Youth Soccer: Teaching The Younger Generation What It Takes To Be An Athlete

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is a national, non profit organization which provides soccer development and instruction for children between the ages of four and nineteen in all fifty states and some territories of the United States. AYSO is mostly run at local levels by teams of volunteers, including administrators, coaches and referees, many of whom are parents or family of the youth they coach. The AYSO National office, which consists of fifty paid employees, is based in Hawthorne, California and provides programs for instruction of coaches and referees and child protection education to its volunteers. AYSO is affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation.

Beginning in August 2006, the AYSO National Board of Directors named Rick Davis as National Executive Director. Davis was a standout on the popular New York Cosmos professional soccer team. He also was captain of two Olympic soccer teams and has been inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Until his appointment he served as AYSO’s Director of Programs where we was responsible for overseeing all Coaching, Officiating and Management training programs for the organization.

The US Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) is the largest member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body for soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer is made up of fifty-five member State Associations; one in each state, and two in California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. US Youth Soccer registers over three million youth players between the ages of five and nineteen.

US Youth Soccer is non profit and educational organization whose mission is to foster the physical, mental and emotional growth and development of America’s youth through the sport of soccer at all levels of age and competition. The job is also to make it fun, and instill in young players a lifelong passion for the sport. From its humble beginnings in 1974 with just more than one hundred thousand registered players to its current registration of more than three million, US Youth Soccer has always been recognized as a leader in youth sports organizations. Through a democratic structure, the membership of US Youth Soccer is able to provide uniform rules and guidelines.

The US Youth Soccer membership is divided into four regions, each with a Director elected to the board. The regions are essentially East (Region I), Midwest (Region II), South (Region III) and West (Region IV). Each State Association has a Board of Directors, elected by delegates from their member leagues, clubs or teams.

Filed under: Soccer

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