AYSO in Action

Donning a rainbow of colors and new cleats straight from the shoebox, hundreds of children put on uniforms and swarmed onto local soccer fields to inaugurate the 39th season of AYSO in September. More than 1,740 boys and girls ages 5 through 18 registered to play in seven divisions in a regional program that has been designated platinum for its excellence.   ’Sixty-nine is known as a region that adheres to the highest standards,’ said Debbie Held, who was commissioner from 1996 through 2009 and now serves as the registrar. She added that the main mission of AYSO, affectionately known by some parents as ‘all your Saturdays are over,’ is to provide a safe, fun and fair environment for children.   The Pacific Palisades-Brentwood Region adheres to AYSO’s six tenets: 1) everyone plays at least three quarters of a game; 2) balanced ability teams; 3) open registration (until October 31, players can still be put on a team if there is an opening); 4) positive coaching, 5) good sportsmanship and 6) player development.   ’The last category was added a year ago,’ Held said. ‘We have always’ strived to deliver a program that will allow the players to enjoy the game, and develop to the best of their abilities.’With the addition of this as a philosophy, we are now able to offer clinics (free of charge), in addition to weekly practices, to all of our players. We host division-specific clinics on Sunday afternoons and weekday evenings.’   ’AYSO experience is perfect for the majority [of youth],’ said current commissioner Janet Anderson.”In Region 69, players are in for at least three quarters of a game. Like it or not, soccer is one of those sports that requires playing time to improve.’Even players that are not that athletic improve because they play so much.”   Soccer came to Pacific Palisades in 1972, when only boys were invited to try the new sport. A Palisadian-Post story reported. ‘Teams are being formed by the American Youth Soccer Organization, which operates under the concept that ‘Everyone Plays’ at least half of every game.’ When fewer than 100 boys signed up, the Post ran a reminder in December: ‘Boys interested in this outdoor sport are reminded that now that football season is closing they may still sign up to play soccer, as the soccer season will run into March.’   The following year, 200 boys signed up, and Region 69 began under its first commissioner Ruben Smulovitz, and registration was $10 per player.   ’We had around 350 kids when I started as registrar in 1977,’ said George Wolfberg, who was the third Region 69 commissioner. ‘That was the year after my kids started playing and I started refereeing.’   Wolfberg, who remains active as a board advisor and still referees, now watches his grandsons play at the U6 fields (under six years of age) at the Palisades Recreation Center and at Will Rogers.   ’I’m proud of the success we had in attracting more girls to play,’ Wolfberg said. In 1978-1979, there were 26 boys teams and 6 girls teams. Currently, 48 percent of those registered in Region 69 are girls, and in the U10 and U19 division there are more girls than boys teams.   One of the chronic challenges AYSO has faced since its inception is finding playing fields. When Peter Fink was the second commissioner in 1979-80, there were 825 players, 60 coaches, 77 referees and two playing fields at Palisades High School. Paul Revere and the Palisades Recreation Center field were unavailable because of football programs, leaving 58 teams with no place to play.   Fink, who still referees and mentors new refs, spoke to Kirk Wallace at California State Parks, who gave the program permission to play on the Will Rogers polo fields. Held also credits Fink and Wolfberg with acquiring the Barrington Park fields and notes that after 1994, AYSO added fields at Kenter Canyon and Brentwood Science Magnet schools, the West Los Angeles V.A., and Calvary Christian School.   ’Since the mid-’90s we have had to spend a good portion of our budget on field maintenance, as school and park budgets diminished,’ Held said. ‘Bob Ortwin [another volunteer] has been at the helm of that thankless task. We can hardly keep up with the gophers at Barrington Park. We contributed to, and continue to contribute, to’the Field of Dreams at the Rec Center.’Revere and Brentwood Science Magnet’have been’recipients of our TLC.’   In November 2007, the new turf football field at Palisades High School was dedicated, with Region 69 contributing $500,000, which allowed the region to reserve additional field space for games and practice.   Although Region 69’s program is almost 40 years old, some principles have remained unchanged. During Fink’s tenure, whenever he had to find a solution to a problem, it was simple for him: ‘When in doubt, lean toward the solution that gives children the most fun.’   Ray Meline, the region’s fourth commissioner, stated that ‘Winning is not what it is all about, even though we’re dedicated to the skills and attitudes to become real life winners. Rather, there is an emphasis on sportsmanship, teamwork, interaction with and dependency on others, self-reliance and the rewards of participation.’   Each commissioner has credited the leagues of parent volunteers who work as division commissioners, coaches, referees, set-up crews and team parents for the program’s continued success.   ’I am humbled by the hundreds of parents who volunteer,’ Commissioner Anderson said. ‘They are truly at the frontlines of AYSO and really make us what we are.’They are the ones impacting our kids’ lives and making Region 69 so fantastic.’   There have been a few minor changes, mostly electronic. ‘E-mail and a regional Web site are huge improvements over mail and the bazillion phone calls that had to be made,’ Wolfberg said. ‘The region has more active volunteers at a ‘managerial’ level such as division commissioners and referee captains that we did not have back in the day.’Ref scheduling is on-line, which is a huge improvement.’   The VIP program for special-needs kids, started in 2004 by Don Randolph, continues with youth volunteer serving as buddies on the field for VIP athletes. Silent Saturday has also been added. Parents and coaches remain silent on the sideline and observe an interesting phenomenon. One hears the players talking to each other as they work out plays unaided. Coincidentally, it is also one of the referees’ favorite days.   When Held was queried about the hardest moments volunteering as a commissioner, she responded, ‘Many times, I felt that there were just not enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needed to be done,’ and then added, ‘It is always a challenge when we have to stop and discipline unruly parents, who don’t appreciate our coaches and referees.’   ’The best part of being a commissioner so far is watching 1,700 kids play soccer every weekend,’ Anderson said. ‘I love watching the kids who would otherwise probably never participate in a sport, become athletes and be a part of a team.’   When asked about the growth of club soccer and the impact it has on AYSO, Held responded, ‘I believe that families should have the choice to select the program that best fits the needs of their child. A few of our children do need to move on, but I do think that too many are leaving too early.’   Anderson added, ‘One thing I’ve heard that I want to correct is that once you leave AYSO for club soccer you can’t return.’ That is completely false. In fact, we always welcome back those players.   ’Having three older children compete in higher-level sports with two playing in college, I have seen not only in my children but in hundreds of others the burnout and injuries that take place when kids start competing at a higher level too soon,’ Anderson said. ‘When you consider that only a small percentage of kids will go on to play college sports and even fewer that play sports professionally, I think AYSO provides the perfect balance of team sport, camaraderie, competition, skills training, socialization and family fun.’