on. People start yelling, "What's the Call, Ref?" and become angry when he doesn't respond. (at which point they yell even louder) Many referees have adopted a practice of explaining, "that was a trip" or whatever, but not all of them do (especially if they also referee older games).
So, How Old ARE Players on an "Under 10" Team?
One would think that "Under 10" would mean that every player on the team has not yet reached their 10th birthday. NOPE. What it actually means is that every player was younger than 10 year old on January 1 of the birth year. As the year goes on, more and more players become 10 years old, until by next January, they all are!
What side of the field do teams setup on?
Home team sits on the North or West sideline.
Away team sits on the South or East sideline
Parents and players will sit on the same side of the field, always to the left of their bench. Parents may NEVER sit, stand or coach from behind the goals. All coaches must stay in the “technical area” near the centerline.
Who is responsible for setting up and taking down the goals?
The team with the down arrow on the schedule is ultimately responsible for making sure that the field is put away correctly, however we encourage both teams (and their parents) to help everyone out. If each team takes one goal, that makes it easier and faster for all.