Can I play High School Soccer with AYSO ?
Absolutely. We have an "open-registration" policy and will try to accommodate any player who has interest in playing the game, learning new skills, and increasing knowledge of the game of soccer.
Who joins the program ?
First, we welcome any players that want to play soccer. No matter your experience level. Some of our returning players have played AYSO during their elementary school years, and want to continue playing the game.
I have friends that play high school soccer and can they join too?
Yes, provided that their season is over. We welcome everyone who wants to keep playing the game in the high school offseason. This is a great opportunity to meet new friends from other high schools.
I have friends that play other sports or in other activities. Can they play too ?
Yes. Absolutely.
Are there tryouts?
No. There are no tryouts for regular season games. However, we do have tryouts if the region is selected to play in a tournament where there is a max roster size. (ie. 18 max roster size for 19U).
When are practices?
Practices are mid-week which are Tuesdays and/or Thursdays. Sometimes we practice for High School Players are Saturday afternoon at about 2:00pm – 3:30pm unless we have a scheduled game Saturday. This all depends on our game schedule. We may have a mid-week practice on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Who are our coaches of the High School Program ?
Our coaches are trained in the AYSO National Coach Program. At the High School Level, our coaches are Advanced and Intermediate AYSO Coach Certified. This certification is equivalent to the entry level for the US Soccer Coach Program. Also our AYSO Advanced Coaches are currently candidates and working towards the AYSO National Coach Certification.
How many High School teams do we have in our Region?
First, we will try to accommodate as many players that want to play at AYSO. Historically, we have one or two high school teams per season. (Fall or Spring). The teams are based as to how many players have joined us.
How many players on a team?
Our max roster size in 14U is 15 players while 16U thru 19U are 18 players. Games are 11 v 11. We do have more players than roster size so we try to accommodate within reason.
When are the games?
If we play teams from North Suburbs, we typically play games on Sunday and the Western Suburbs we play on Saturdays.
What teams do we play in the North Suburbs and Northside?
Rogers Park, Lakefront, Highland Park, Morton Grove, Skokie, Deerfield, Evanston, Rolling Meadows, Glenview, Winnetka-Glencoe
What team do we play in the Western Suburbs and City?
Oak Park, Elmwood, Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Lagrange, Lockport, and Hyde Park
Player Eligibility Example
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If player is on high school team at school….
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Spring (This Year) | Fall
(This Year)
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Spring
(Next Year)
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Jamboree
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Notes
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Girl
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Yes
|
IHSA
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AYSO
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IHSA
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Yes
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Area D / F
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Boy
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Yes
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AYSO
|
IHSA
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AYSO
|
Yes
|
Area D / F
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|
Girl
Boy
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No
|
AYSO
|
AYSO
|
AYSO
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Yes
|
Area / National Regulations
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IHSA = Illinois High School Association (Sports Regulations Student/Athlete)
Can I play AYSO and High School Soccer at the same time?
If you are on a High School Soccer Team (at your school) and you also have signed documentation with IHSA regarding your student/athletic status, you cannot play AYSO at the same time. This is specific to the same sport.
Can I play in another sport at high school?
Yes. If you are on another sport that is not soccer, you can play AYSO at the same time.
When can I return to AYSO?
When your High School Soccer Season completely ends. This includes regular season, tournament play and/or championship playoffs.
If I’m not on a high school soccer team at my school ? Can I still play AYSO ?
Yes. You can play with our AYSO High School Soccer Team(s) that based on team / player availability?
What is High School Jamboree?
If we don’t have enough players to play a full game 11 v 11, we’ll play soccer but with smaller teams such as 7 v 7, etc.
I have friends that play high school soccer and can they join too?
Yes, provided that their season is over. We welcome everyone who wants to keep playing the game in the high school offseason. This is a great opportunity to meet new friends from other high schools.
I’m born in July and my AYSO teammates are a grade behind ?
We follow the AYSO / USSF mandated birth year age-registration system. Your " birth year " is used to assign you to your division / team. Typically most educational systems in the US use the Sept 1st as the cutoff for the grade. So if you are born in August, you would be assigned with those students in the same grade who are born in May of that year. If you are born in Sept, you would be assigned to the grade with those students who are born in October. The cut-off for birth year is Dec 31 of that year. This is a world-wide mandate which AYSO is a member of USSF. ( United States Soccer Federation ) of which USSF is a member of FIFA ( the world governing body for football - aka soccer)
Coed (Boys and Girls Team questions)
I’m not on a boys high school soccer team, can I still join AYSO for the Fall ? If we have the minimum # of boys for the Fall Season, we’ll look for an AYSO Coed High School Schedule for the Fall. There is a maximum number of boys that can play on the field during a coed game.
I’m not on a girls high school soccer team, can I still join AYSO for the Spring? Historically, Division rules allow for girls to play on Boys AYSO High School Spring Teams.
Team Parent Expectations
We ask that all parents follow the AYSO Parent Code. (Safe Haven)
Who are the High School Coaches?
In AYSO Region 183, we have the most experienced AYSO Region 183 coaches who have the highest AYSO Coach Certifications that will be coaching the high school teams. We welcome new volunteers to help coach but we ask that new coaches become certified and bring experience and help during training. All High School coaches in AYSO have Advanced or Intermediate Certifications which are a total of 40+ hours of training along with years of AYSO youth coaching experience. Many of our coaches have coached many games from 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U and above thru the years and have helped improve player development with all of the players in AYSO.
What else can my parents help with?
We have other volunteer positions such as Referee, Team Parent/Manager, and Staff.
We’d like to have a couple of parents help at our home games. If you are interested in being an Assistant Referee (sideline), we ask that you become a Regional Referee. All Regional Referees are trained and become certified referees in AYSO.
Team parents are essential for ensuring that we have a fun, family safe environment for our high school program. In addition, team parents help support team participate in team and various activities for team and at games.
It's important to volunteer
At all games including tournaments, we ask that parents fill out a volunteer form and help become a team parent to help support the game location or tournament location. The success of tournament or game location is supported by many volunteers across the country.
Why is it important to have volunteers with the high school team?
As with any volunteer organization, when we have special events ~ our organizers ask that volunteers help bring the special event to be a success.
How do I become a team parent?
We ask that you fill out an AYSO Volunteer Form and also complete AYSO Safe Haven Certification.
What other expectations for parents?
We ask that parents and players arrive 45 minutes before game time. At the field, we will be setting up goals and the field. When the game is over, we also ask for the goals to be taken down and properly stowed away in our storage facility.
We prefer that parents help out, so that our players can actively warm-up and prepare for their games.
Transportation:
We ask that parents and players coordinate transportation for themselves. Our coaches may not be readily available due to other specific AYSO duties on game day for the region and area.
What time do I arrive before a home game (at Peterson Park)?
45 minutes. We ask that you arrive 45 minutes before game time.
What time do I arrive before when we have an away game? (not at Peterson Park)
30 minutes. We ask that you include “drive time” to the location. Saturday and Sunday highway afternoon traffic adds 20-30 minutes to the normal distance time (sometimes!). Some away games require for us to meet 90 minutes before game time, since we have to carpool and then drive to the location.
Questions:
Please email [email protected] for more information.