AYSO And Its Mission

The American Youth Soccer Organization develops and delivers quality youth soccer programs which promote a fun, family environment based on our six philosophies:

• Everyone Plays® - Our goal is for kids to play soccer - so we mandate that every player on every team must play at least half of every game.
• Balanced Teams - We require every region at the start of each season to set up teams as evenly balanced as possible. It's more fun when teams are of equal ability.
• Positive Coaching - This builds a positive team spirit. We train and encourage our coaches to make the extra effort to understand and offer positive help to our players, rather than negative criticism.
• Open Registration - Our programs are open to all children ages 4 - 18 who want to register and play soccer. Interest and enthusiasm are the only requirements for playing.
• Good Sportsmanship - We create a positive environment based on mutual respect, rather than a win-at-all-costs attitude. All of our programs are designed to instill good sportsmanship in every facet of AYSO.
• Player Development - We believe that all players should be able to develop their soccer skills and knowledge to the best of their abilities, both individually and as members of a team, in order to maximize their enjoyment of the game.

Everyone Helps Out

AYSO is a volunteer organization with more than 250,000 parents and friends, many of them working as coaches, referees and administrators. It's not unusual to find two, three or more children in the same family playing AYSO soccer - while Dad serves as referee and Mom as coach. It can be a total family experience! The Growth of AYSO 

AYSO was founded in 1964 in Torrance, Calif. with about 125 players. Today that number has grown to more than 625,000 nationwide.