Coaches

All of our coaches are volunteers. We have many that come back year after year to lead our kids, but we will always welcome new coaches as well. First-time parent volunters and leaders with experience at other organizations will all have something valuable to contribute.

If you’re interested, please reach out to the area rep for your school, then see the Registration section below.

Coaching

Player Age

You may get questions from parents when they’re signing up their kids, wanting to know which team they’ll be on.

For MAYSL, it’s most natural to think of U-something as “under that age” and the player’s age at the end of fall tells you what division they’re in. This way, U10 is actually for kids under 10 that year.

This isn’t technically correct, though. Read on for a more accurate breakdown.

According to the CYSA, the “U” in each division (U5, U10, etc) means “that age and under”: U13 includes 13-year-olds, U10 includes 10-year-olds, etc. But that applies to their age at the end of the year the league’s season ends.

In the mountain area, MAYSL just plays soccer in the fall, but the CalNorth league’s season starts then and ends the next spring. So a season that starts in August 2022 is technically the 2022-2023 season. When their site says UX means “age X and under”, they’re talking about the end-of-season year, and each player’s age by the end of that 2nd calendar year is their league age.

See Five Things to Know About Birth Year Registration at ussoccer.com for an explanation of the move to birth year divisions when it was rolled out in 2017.

Player Safety

Learn about concussion symptoms and how to deal with potential head injuries. Print out a copy of the Concussion Recognition Tool that was provided as part of the US Soccer safety coarse. Familiarize yourself with it and keep it with your field bag or clipboard. You’ll have it available if one of your players has any sign of a head injury.

Heat-related ilness is a real risk here in central California. Take a look at the Recognize to Recover Heat Guidelines.

Rule Highlights

Within US Youth Soccer, the FIFA Laws of the Game are used.

Section 4:04 of the MAYSL Constitution talks about Player Development:

4:04:01 Each player must participate a minimum of 50% of every game. Applies to all age groups and teams.

4:04:02 For U8 and U10 teams, each player must play each field position at least once during the season.

See rules for more.

Offside and the Build-Out Line

We enforce offside rules at U10 and above. Build-out lines are used only on U10 fields to introduce the concept gracefully.

This page at US Soccer, Five Things to Know: How Small-Sided Standards Will Change Youth Soccer, talks about using build-out lines to introduce the concept at the U9 level (but we don’t do U9 here, so we start with U10). That new off-color line halfway between the center and penalty lines marks the offside line for younger players. This gets them thinking about their field position in a way that creates fairer team play for both the offense and defense.

Starting at the U-9 level, games will use build-out lines. A horizontal line drawn from sideline to sideline 14-yards in front of each goal, build-out lines will encourage possession and playing the ball out of the back. When a goalkeeper has the ball in hand or takes a goal kick, the opposing team remains behind the build-out line until the ball is put into play. This line also indicates where offside can be called, as teams cannot be called for offside between the midfield and build-out line. As part of small-sided standards, there will be no offside infraction before the U-9 age group. New rules also ban headers as well as punts and drop kicks from the goalkeeper.

See our Growing with the Game section for more on age group differences.

Lead Limits

The league expects its coaches to teach proper sportsmanship to players. When a team is leading by a margin of 3 goals, the coach should incorporate changes into the game to actively level the playing field. All efforts must be made to keep a margin of victory to never more than 5 goals.

Examples of actions that could be taken include:

Switching players’ positions around to enable those who haven’t scored goals the opportunity to do so.
Imposing restrictions on players, such as:
- shooting with “weaker” foot only
- requiring 5 (or more?) consecutive passes (without an opponent touching the ball) before a shot can be taken
- requiring that those passes are completed in the team’s own defensive half
- other combinations that keep your own players’ challenge level up in a way that doesn’t obviously play down to the opposing team

Examples of actions that are not acceptable include:

removing players to play down against a team;
removing a goalkeeper or changing the role of the goalkeeper.

Coaches should make every effort to prepare their players for this type of a situation before it happens. This will allow a team to practice fair play without broadcasting it on the field. A coach can choose a secret word so that players are prepared for the situation or sub in a player who can pass on the instructions to teammates.

We are a recreational league and our priorities are fun, skill development, and encouragement for ALL players.

Registration

If you’d like to coach a team, please do the following:

Register as a coach in GotSport
Submit a background check via your GotSport Dashboard
Complete the coaching courses list in your GotSport Dashboard
Get fingerprinted through a Live Scan

See the Coach Registration Guide for a complete overview, including screenshots.

FAQ

What if I can’t make all the games?

An assistant coach or a team parent can cover practices and games if the head coach can’t make it. Don’t let that hold you back from signing up as a coach!

Are there team pictures?

The league provides team photos as part of the registration fee. They’re typically taken in the 2nd half of the season, after the October break, and it always happens on a game day at the YHS game field. Keep an eye on the News page for an announcement each season.

When and where can I practice?

At the start of each season, your area rep will coordinate fields and times with all of their coaches.

Can I borrow players for a game?

Yes, guest players can be pulled in for both recreational and competitive/travel games. CYSA District 7 outlines the essentials in their Playing Program Handbook. See our rules on guest players on the Rules page for details.

What should I keep in my coach bag?

Handy items:

2 extra water bottles: 1 to refill player bottles and another for yourself
2 colors of pinnies – very useful for dividing your team during practice (the ref station will always have some available if needed during a game)
brightly colored cones to create exercise areas or courses during practice
goalie gloves
a ball pump and spare air needles
a ballpoint pen to fill out game cards
a first aid kit

For the first aid kit, US Youth Soccer has a suggested list of first aid items here. Consider printing out their ice or heat? page to keep in the bag as well.