AYSO REGION 144

Note that this system intentionally ignores the neighborhood where the player lives. We feel that this is the only way to achieve the best balanced teams for our Region.

In forming teams, there is no guarantee your child will be assigned to a team with his/her schoolmates or requested friends. The assignment of your child to a team is at the discretion of AYSO and is final.  Neighborhood teams only apply to the U6, U7 & U8 Divisions at the discretion of the Division Commissioner. For the purpose of making neighborhood teams, please pick from the list which public school area in which you live. Your child may not go to this school, but it tells us in which area of the community you reside.  

However, there is no guarantee your son or daughter will be on the same team as your neighbor. Every effort will be made to put together a team from the  school you choose on the registration form.

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AYSO Region 144 Zero Tolerance Youth Referee Abuse Policy

Purpose of the Policy

Youth development is the central focus of the AYSO program. This includes development of youth whether they are soccer players or soccer referees. All the AYSO guidelines and policies on providing a "Safe, Fair and Fun" environment for players also apply to youth referees. Only "Positive, Instructive, and Encouraging" comments are allowed to be directed at youth players or youth referees. The purpose of this policy is to make clear that verbal abuse or negative criticism of youth referees is as unacceptable as verbal abuse or negative criticism of youth players and to adopt basic standard sanctions for improper conduct.

This policy is not intended to imply that youth referees are always "right" and the adult spectator or coach is always "wrong". Just as youth players will make mistakes during play, youth referees will make mistakes in officiating, particularly in the younger divisions where they are learning how to referee. In addition, sometimes youth referees are "in over their head" because of a particularly challenging game, an assignment beyond their experience or comfort level, etc.

This policy is not meant to imply that criticism/abuse of adult referees is permitted.  However, in this case the adult referee is expected to handle such behavior at the field and report such incidents to the Regional Referee Administrator or other Board Member for appropriate action.

Policy on Youth Referee Abuse

It is never acceptable to abuse or criticize youth referees, verbally or otherwise, in any situation. Region 144 will not tolerate any verbal or other abuse, or criticism of a youth referee by any coach or spectator.

A Coach or spectator may only communicate in a positive way with a youth referee. The coach is responsible for ensuring all spectators associated with his/her team follow these guidelines relating to communication with a youth referee. A coach/ spectator may not express any disagreement or dissatisfaction with the officiating to the youth referee.  A coach/spectator may not, before, during or after a game, discuss with a youth referee their critique of the referee's performance, other than to thank and compliment the referee.

Any Board Member or AYSO-certified adult referee present at the game shall, if necessary, intervene if any coach, spectator, or other adult is criticizing or abusing a youth referee, verbally or otherwise and may take immediate appropriate action.  This may include directing the offender to leave the site, and/or suspending or terminating the game.

Any AYSO-certified volunteer (any coaches, Board Member, other referees, Division Commissioner, etc.) observing behavior not following these guidelines shall report the incident to the Regional Referee Administrator or other Board member within 24 hours of the incident so that appropriate review can take place.
There are appropriate avenues for coaches or spectators to share concerns about the quality of officiating. The region Referee Staff welcomes constructive comments about referees. However, any criticism or critique of a youth referee's performance may only be communicated to the youth by a designated Referee Mentor or the Regional Referee Administrator.

Disciplinary Sanctions for Youth Referee Abuse

Any Board member, upon receipt of any reported abuse of a youth referee shall report the incident to the Disciplinary Committee, which shall consist of the appropriate Divisional Commissioner, the Boys’ or Girls’ Director, as appropriate, the Regional Commissioner, and the Regional Referee Administrator, who shall implement appropriate discipline, before the next game if possible.

The following sanctions will be applied unless modified upon review of the incident:

Type of Abuse

Critisicism or verbal abuse of a youth referee (not including offensive 

Immediate and sincere remorse on the part of the offender may be taken into account when determining whether a lesser level of sanction should be applied.

Egregious offenses (e.g. repeated or multiple abusive situation, physical contact with a youth referee, or exceptionally Inappropriate misbehavior directed toward a youth referee) shall result in immediate and continuing suspension of the offending person pending a thorough review. The Disciplinary Committee will determine if further or more serious discipline is warranted. An egregious offense violates the fundamental mission of AYSO and requires strong action. Discipline may include, but is not limited to, suspension for the season, suspension for multiple seasons, "rehabilitation" (e.g. taking the child/volunteer protection training, taking referee training, referee a set number of games, or other remedial education and training), or expulsion of the person and/or their child from further participation in AYSO.

A suspended person may not, during their suspension, attend any South Irvine AYSO soccer game. The suspended person may attend practices unless notified of additional restrictions by the Disciplinary Committee. Note: The term “may not attend” means the person may not be in view of the game.

The Regional Board of Directors shall be notified of all suspensions at its next regular meeting and shall, subject to any further action of the Disciplinary Committee and any right of appeal, enforce the disciplinary action.

These sanctions apply only to the discipline of spectators and coaches. anctions necessary for any players on one of the teams involved that exhibit inappropriate behavior will be dealt with using the Cautions or Ejection procedures for that particular age group.

These sanctions do not limit, prevent, or replace any voluntary or required report or referral of improper conduct, by any adult toward any child, to any law enforcement or child protection agency.