AYSA Letter to Parents
Welcome to the Amherst Youth Soccer Assocation (AYSA) Program!
If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please contact your child’s coach or one of the volunteers with the Amherst Youth Soccer Assocation. (Visit the AYSA Contacts Page.)
Intramural (U8-U14) Practices and Games Soccer Stars and Kindergarten Clinic Sessions Important Information for All Recreational Programs Intramural (U8-U14) Practices and Games
Practices (U8 through U14—1 night/week)
Practice schedules are posted by team in the AYSA team pages HERE. Your coach will expect your child to be prepared to practice, which means being ready to work and to have fun! Your child should wear double-knotted cleats and shin guards. (The shin guards go on under the socks.) Bring the right-size soccer ball (size 3 for U8, size 4 for U10 and U12, size 5 for U14) and a full water bottle to each practice. All items should be labeled with your child’s name and phone number. Children should not wear any jewelry (including necklaces, earrings, watches, bracelets, and hair clips). Children with long hair should pull their hair back with soft headbands or hair ties.
Be on time when you pick your child up from practice. This is both a common courtesy and a safety issue. If your child is going home with someone else, then you must personally notify your coach prior to the start of practice. Sometimes coaches can be delayed, so do not leave your child on the practice field until the coaches are there.
Games (U8 through U14)
Game schedules are posted by team in the AYSA’s team pages HERE. Plan to arrive at the fields at least thirty minutes before the game begins (if your coach asks your team to arrive earlier, then follow your coach’s instructions). Your child should wear the team jersey, shin guards under socks, and double-knotted cleats. If you bring your child’s soccer ball on game days, then be sure to keep track of it (soccer balls get lost very easily). Parking is available on either side of the DePaola and Beaver Creek fields. Drive slowly in the parking lots. (View the map.)
Players may not wear any jewelry on the game field (even soft woven bracelets and newly-pierced earrings). Covering jewelry up with tape or bandages is not permitted. The referees are required to enforce this rule, so please cooperate and make sure that your soccer player is not wearing any jewelry. Untie woven bracelets before you leave for the game. Don’t have your child’s ears pierced during the season, because earrings are not allowed under any circumstances. The referees cannot allow players on the field until all jewelry is removed, so make things easier for everyone and take care of it at home.
Soccer Stars and Kindergarten Clinic Sessions Session schedules are posted by team in the AYSA’s team pages HERE. The Soccer Stars and Kindergarten Clinic sessions will take place on Saturdays for one hour on the DePaola Field. (View the Fisher Meadows map.) The sessions will be led by a professional coach. Parent volunteer coaches will assist each team. Parents are required to stay.
Your child should be ready to have fun! Plan to arrive at the clinic field at least ten minutes before your scheduled session. Your child should wear double-knotted cleats and shin guards. (The shin guards go on under the socks.) Bring a size-3 soccer ball and a full water bottle to each practice. All items should be labeled with your child’s name and phone number. Children should not wear any jewelry (including necklaces, earrings, watches, bracelets, and hair clips). Children with long hair should pull their hair back with soft headbands or hair ties.
Important Information for All Recreational Programs
If you will miss (or be late) . . .
then be sure to notify your coach as far in advance as possible. Soccer is a team sport, and while a perfect attendance record may be nearly impossible, please try to be fair to the rest of your child’s team when planning vacations and other events.
Cancellations
The City of Amherst Cancellation Line is . The message on this phone line is updated during the weekdays and on the weekends. During the week, the town also sends out cancellation notices by email.
If the fields are closed during the week, then the town updates the Cancellation Line and sends out an email. If you want this information as soon as humanly possible, then you must subscribe to the recreation department news email. The club updates the club website and sends out an email with this information, but the first source of the information is the town email.
To check the status of the fields on the weekend, you must call the Cancellation Line. The line should be updated around 7:30 am. If the phone line has not been updated yet, then don't call or text your coaches! They don't have any insider information; they are waiting for the phone line update just like you are. The town and the club do NOT send out emails about the status of the fields on the weekend, because the status can change throughout the day. So you must call the Cancellation Line before your game.
Sometimes the weather is lousy and people are surprised that the fields are open.
Remember: if the fields are open, then that means the fields are playable; it doesn’t mean that everyone is going to enjoy playing on them!
Conduct
Youth sports provide an opportunity for adults to model correct and appropriate behavior for the children who are playing the game. Players, coaches, and referees will all make mistakes. Mistakes are part of the game. Cheer your child on, but step back from the sideline and let your coach do the coaching. The coaches are volunteers, and they are working hard and spending their time coaching your child. If an issue comes up, then follow the 24-hour rule and wait at least 24 hours after the event before you talk to the coach. (Safety issues, of course, should be addressed right away.) If you have any concerns about your child’s coach, then contact the recreational program coordinator. (See the AYSA’s Contacts Page.)
Referees are trained and certified, but many are also young adults. These referees are likely to be your neighbors, your children’s friends, or your friends' children! Their parents just might be sitting on the sidelines with you! Give the referees your support. Spectators are NOT allowed, at ANY time, to speak to or interact with the referees. No matter what the situation. Spectators who disregard this rule will be asked to leave the fields. If you have questions or concerns about referees and/or game rules, then contact the recreational program coordinator and/or the referee coordinator. (See the AYSA’s Contacts Page.)
Coaches are responsible for controlling their spectators. Referees will stop the game and notify the coaches if spectators are causing a problem. If the coaches do not take care of the problem, then the referees will immediately end the match and leave the field.
Safety
If your child has allergies (especially to bee stings), asthma, or any other serious health issue, then be sure to discuss the issue with your coach. Coaches do not have extensive first aid kits. If your child may need more than a bandage or ice pack, then be sure that your child’s coach has it and knows how to use it.
Concussion Initiative
If a player is suspected to have a head injury, then the referee (or coach in U5-U8 age groups) is instructed to stop play to allow for treatment/evaluation as needed. If the player leaves the field of play for additional evaluation, a substitution can be made in that moment. The player with the suspected head injury may not return to the game unless a Health Care Professional (HCP) or Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) has cleared the player. Any coach or parent insisting on returning the player to the game without approved clearance will result in the referee (or coach in U5-U8 age groups) ending the game.
Deliberate heading is not permitted until the U12 age group. If a player in a younger age group deliberately heads the ball in a game, an indirect free kick should be awarded to the opposing team from the spot of the offense.
The recreational soccer program is first and foremost about your children having fun. The program’s goals are for Amherst’s youth to learn to play soccer, be good teammates, be competitive, and show good sportsmanship, all while having fun.
Here’s to another great season!
Practices (U8 through U14—1 night/week)
Practice schedules are posted by team in the AYSA team pages HERE. Your coach will expect your child to be prepared to practice, which means being ready to work and to have fun! Your child should wear double-knotted cleats and shin guards. (The shin guards go on under the socks.) Bring the right-size soccer ball (size 3 for U8, size 4 for U10 and U12, size 5 for U14) and a full water bottle to each practice. All items should be labeled with your child’s name and phone number. Children should not wear any jewelry (including necklaces, earrings, watches, bracelets, and hair clips). Children with long hair should pull their hair back with soft headbands or hair ties.
Be on time when you pick your child up from practice. This is both a common courtesy and a safety issue. If your child is going home with someone else, then you must personally notify your coach prior to the start of practice. Sometimes coaches can be delayed, so do not leave your child on the practice field until the coaches are there.
Games (U8 through U14)
Game schedules are posted by team in the AYSA’s team pages HERE. Plan to arrive at the fields at least thirty minutes before the game begins (if your coach asks your team to arrive earlier, then follow your coach’s instructions). Your child should wear the team jersey, shin guards under socks, and double-knotted cleats. If you bring your child’s soccer ball on game days, then be sure to keep track of it (soccer balls get lost very easily). Parking is available on either side of the DePaola and Beaver Creek fields. Drive slowly in the parking lots. (View the map.)
Players may not wear any jewelry on the game field (even soft woven bracelets and newly-pierced earrings). Covering jewelry up with tape or bandages is not permitted. The referees are required to enforce this rule, so please cooperate and make sure that your soccer player is not wearing any jewelry. Untie woven bracelets before you leave for the game. Don’t have your child’s ears pierced during the season, because earrings are not allowed under any circumstances. The referees cannot allow players on the field until all jewelry is removed, so make things easier for everyone and take care of it at home.
Soccer Stars and Kindergarten Clinic Sessions Session schedules are posted by team in the AYSA’s team pages HERE. The Soccer Stars and Kindergarten Clinic sessions will take place on Saturdays for one hour on the DePaola Field. (View the Fisher Meadows map.) The sessions will be led by a professional coach. Parent volunteer coaches will assist each team. Parents are required to stay.
Your child should be ready to have fun! Plan to arrive at the clinic field at least ten minutes before your scheduled session. Your child should wear double-knotted cleats and shin guards. (The shin guards go on under the socks.) Bring a size-3 soccer ball and a full water bottle to each practice. All items should be labeled with your child’s name and phone number. Children should not wear any jewelry (including necklaces, earrings, watches, bracelets, and hair clips). Children with long hair should pull their hair back with soft headbands or hair ties.
Important Information for All Recreational Programs
If you will miss (or be late) . . .
then be sure to notify your coach as far in advance as possible. Soccer is a team sport, and while a perfect attendance record may be nearly impossible, please try to be fair to the rest of your child’s team when planning vacations and other events.
Cancellations
The City of Amherst Cancellation Line is . The message on this phone line is updated during the weekdays and on the weekends. During the week, the town also sends out cancellation notices by email.
If the fields are closed during the week, then the town updates the Cancellation Line and sends out an email. If you want this information as soon as humanly possible, then you must subscribe to the recreation department news email. The club updates the club website and sends out an email with this information, but the first source of the information is the town email.
To check the status of the fields on the weekend, you must call the Cancellation Line. The line should be updated around 7:30 am. If the phone line has not been updated yet, then don't call or text your coaches! They don't have any insider information; they are waiting for the phone line update just like you are. The town and the club do NOT send out emails about the status of the fields on the weekend, because the status can change throughout the day. So you must call the Cancellation Line before your game.
Sometimes the weather is lousy and people are surprised that the fields are open.
Remember: if the fields are open, then that means the fields are playable; it doesn’t mean that everyone is going to enjoy playing on them!
Conduct
Youth sports provide an opportunity for adults to model correct and appropriate behavior for the children who are playing the game. Players, coaches, and referees will all make mistakes. Mistakes are part of the game. Cheer your child on, but step back from the sideline and let your coach do the coaching. The coaches are volunteers, and they are working hard and spending their time coaching your child. If an issue comes up, then follow the 24-hour rule and wait at least 24 hours after the event before you talk to the coach. (Safety issues, of course, should be addressed right away.) If you have any concerns about your child’s coach, then contact the recreational program coordinator. (See the AYSA’s Contacts Page.)
Referees are trained and certified, but many are also young adults. These referees are likely to be your neighbors, your children’s friends, or your friends' children! Their parents just might be sitting on the sidelines with you! Give the referees your support. Spectators are NOT allowed, at ANY time, to speak to or interact with the referees. No matter what the situation. Spectators who disregard this rule will be asked to leave the fields. If you have questions or concerns about referees and/or game rules, then contact the recreational program coordinator and/or the referee coordinator. (See the AYSA’s Contacts Page.)
Safety
If your child has allergies (especially to bee stings), asthma, or any other serious health issue, then be sure to discuss the issue with your coach. Coaches do not have extensive first aid kits. If your child may need more than a bandage or ice pack, then be sure that your child’s coach has it and knows how to use it.
Concussion Initiative
If a player is suspected to have a head injury, then the referee (or coach in U5-U8 age groups) is instructed to stop play to allow for treatment/evaluation as needed. If the player leaves the field of play for additional evaluation, a substitution can be made in that moment. The player with the suspected head injury may not return to the game unless a Health Care Professional (HCP) or Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) has cleared the player. Any coach or parent insisting on returning the player to the game without approved clearance will result in the referee (or coach in U5-U8 age groups) ending the game.
Deliberate heading is not permitted until the U12 age group. If a player in a younger age group deliberately heads the ball in a game, an indirect free kick should be awarded to the opposing team from the spot of the offense.
The recreational soccer program is first and foremost about your children having fun. The program’s goals are for Amherst’s youth to learn to play soccer, be good teammates, be competitive, and show good sportsmanship, all while having fun.