Players and Parents of Downey AYSO Region 24

Players and parents of Downey AYSO Region 24:

Our season will be starting up again on September 10th and once again we have one of the largest AYSO regions in our area.  This year we have 141 teams and over 1,400 kids registered at this time.  With late signups continuing through the end of October, we should end the season with over 1,500 players.  This makes us the largest sports organization in Downey!

We’ll be playing over 70 soccer games every weekend at Griffiths Middle School and it takes a lot of time and effort to make everything come together.  Our organization has always been an all volunteer group.  No one gets paid to perform any job or position within our organization so we count on volunteers like your-self to help out every weekend.

Here’s what is required out of you; every parent must put in a minimum of 3 hours per child of volunteer time each season.   Parents that are coaching or volunteering as the Team Parent have done their volunteer requirement, however, we expect you to act like leaders and get your parents involved in team related activities.  Your team will be scheduled to work in either the Snack Shack, Parking Patrol or in the Information Tent and your Team Parent will receive advance notice of when you need to work.

Very important; if you’re scheduled to work at 7am, show up at 7am!  You should always be on time for your scheduled shift.  Do not send your child to work in your place, unless they are 16 years of age or older.  Make sure you know your coaches names and you assigned team number (example: U8B05)

For opening day we need to make sure we have every team and parent show up to do their volunteer hours in our Snack Shack.  The goal is we want to have a Snack Shack that can stay open all day and earn thousands of dollars in potential revenue for our region.  As long as everyone does their part  we will be able to not have to raise registration fees next year to make up for the income we could potentially lose.

As an added incentive, we will be awarding prizes to the teams that provide additional volunteer hours, beyond what is required out of each parent.  Our first incentive program will focus on Field lining and set up at Griffiths.   Every Friday night we have volunteers paint the fields in preparation of games on Saturday.  For every team, that puts in an extra 40 hours of volunteer time your team will receive a prize (think movie passes or possibly a free pizza party) at the end of the season. 

You must sign in with either Armando Rodriguez or Bruno Leal on Friday in order to have your volunteer hours recorded.  Or you can help by staying late on Saturday’s to help put away goals, nets and other field equipment to receive additional credit.  Make sure you sign in at the Information Tent to have your time recorded!

The bottom line is if you see our Snack Shack almost empty and no one cooking on the BBQ or if you see one guy putting up goals by himself, take some time out of your day to help them out!  You’ll be doing the right thing for your self and our region!

Next up:

Our Division 7 (under 6) and new Division 8 (under 5) group has grown to over 30 teams this year, which is great.  However, we need to remember a few things in order for all of the kids to have fun and enjoy their first experience in our soccer program.  If you are a coach or Team Parent in Division 7 please make sure you meet with your Division Manager and go over the rules for your specific age group.

Some small reminders for everyone:

• Pick up your trash at the end of your game and/or practice.  We are in serious trouble of losing our permits at Griffiths and East due to excessive trash being left behind.
• No pets/dogs are allowed at any of the schools!
• PARKING!  Never park on the basketball courts, in handicapped spaces or in the hallways of East and Griffiths.  If it’s crowded at Griffiths on Saturday, try parking on the street and then walking to the field!
• Never yell or question a ref’s call during the game.  If you have questions about the rules of the game you can direct them to the ref tent or visit our web site at www.aysodowney24.org for a complete set of rules.
• Remember we’re all here for the kids, keep your temper under control and let the kids have fun!
• Our information tent has Suggestion Forms for anyone that wants to help out our region.  Sorry, we’re all out of Complaint Forms this year!

Yours in soccer,

Win Powell

Regional Commissioner