Weekly updates by the Region 9 Coach Administrator will be posted here.
Week 9 - 11/8/2024
2024 AYSO Area E Playoffs (for 10U, 12U and 14U only) Updates:
- Dates: Saturday-Sunday, 12/7-8/2024;
- Place: Conejo Creek South Park (CCS, our home fields);
- Referee Requirement: each participating team will provide a qualified volunteer to assistant referee 3 games on Saturday, 12/7/2024, these games will not conflict with your player's matches;
- A Zoom Meeting is tentatively scheduled on Friday, 12/6/2024 - to be finalized, for both participating Coaches AND Referees. A Standings Point will likely be earned for attending;
- The top 2 finishers in each Girls or Boys division in Area Playoffs usually get invited to Section 10 League Championships on Saturday-Sunday, February 15-16, 2025, in Bakersfield (at Kern County Soccer Park).
Initial # of Region 9 Entries to Area Playoffs: a total of 12 for us so far - Subject to Changes by Area:
- 10U Boys: 3 entries - the top 3 finishers in Regional Tournament advance;
- 10U Girls: 2 entries - the 2 top finishers in Regional Tournament advance;
- 12U Boys: 1 entry - the top finisher in Regional Tournament advances;
- 12U Girls: 2 entries - the top 2 finishers in Regional Tournament advance;
- 14U Boys: 2 entries - the top 2 finishers in Regional Tournament advance;
- 14U Girls: 2 entries - the top 2 finishers in Regional Tournament advance.
- Please note these are Area decisions based on, among other things, Regional Standings and cross-Regional Standings comparisons (for 10U and 12U), as well as Area Standings (for 14U). While we'll try our best to obtain more entries to Area Playoffs, it is Area who will make the final decisions.
Again, Basic Requirements for Any Entry to Area Playoffs - in addition to Regional Tournament Standings:
- Minimum of 3 Team Volunteer Points for 10U, 4 for 12U, and 5 for 14U;
- Minimum of 10 Team Referee Points;
- Certified Head and/or Assistant Coach for the Age Group, as well as up-to-date certification in Safe Haven, Concussion Awareness, Cardiac Arrest, SafeSport, AYSO Fingerprinting, and background check;
- Positive representation of Region 9 in Area tournament – both in the Technical Area and on the spectator side.
Have a Fantastic Gameday Tomorrow!
Region 9 Coaching Staff
Week 8 - 10/29/2024
10U/12U Regional Tournament Starts This Saturday, 11/2/2024:
14U Regional Tournament will take place on Final Saturday, 11/16/2024 (Rainout Date is Saturday, 11/23/2024):
- The 14U Regional Tournament schedule had also been posted by the Master Scheduler in the above mentioned Google Sheet.
- #1 Seeds (14UB02 and 14UG01) will have a bye in the first round and then go directly into the second/championship round against the first round winner between Seeds # 2 and #3 - for first-place trophies as well as a berth in Area Playoffs.
- 14UB first round is set at 9:30 am on Field O, and the second round, at 12:30 pm on the same field.
- 14UG first round is scheduled at 8 am on Field N, and the second round, at 11 am on the same field.
Player Ratings (for 8U and up Divisions Only) are due by Tuesday, 11/5/2024:
- I'd sent an email earlier today with our Webmaster Chuck Huffer's detailed instructions for completing the Players Ratings online.
- Please go to the following website to do the player ratings for 08U-14U teams: http://aysoregion9.web803.discountasp.net/Region9_2004/PlayerRatingsInstr.asp
- You will be asked for a username/login and a password, a combination which is unique for each team. So, if you happen to coach more than 1 team, you will need to login separately for each one.
- Your login information is: Username = the letters "tc" plus your 6-character Team Designation (e.g. tc12UG03; tc08UB01); Password = your 6-character Team Designation (e.g. 12UG03; 08UB01); all upper case.
- Note: 8U Team Designations should start with a zero (e.g. 08UB01)
- Please take a few minutes to read and understand all of the instructions on the “Guidance for Filling Out the Ratings Forms” page before you jump into the actual Ratings form.
- Many thanks to you for rating your players, it is critically important for us to form "Balanced Teams" in the next season.
Fillable and Printable AYSO Official Game Card:
- For those who want to save time by not having to manually enter the player names and their jersey numbers each time we fill out a game card, please find the attached fillable and printable official AYSO Lineup Card in PDF format.
- Please make sure that you print out the completed form on CARD STOCK (Legal Size 11x14 inches is ideal), and with the matching BACK side. Plain paper and/or no-back-side game cards will not be accepted.
- You can always get a blank game card from the Info Booth to fill out if you forget to bring your own or have lost your 15 game card pack in your Coach Packet.
- Please do not go to your game without a game card - No Card, No Game!
CRPD Field Condition URL and Hotline (reposted due to this Saturday's forecast):
- CRPD – not AYSO9 – makes the final decision on whether the Creek fields are open in case of inclement weather.
- This is the URL to check on the field status: https://www.crpd.org/parks-reservations/field-conditions/
- Updates are normally posted by:2:00pm Monday through Friday; and by 8:00am Saturdays, Sundays, & Holidays.
- You can also obtain the same information by calling the Field Condition Hotline at 805-381-1236.
- The Region 9 website (https://www.ayso9.org/) publishes field status updates per CRPD postings too.
- Please remind your families about the rainout date of Saturday, 11/23/2024 (for 14U only), and the rainout date of Saturday-Sunday, 11/23-24/2024 (for both 10U and 12U).
Wish for a dry Gameday on Saturday!
Region 9 Coaching Staff
Week 7 - 10/25/2024
Regional Tournament (for competitive teams) Starts Next Saturday, 11/2/2024:
10U and 12U Regional Tournament lasts till last weekend, Saturday-Sunday, 11/16-17/2024; seeding for the tournament and team-specific brackets will be posted asap after this Saturday, 10/26/2024.
14U Regional Tournament will be held on the last Saturday, 11/16/2024; the #1 Seeds (14UB02 and 14UG01, resulted from head-to-head intra-Regional play) will have a bye in the first round, and then go directly into the championship game against the first round winner between Seeds # 2 and #3 - for first-place trophies as well as a berth in Area Playoffs.
EVERY competitive team plays in the final 3 Saturdays, whether it's placed in the Tournament brackets or Friendlies pools.
Region 9 Tiebreakers for the same points in Standings are, in order of importance, 1) Referee Points; 2) Head-to-Head Winner; 3) Fewest Red Cards; 4) Fewest Yellow Cards; 5) Fewest Goals Against; 6) Coin Flip.
All semi-final and final Tournament games tied at the end of regulation will be immediately followed by a Penalty Shootout (no overtime) to determine the winner; everyone on the team will be able to participate in the penalty shootout, limited by the minimum number of players on field for the game. And the goalkeeper is always an eligible KFTPM shooter!
Requirements for Any Entry to Regional Tournament:
A minimum of 3 Team Volunteer Points for 10U teams, and a minimum of 4 volunteer points for 12U teams, by Week 7 (this Saturday, 10/26/2024); for 14U teams, a minimum of 5 Volunteer Points by Week 10 (11/16-17/2024).
A Minimum of 7 Team Referee Points by Week 7 for 10U and 12U teams; and a Minimum of 10 Team Referee Points by Week 10 for 14U teams.
Certified Head and/or Assistant Coach for the Age Group, as well as up-to-date certification in Safe Haven, Concussion Awareness, Cardiac Arrest, SafeSport, AYSO Fingerprinting, and background check.
Area E Playoffs (for Regional Tournament winners) Scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, 12/7-8/2024, at CCS (our home field):
# of Region 9 Area Playoffs entries for each Division is yet to be determined by Area; we're usually granted at least 8 entries (2 for each 10U Division; 1 for each 12U and 14U Division).
Minimal Requirements for Area Playoffs Teams, in addition to Regional Tournament Standings:
A minimum of 3 Team Volunteer Points for 10U teams, a minimum of 4 volunteer points for 12U teams, and a minimum of 5 Volunteer Points for 14U teams, by Week 10 (11/16-17/2024).
A Minimum of 10 Team Referee Points by Week 10.
Certified Head and/or Assistant Coach for the Age Group, as well as up-to-date certification in Safe Haven, Concussion Awareness, Cardiac Arrest, SafeSport, AYSO Fingerprinting, and background check.
Positive representation of Region 9 in Area tournament – both in the Technical Area and on the spectator side.
An Important Message from the Regional Referee Administrator Sean Donohoe:
Please remind families to arrive 30 minutes before their matches, Not arrive at the time of the match. We have had matches being delayed for not having enough players. Players need to be inspected by Referees before they can play: jewelry off, shin guards on. And, the first match of the day requires some field setup; if that is delayed, then the whole day gets delayed. If there are not enough players, especially during the Region Tournament, matches could be suspended or abandoned.
Remind Home Side coaches to designate a Field Monitor. I will, in my next e-mail, remind Referees to remind coaches in the Pre-Game Inspection.
Remind coaches to stay off the field (except for 6U, of course). And to stay in their Technical Area: One Yard OFF the pitch, and about the width of the Center Circle. And if someone official-looking (green jacket, or white or green polo shirt with AYSO 9 insignia) asks them to return to their Technical Area, they should comply.
Have a Super Fun Game Day Saturday tomorrow!
Region 9 Coaching Staff
Week 4 - 9/30/2024
CRPD Teen Center Soccer Tournament Continues to Impact our Practice Space - 2nd Notice:
- Impacted Days - Wednesday 10/2/2024, Monday, 10/7/2024, and Thursday 10/17/2024.
- Impacted Times - 4 to 7 pm.
- Impacted Fields - H, I, J, & K.
All practices on those fields will have to move to other spots:
- Field T and part of Field O (see field map) are available;
- Teams practicing on neighboring Fields L, M & N will need to make space for the displaced teams during these times.
- Basically everyone needs to play nice and MUST share field space on those nights.
All CCS Fields Closed by CRPD for Mandatory Maintenance, Next Tuesday-Friday, 10/8-11/2024:
- from the Field Team:
- This is a mandatory CRPD maintenance activity for field spraying.
- All practices/UK Training are thus cancelled next Tuesday through Friday.
- The Park closure will have a lesser impact this year as there won't be any games on next Saturday, 10/12/2024, due to Yom Kippur.
- Teams practicing on Monday, 10/7/2024, must share space with those other teams who opt to practice on Monday evening.
Reminder on Play Rules for 7U Divisions Implemented since Last Year: No "Cherry Picking" or Defensive Walls between Goal Posts:
- In order not to encourage "Cherry Picking" on the part of the attacking team: No attacking players are permitted to enter the Goal Area (defined by the rectangular Goal Box drawn around the goal) until the ball reaches any part of the Goal Box. And violation of such rule will result in an indirect freekick awarded to the defending team at the spot where the infraction occurred.
- No Goalkeeping please on the defending team; no defensive wall is allowed to be formed by the defensive team on the goal line, from one end of the small goal to the other; and absolutely NO defenders sitting or lying on the goal line between the goal posts - it is unsafe as well as obstructive!
Have a great footballing week!
Region 9 Coaching Staff
Week 3 - 9/22/2024
URGENT: CRPD Teen Center Soccer Tournament Impacting Practice Space Starting This Tuesday, 9/24/2024:
- Impacted Days - Tuesday, 9/24/2024, Wednesday 10/2/2024, Monday, 10/7/2024, and Thursday 10/17/2024.
- Impacted Times - 4 to 7 pm.
- Impacted Fields - H, I, J, & K.
All practices on those fields will have to move to other spots:
- Field T and part of Field O (see attached field map) are available;
- Teams practicing on neighboring Fields L, M & N will need to make space for the displaced teams during these times.
- Basically everyone needs to play nice and MUST share field space on those nights.
An Important Reminder on AYSO's Good Sportsmanship - One of AYSO's 6 Philosophies:
"We strive to create a positive environment based on mutual respect rather than a win-at-all-costs attitude."
- Demonstrate that winning is not the most important thing in sport; that character development is just as important.
- Model how to win and lose graciously.
- Stress playing hard to win (rather than winning itself).
- Install respect for teammates, opposing teams, coaches and referees.
- Encourage good behavior on and off the field and stress that foul or abusive language will not be tolerated.
From the Regional Referee Administrator Sean Donohoe:
- Please note that earrings may not be taped or bandaged. This is an IFAB Law, and AYSO does not make exceptions. No one should be telling anyone otherwise.
- Coaches need to stay in their technical area, which is the width of the center circle, OFF of the field of play (except u7/u8 coaches who are filling in as the referee). Yes, I had coaches all the way down the line, and I heard of another coach on the field a good 10 yards, and ignored the referees' requests to stay off.
- Coaches may not substitute players during play without permission from the Referee. Yes, this happened during a match that I was assistant-refereeing.
- Important Reminder on Game Cards: please do not pre-fill the substitutions on the Game Card. That is the Referees' Duty. Unforeseen circumstances might occur.
- No bikes or e-bikes on the fields: CRPD regulations state no bikes or e-bikes or any vehicles, except those authorized or exempted (disabilities) like our own carts, are allowed on the fields.
Have a Great Week!
Region 9 Coaching Staff
Week 2 - 9/18/2024
UK Skills and Goalkeeper Clinics on Fridays on Fields C and D:- Starting this Friday, 9/20/2024, the UK Skills Clinic will be added to Friday UK Training Sessions, from 4 to 5 pm, on Fields C and D, for those players who have to miss a practice and want to make up for it, or for those who just want to improve their soccer skills; a UK Trainer will pick a Skills topic to practice on to help prepare the players for Gameday Saturday.
- We also encourage 10, 12 and 14U teams to send their keepers to the ongoing UK Goalkeeping Clinics held on the same fields (Fields C and D), from 5 to 6 pm (for 10U keepers), and from 6 to 7 pm (for 12U and 14U keepers).
- No signups are necessary for the Friday UK Clinics, the players can just show up and have fun!
- Please do note the field change (from K to C & D) for the UK Clinics in order to save lighting costs.
- Attached please find an AYSO Goalkeeping guide to help you with keeper training.
No Goalkeeper Punting/Drop Kicks for 8U:
- Per USSF 2017/2018 PDIs (Player Development Initiatives), goalkeepers 10U and under are not allowed to do punting or drop kicks.
- The keeper can throw or roll the ball out with his/her hand/s, or just quickly place the ball on the grass/ground and kick or pass it out.
- First 8U keeper punting/drop kick will get a warning and a retake; but the 2nd infraction will result in an indirect free kick to the opposing team at the spot where the offense occurred.
From the Regional Referee Administrator, regarding game cards:
- Players in Numerical Order.
- ALL Players.
- First AND Last Name.
- Fill out the top:
a) Region,
b) Boys or Girls Division age
c) Team Number (only the number is required;
d) Team name
e) Coach
f) Assistant Coach
- You can fill out all of the cards for the whole season right now: any drops can be crossed out; and any adds can be added.
CRPD Field Condition URL and Hotline:
- CRPD – not AYSO9 – makes the final decision on whether the Creek fields are open in case of inclement weather.
- This is the URL to check on the field status: https://www.crpd.org/parks-reservations/field-conditions/
- Updates are normally posted by:2:00pm Monday through Friday; and by 8:00am Saturdays, Sundays, & Holidays.
- You can also obtain the same information by calling the Field Condition Hotline at 805-381-1236.
- The Region 9 website (https://www.ayso9.org/) also publishes field status updates per CRPD postings.
Week 1 - 9/13/2024
Cancelled 9/7/2024 Games Will NOT Be Made up:
- No game points will be awarded to any team.
- All assigned Volunteer and Referee Points will be granted.
- There will be no game schedule changes from Saturday, 9/14/2024 onward.
- Saturday, 11/23/2024 is still preserved to be the rained-out date for the Regional Tournament.
Short-sided Play:
- Short-sided play is always preferred to forfeits/no play.
- In the spirit of Everyone Plays, please do not cancel your game if you are short of players; you can just show up with whomever you have and let them have as much fun as they can.
- In non-competitive divisions (8U and under), there are no minimum # of players required for short-sided play, and the opposing coach must agree to lending players or reducing the # of players on the field.
- In competitive divisions (10U and up), the regular-sided coach is encouraged, but not required, to lend players or to reduce the # of players on the field - due to impact on Standings or compliance with the 3-quarter-minimum-playtime rule.
- There’s also a minimum # of players requirement as noted below for short-sided play in the competitive divisions:
- 10U: 5 players - the regular-sided team MUST reduce to 7 on-field players or lend a player to the short-sided team in order to play 8;
- 12U: 6 players;
- 14U and up: 7 players.
3-Quarter Minimum Play Rule:
- For 7U/8U, 10U and 12U Divisions, the rule means “no one plays a 4th quarter until everyone else has or will have played 3 quarters”.
- The Equitable Playtime rule applies when it's mathematically impossible to play everyone for 3 quarters such as in the 10U Boys Division when all 10 players on a team are present for a game: the players who have to sit out 2 quarters will not do so again until everyone else on the team has sat out 2 quarters in subsequent games.
- If a player cannot play the 3-quarter required time due to injury or other issues, please make sure to notify the referees so they can record such cases in the game card.
- 14U minimum playtime is 2 quarters for Intra-Regional play ONLY; for Inter-Regional Area E Play, the Equitable Playtime rule applies: when it's mathematically possible to play everyone for 3 quarters (i.e. with 14 or fewer players present), “no one plays a 4th quarter until everyone else has or will have played 3 quarters”. But when it's impossible to play everyone for 3 quarters (i.e. with all 15 or 16 players present), the players who have to sit out 2 quarters will not do so again until everyone else on the team has sat out 2 quarters in subsequent games.
- Repeated violations of the minimum playtime rule will result in game forfeits or point deductions in Standings for competitive division teams.
Late Arriving Players:
Region 9 follows AYSO National guidelines for late arriving players to games.
Late arriving team members shall be substituted as follows:
- If the team member arrives during the first “quarter”, the team member must play a minimum of two of the remaining three “quarters”.
- If the team member arrives during the second or third “quarter”, the team member must play a minimum of one “quarter”.
- And once the 4th quarter starts, there’ll be no playtime at all for any late arriving players at that time.
Please make sure to ask the referees to note “late-arriving” on the game card as the reason for such players not being able to play the regular minimum playtime.
Goalkeeper Rotation Rules for 8U, 10U and 12U:
Game time at the goalkeeper position for 12U and under divisions is restricted as follows, in order to allow out-field skill development for all younger players:
- 8U: 1 quarter only;
- 10U: up to 2 quarters (consecutive or alternate);
- 12U: up to 3 quarters (consecutive or alternate).
Repeated infringements on the rule will lead to game forfeits or point deductions in Standings for competitive teams.
Have a great Game 1 on Saturday!
Region 9 Coaching Staff