Competition Team Guidelines

LEMOORE YOUTH SOCCER LEAGUE

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LEMOORE COMPETITION TEAM GUIDELINES

League Play
Our teams are affiliated with the Lemoore Youth Soccer League, which is affiliated with Cal-North. The younger teams U9 and below are place in the League based on location and several other factors. ( Previous Recreation League record,coaches experience etc.) Older teams, U10 and above are grouped based on the prior season outcome and level of play. At the conclusion of League play, teams are adjusted for the next season dependent on the outcome of how the team finished in the current level of play.

Tryouts
All tryouts will be held at the Lemoore Youth Sports Complex located on 19th Avenue between Cinnamon Drive and ‘D’ Street.
Time and Dates of tryouts will be determined by age groups
U9-U13 will be held in Mid to Late February
U14-U19 will be held in mid to late April.

New Player Tryouts (Welcome!)
If a player is trying out or practices with your team, a signed release must be obtained BEFORE the player can tryout or practice with the team. This is the 1601 form. Player MUST PAY the fee to cover insurance portion before they can tryout or practice.
Adding a Player

No player will be added to a team roster until the Competition Chairman has informed the Registrar for approval. Purple teams will have priority when adding players
A new player is defined as one that is not currently registered with LYSL as a member of any recreational or competitive team.
A new player can be added at any time during the season as long as the team roster has not reached its limit.
If the coach receives approval to add a new player, the forms required at player registration need to be completed (CYSA 1606 Form) and submitted to the LYSL Registrar and Player documents collected for the team binder.
Payment of registration fees is due at this time. There may be a pro-rate fee adjustment made for registrations that occur after the start of the LYSL season. You will need to contact the Registrar for these amounts.

Player Release

Players may leave a program for a variety of reasons. When this occurs, you must notify the LYSL Registrar and complete the required release forms.These forms are available at hwww.lemooreyouthsoccerleague.org (1606 form). Contact the Registrar for instructions on how to release a player from your team.

Player Transfer

Players that transfer from a competitive or recreational team to a LYSL competitive team must complete a Player Release and Transfer form.
These forms are available at www.lemooreyouthsoccerleague.org
Contact the Registrar for instructions on how to transfer a player from or to your team.

Loaned/Borrowed Players

If you are using a loaned or borrowed player for a tournament, you will need his/her player card, Medical Release Form, Form (CalNorth/US Club registration form), birth certificate and player card from the Team Manager.
If you have a player who is borrowed by another team, the same information is to be provided to the other Team Manager.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the information is returned to the other team.

Coaches Team Selection Procedure
After all coaches have completed their application and the LYSL board has approved them to have a team, the following criteria will determine which team you will coach.

Knowledge of the sport
Previous season standings in League and Tournaments
Proper age group Licenses, etc.
If board is undecided on who should be the coach of Purple or White teams, they will take into consideration the Competition Chairman’s input on what he/she has seen from the coaches in that age group during their tryouts.

Team Selection
Players will attend tryouts on the dates as designated by LYSL. Once the players for the team have been selected, the coach will contact the players. Selected players will be offered a spot on the team and will be given 24 hours to respond. (Purple Teams will select their players first, White teams will select from the remaining players) Players are expected to play for the team they are assigned to. Players who choose not to play on the assigned team, will NOT be offered a spot on a different team. Players who are playing up, will be approved by the Competition Chairman.The coach will need to send the list of selected players to LYSL Registrar and LYSL Bookkeeper. Have the coach provide you with a list of the players so you can compile a team roster. The next process will be to schedule a team meeting with parents and/or players to prepare and discuss the expectations for the season. Refer to Team Meeting section for what to prepare for. You or the Coach will need to notify the LYSL Bookkeeper of when the team meeting will be held. Treasurer will give you access to the Team’s financial records and will explain the process for collecting payment from players. YOU NEED TO HAVE A PRELIMINARY BUDGET PRIOR TO THE TEAM MEETING.

Player Registration will be conducted by LYSL Registrar soon after tryouts and team selections have been completed. Once the Coach or Coaches have sent the list of selected players to the Registrar guardians can complete the CalNorth and Medical Liability Form (1601).

Player Changes
Team Vacancies-If your team is in need of additional players, email the LYSL President or Comp Chairman to request a posting on the website for your team or to assist you in searching for players.

Team Meeting
The purpose of having an initial team meeting is to enable the parents, players and coaches to understand the following:

Objectives and goals of the program
Meet the coach and learn of their experience and coaching background/philosophy/methods
Financial obligations and commitments during registration fees, coaching fees, tournament fees and team expenses (team budget needs to be prepared prior to meeting)
Distribute handouts such as team roster, schedule of practices, team goals and rules, etc.
Recruit team volunteer positions such as treasurer, tournament manager, etc..
Facilitate paperwork for player and administrator registration
Collect documentation needed for the team binder (e.g. registration form, photo, etc.)
Complete uniform orders and collect required payment
Inform parents of team camps, tournaments, and other programs
Address questions and concerns from parents
Specifics of the program, including required equipment, LYSL tournaments participation, practice locations, and general team policies

Team Manager Responsibilities
The Team Manager is the liaison between the coach, parents, players and LYSL. In addition, the Team Manager will perform the following duties or may delegate some of the duties to another parent on the team.

It is important that the Team Manager support the coach by directing all questions concerning player selection, player positions and playing time to the coach.
Keep the team organized and running smoothly by communicating practice information and game schedules.
Keep the “pulse” on the team and parents by listening and passing concerns on to the coach.
Maintain all records and information relevant to game play (e.g. player cards laminated, recording game scores, etc.).
Work closely with the LYSL Registrar, to register players.
Handle all aspects of regular season games and playoffs.
Attend LYSL Team Manager meetings.
Track and review team/player expenses and be a liaison to the LYSL Bookkeeper

What else can you do to prepare for the Team Manager responsibility?

Be willing to listen to parent’s complaints and concerns.
Keep private information provided to you in confidence.
Encourage parents to become active participants in the LYSL Competitive Program.
Don’t be afraid to ask them to help out!
Know the policies of the LYSL Competitive Program and LYSL Program and be ready to explain them to interested parents. This includes the Bylaw Rules www.lemooreyouthsoccerleague.org
Handle confrontations one-on-one, not in a public setting and be willing to listen; often that will be all that is truly needed.
Allow the coach to make all the coaching decisions. Don’t make promises for which you have no authority.
Be consistent and fair in your dealings with parents and players.

Duties that can be delegated:

Team Treasurer – handle financial duties for the team; collecting money from families to cover team expenses (e.g. tournament registration fees)
Tournament Registration – check-in team for tournaments
Competition Chairman/Tournament Director will filter information through the Team Managers/Coaches to disseminate to their teams. It is very important Team Managers communicate regularly with the players and their parents. Communications can be handled via meetings, phone calls and regular emails. For U16 teams and older, it’s a good idea to email the players as well. Older players generally drive themselves to practices, therefore, less face-to-face interaction between Team Managers and the parents.
Provided in this manual is a checklist to help you through the Team Manager responsibilities and guide you through the process of managing a team effectively. Forms mentioned throughout this document can be referenced on Online Forms tab.

Topics of discussion at the team meeting
1. What can you promise the players and their families?

You can mention the team entitlement (Purple or White) for the coming year and not much else.
You cannot promise a position, scholarship, fee waiver or exemption from required volunteer work to the player or his/her family.

2. When will practices begin and where will they be held?

This is an important piece of information because each player on the team will have conflicting weekly schedules.
The sooner you can let the parents know, the sooner they can make needed adjustments.
Try not to make changes in the middle of the year since many parents will have already made schedule adjustments

3. Which tournaments are the coach interested in playing prior to the start of the fall season?

Work with the coach to prepare a list of tournaments that he/she feels the team must attend.
Prepare a list of optional tournaments for the parents so they can determine how each fits into their schedule.
Make sure the tournaments that the coach feels are “required” are clearly noted.
Several of your families will take vacations during the summer months, so it doesn’t make
sense to register for a tournament that only half your players can attend.
New coaches may not have a firm idea of tournaments they would like to participate in so you many need to rely on the Tournament Director, the Competitive Chairman, or some more knowledgeable parents to help guide you through this process.
CYSA-North ( www.Calnorth.org ) keeps an updated list of approved tournaments on its website, ( www.gotsoocer.com ) and US Club are other tournament resource sites.

4. What is the coaching philosophy for the season?

It may sound like an over simplification, but coaches often have specific strategies that they will pursue with teams in certain age groups.
- For example, with a younger, inexperienced team, the coach may wish to focus primarily on skill building and leave lessons on game strategy for the following season.
Parents need to know this upfront because it helps to prevent some inevitable dissatisfaction if the team suffers a string of losses.

Team Names
Teams will NOT be allowed to choose a team name. All team names will be assigned by LYSL Board for the start of the 2017 season and beyond. All teams must register for events (league, tournaments, cup play) using their official LYSL Approved Name.
No Exceptions!!!!!!!!!!!!

Purple Team Example
- Official Team Name: 00B Purple
- Age Group: U16 Boys (00B represents the oldest birth year and gender of players on the team)
White Team Example
- Official Team Name: 02G White
- Age Group: U14 Girls (02G represents the oldest birth year and gender of players on the team)

Suspension or Removal
LYSL Board has the authority to remove a Coach / Manager of their duties at any point deamed neccessary during any part of the current season.

Failure To Comply With Guidelines
Coaches / Team Manager that fail to comply with set guidelines WILL be subjected to appear in front of the LYSL Board, Once that meeting has concluded , the board President /Comp Chairman will inform the coaches / manager of there decision within 24 hours.

LYSL President
Miguel Solano

Competitive Coaching Coordinator

Jesse