Welcome to AYSO 5U Schoolyard Soccer Fall 2023
When and Where Do We Play?
The 2023 5U Schoolyard soccer program will be broken into five, one-hour sessions every Saturday at 8:00 AM, 9:15 AM, 10:30 AM, 11:45 AM and 1:00 PM. Your player has been assigned to one of these sessions and you can check which session your player is in using the PDF Schedule. It is important to attend the same weekly session to help maintain the correct player to coach ratios. The Fall Season starts on Saturday, August 19, 2023 and ends on Saturday, October 21, 2023.
We will meet at the very West End of Pleasant Valley Fields (off the Dawson off-ramp of the 101 Freeway). The West End is by the baseball diamonds. Look for a white tent identifying the 5U area. The season lasts 10 weeks (except for Labor Day Weekend on September 2, 2023, there will be no session).
FAQ's
What is Schoolyard?
Schoolyard is an introductory program to AYSO soccer. Its purpose is to introduce players to the basic skills necessary for success as they move through their soccer careers. Players are not placed onto formal teams. Once each week, players will gather for an hour to practice soccer skills and have fun.
As players arrive, they will join a field with a Field Coordinator (Parent Coach) and begin their session. The first half hour of the session will be used to teach skills and do drills. After 3-4 weeks, during the second half hour of the session, they will play a game-scrimmage. This is the extent of soccer during the week. There are NO weekday practices or moving game schedules.
Why Do We Play in This Format?
The purpose of the Schoolyard program is to primarily help ensure that kids learn to enjoy the game of soccer. At this age, proper technique and a good understanding of the basics of the game are much more important than competitive results (there is plenty of time for that later in their playing careers).
We will focus on only a few skills throughout the season to ensure that players learn how to properly kick, pass, stop (trap) and shoot a ball. We will do many different drills to enforce these skills and the proper techniques, which will serve them well in the future. Although, at its core, soccer is a simple game, the complexities of the game can overwhelm the processing abilities of four and five year olds. We simplify things to ensure proper understanding and encourage fun.
AYSO Runs on Volunteers!
There are volunteer opportunities for our program. Each field will need 3 to 5 Field Coordinators (Parent Coaches). They will demonstrate the skills and drills and then function as Coaches and Referees during the game. Do not worry if you do not know how to coach, we provide the practice plan every week with the AYSO-UK Coaching Staff. Prior to each Saturday, all parents and Field Coordinators (Parent Coaches) will receive the upcoming skills plan to review and prepare (takes about 10 minutes). This way, we are teaching our coaches how to coach at the same time we are teaching our players to play. If you are not sure if coaching is for you.... this is your low effort/low risk way to find out. We ask parents to bring their own snacks each week. We will also need 3 to 5 Team Parents to coordinate the End-of-the-Season Party.
Do the Players Play Co-Ed?
For Camarillo Region 68, the answer is no for U6 and above. Fields are separated by gender. Region 68 is aligned with National AYSO policies and procedures, which does not allow Co-Ed Teams for larger Regions.
What about Uniforms?
Camarillo AYSO, Region 68 provides uniforms for your players. The region provides a jersey, shorts, socks and a #3 Soccer Ball! You will need to provide shin guards (REQUIRED) and shoes. Tennis shoes or turf shoes are acceptable. YOU MAY NOT USE BASEBALL STYLE CLEATS (Baseball cleats have a cleat on the toe and are dangerous in soccer). If you are unsure of the equipment to buy (balls will be provided with the uniforms), please wait until after week 1.
Parent Orientations:
Two parent orientation meetings will be offered for the U5 Schoolyard program:
- Tuesday, August 1st @ 6:30PM @ Region 68 office and
- Thursday, August 10th @ 6:30PM @ Region 68 office: 799-B Camarillo Springs Rd., Camarillo, CA 93012
The player’s uniforms will be distributed at the Parent Orientations. If you cannot attend either of these dates, you can pick up your player’s uniform at the fields on Saturday, August 19th.
What Will We Be Doing Week One on August 19, 2023?
We will be handing out uniforms to those families who did not make it to one of the two orientation meetings, and will have a question and answer session. Please arrive a little earlier than your scheduled session so that we can get started on time. We all have busy soccer schedules, and we want to respect everyone's time. Weeks 2-9 we will be having our regular 5U Schoolyard sessions and then during Week 10, there will be the End-of-the-Season Party.
What if I Miss the First Week? (on vacation)
Arrive 15-30 minutes early to your scheduled session on week 2. We will give you your player’s uniform and bring you up to speed on the information covered in Week 1 (the program information will be posted on this website).
What Is the Best Way to Communicate?
AYSO-UK Coaches will be sending out a weekly email describing the skills plan that our players will be learning for the next Saturday. Please get in the habit of checking this website WEEKLY. There will be information updates posted here. The website will typically be updated by Wednesday evening. If you have questions, you can email Wendy James, 5U Schoolyard Division Coordinator at [email protected] or Tim Azbell, 5U Schoolyard Assistant Division Coordinator at [email protected]. If there is essential information to be disbursed, we will email the entire division. Please check your email regularly, including your Spam or Junk folder.
When Is Picture Day?
Picture Day is tentatively scheduled for our 5U Schoolyard players. We are collaborating with the photographer for the date and there will be one make-up date offered (more information regarding picture day to follow once the date is finalized). The Region 68 Regional Team Manager will inform us of the 5U Schoolyard Picture Day date.
We recognize that this is a lot of information and thank you for taking the time to read everything. We look forward to a fun soccer season!
FOR THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
Wendy James, 5U Schoolyard Division Coordinator
[email protected]
Tim Azbell, 5U Schoolyard Assistant Division Coordinator
[email protected]
805 657 3942
(I screen my calls, Please leave a voice mail)