As a parent, you have a special role in contributing to the needs and development of these youngsters. Through your encouragement and good example, you can help assure the effectiveness of the AYSO program.
Support Your Child
Provide them with encouragement and support. Help your child work toward skill improvement and good sportsmanship in every game. Teach your child that hard work and an honest effort are often more important than victory.
Always Be Positive
Be a role model: applaud good plays by your child's team and by the opposing team, and support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from youth sporting activities.
Be Enthusiastic and Supportive
Let children set their own goals and play the game for themselves. Be careful not to impose your own standards and goals on your child. AYSO philosophy is that player development is more important than winning, which includes giving everyone a chance to play.
Reinforce Positive Behavior
The best way to help a child to achieve goals and reduce the natural fear of failure is through positive reinforcement. If your child makes a mistake, remember that he or she is still learning, ad encourage their efforts and point out the good things they accomplished.
Let Coaches Coach & Referees Ref
Coaches and referees volunteer their time to help make your child's youth soccer experience a positive one. Without them, we would not be able to have games. Support your child's coach, but let them do their job: they don't need your help in coaching from the sidelines. Referees are volunteers that provide an important service to our program and they are hard to find, so please treat them and their calls with respect --especially our youth referees, who are still learning. Mistakes may be made, but this is AYSO-GF, not the World Cup, and player safety is our first priority!