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 Our Program |10 FAQs | Code of Conduct | New to AYSO?

10 Frequently Asked Questions (2007 edition)

1. When does the season begin? | 2. When does the season end? | 3.  When are the games and practices?  4. What division am I in? | 5. Where and when are the games and practices? 6.  When will I hear from you? | 7. What if I don't hear from anyone? | 8. How can I find out if my child is registered? | 9. What equipment does my child need? 10. How can I help?

Not yet registered? Visit our on-line registration page. Need help with registration or payment?  Visit our registration troubleshooter.  NOTE: Registration is continuing for 2007; registration for fall 2008 begins Sunday December 1.

1    When does the Fall 2007 season begin?

Saturday September 8, 2007.  For a couple of the younger divisions, it will start on Sunday September 9 in the afternoon.  We usually start on the first weekend following Labor Day.  There will be no practices or games Wednesday and Thursday, September 12 and 13, 2007 because of Rosh Hashanah (practices on Friday September 14, the end of the second day, are optional) and no games on Saturday September 22, 2007 because of Yom Kippur.  However, we will try to schedule the entire region to play slightly shortened games on Sunday September 23.

2    When does the regular season end?

For Divisions U19 and U16, mid-November.
For Divisions U14, U12, U10, BU9, U8 and U6 the weekend of Saturday and Sunday December 7 and 8.

U14, U12 and U10 tournament teams will continue after that, starting with the 11th Annual Beverly Hills Sportsmanship Cup, most likely on Saturday and Sunday December 14 and 15, 2007. U16 and U19 tournament teams may begin competition in March after the high school season ends.

3    Where and when are the games and practices?

Games take place mostly on Saturdays but for players in U19 and U16, there are usually two games a week, one on Saturday one on Sunday. The games can take place any time of the day (otherwise, if you think about it, your team would always play the same team), but we try to schedule the older players (especially in U14) in the afternoon to minimize conflicts with Saturday morning Bar Mitzvahs.

Division U6 has a combined practice and game on Saturdays or Sundays. All other Divisions have one practice a week in mid week after school. The older players may have their practice in the evening. We have very limited practice slots, so we allocate these by holding a lottery where coaches pick a number from a hat and then draft for fields in numerical order.

All of the schedules (and most schedule changes) are  posted on our website, beginning in mid to late August.  Schedules can change so you should check the posted schedule regularly.

4    What division am I in?

All the rules are explained on the What Division Am I In? page but here is a summary:

We test a player's age on July 31 before the season begins. If you are born on July 31, 1997, you are 10. If you are born on August 1, 1997, you are 9.

Also, divisions are organized in two year increments, so a player who is 8 or 9 is in U(nder) 10); a player who is 12 or 13 is U14, etc. There are two exceptions: In division U6, the youngest players, we accept 5 year-olds and players who were at least 4 1/2 on July 31. At the opposite end, in U19, we take 16, 17 and 18 year old players.

Here now are the divisions, with old name, new name, earliest and
latest dates of birth and typical school grade ranges.

This includes some special rules for players whose age puts them in U14 but will be attending high school this fall and for U12 if a player is a 7th grader and wants to play up.

For some years, Boys U8 has been so large, we divided it into under 8s (U8A) and under 7s (U8B) (7- and 6-year olds in plain English).  Beginning in 2006, we began dividing up Girls U8 in the same way.  Beginning in 2007, we have also split Boys Under 10 into BU10 (9 year-olds/4th and younger 5th graders) and BU9 (8-year-olds/3rd graders.

Finally, for players on the cusp, born in August or September, we will consider moving them up a division to stay with their grade level.  This is a matter of discretion. 

5    Where are the games and the practices?

This is how we expect to do it in 2007.  For a variety of reason, there will be variations as the season progresses.

U19 and U16 - home games on Sunday mornings at Beverly Hills High School (on a brand new synthetic turf field (partially funded with a $150,000 grant from us) and La Cienega Park; away games all over the Westside on Saturdays and Sundays - season ends mid-November to avoid overlap with high school soccer.

Boys U14 - Saturday late mornings and afternoons at Beverly Hills High School.

Girls U14 - Saturday afternoons at La Cienega Park West Field; possible games against Area 1-P opponents on the East Field or away.

Boys and Girls U12 - Saturdays at La Cienega Park East Field (all day) and West Field (mornings and into the early afternoon)

Boys U10 - Saturday all day at  El Rodeo School

Girls U10 and Boys U9 - Saturday all day or Horace Mann School or Roxbury Park

Boys U8A - All day Saturday at the K Field (northwest corner of Olympic and La Cienega Boulevards)

Girls U8A - Sunday late mornings and all afternoon at the K Field

Boys U8B - Saturdays all day at Hawthorne School

Girls U8B - Sunday afternoons at Hawthorne School

Boys U6 - Sunday afternoons at La Cienega Park West Field

Girls U6 - Sunday afternoons at La Cienega Park East Field

Blocks of practices times and places will be allocated among the divisions and the division directors will in turn allocate the slots among the teams in their division. No practices for U6.  As a general rule, the youngest players (U8 and some U10s) practice at 4 pm for an hour; U10s and U12s at 5 pm for an hour; U14s (and some U12s and U16s) at 6 pm for an hour or an hour and a quarter; U16s and U19s (and some U14s) at 7:15 pm for an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half.  It could be any day of the week, although we avoid late Friday evening practices unless the coach and team really want them.

6.  When will I hear from you?

Teams are formed in August when we have a reasonable accurate idea of how many players will sign up and how many teams we need to form.  Although most teams are formed by the third week of August, one or two divisions may get finished a week later.

No matter when teams are formed, we do not allow player notifications until an embargo date each year - in 2007, it is August 21.  The reason for this is that we otherwise will be swamped with calls and emails from people whose friends and neighbors have heard about their players' team assignments.

Because our volunteers cannot call all 2100+ players, we delegate to each head coach the task of contacting their players' families.  No one will call before the embargo date.  We may be able to send you an e-mail, but this will not happen until all teams are formed.  Please be patient, as a coach may be on vacation during the week the embargo on notifications is lifted or your player may be in a division that formed its teams a little late.

7.  What if I don't hear from anyone?

Wait until at least September 1. After that, you can contact your division director. The division director's e-mail are listed on the Board and What Division Am I In? pages.

8. How can I find out if my child is registered?

Send an e-mail to our registrar, Melissa Krantz, at

9. What equipment does my child need?

We provide a uniform consisting of shirts, shorts and socks. These should be available through your coach after Labor Day. Division U6 (the youngest players) receive their uniforms on opening day. Uniforms are generally not worn to practices.

All players must wear shinguards at games and practices.

We encourage every player to bring their own ball to practices. Size 5 for U19, U16, U14; size 4 for U12 and U10; size 3 for U8 and U6.

Cleats are recommended for players 8 and older but most players have cleats right from the start. Sports Chalet usually has a special package of ball, cleats and shinguards for AYSO players; otherwise, try Niketown, Big 5 or SportMart.

10. How can I help?

Volunteer - contact us by , phone, Pony Express, carrier pigeon - we need to hear from you. We have every different level of time commitment. Coaches, referees, team administrators, referee schedulers, Board members, paper pushers, tournament helpers, website designers, website news and photo editor, fundraisers for major field improvements, sponsors - OUR CHILDREN NEED ALL OF THESE TO KEEP THIS PROGRAM GREAT AND MAKE IT EVEN BETTER!

Last updated September 25, 2007 at 05:53 PM

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