AYSO Area 2E and 2F
Guidelines for Interregional Play
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to establish a consistent guideline for the benefit of all Area 2E and 2F Regions participating in interregional and fall season play. These guidelines shall apply to all age groups participating in regular interregional play. The Area 2E and 2F Area Directors created this document to provide consistent rules across all Regions in the Area. As always with AYSO, we seek to promote competition that is safe, fun and fair. All participating regions acknowledge that AYSO Rules and Regulations apply and pledge to uphold the 6 philosophies:
Everyone Plays
Balanced Teams
Open Registration
Positive Coaching
Good Sportsmanship
Player Development.
Final Authority
The Area Directors (or her/his designees) has authority over interregional play. Throughout this document, the term "Area Director" means the actual Director or AYSO volunteers specifically designated by the actual Director.
The Area Director for 2F maybe contacted at [email protected].
The Area Director for 2E can be contacted at [email protected]
Decisions by the Area Directors or her/his designee shall be final.
Rules and Regulations
All games shall be played using most current Laws of the Game and the AYSO National Rules and Regulations, except as amended by this document. Additionally,
short-sided games shall implement the recommendations contained in the AYSO publication Short-Sided Games Guide for Referees, except as amended by this document.
Regional Responsibilities
Each region will provide the Area Directors with participating teams' rosters, including the names of players, coaches and referees. Regions choosing to participate shall maintain game schedules with coaches' contact information and submit a copy to the Area Directors. Sometimes, conflicts arise between regions. Often, these are handled directly by regions. Although the Area Directors do not want to intercede unnecessarily, all discussions, emails, etc., about region-to-region problems shall be summarized or copied to the Area Directors. The Area Directors may intercede either by request or by her/his own authority.
Coaches
A maximum of 2 coaches are permitted for each team. All coaches and assistant coaches must:
1. be a currently registered AYSO Volunteer (with an AYSO ID number) and be fully background checked per AYSO and their state guidelines, including finger printing if volunteering in California
2. have taken and passed Safe Sport, Safe Haven, CDC Concussion Training, and Sudden Cardiac Arrest Training
3. be Age Specific Coach Certified and have been assigned as coach by their home region. In addition, coaches must be at least 18 years old
4. At each game and practice coaches must have access to medical release forms for each player
Coaches and players on both teams shall take one side of the field and parents/spectators shall take the other at all venues. Coaches shall remain in the technical area on their half of the field during the game, whether or not this area is marked. The technical area is defined as the area that is between 1 yard and 4 yards behind the touch line and extends 10 yards from either side of the center line (visually identifiable as the width of the center circle).
Parents/Spectators shall remain on their side of the field for the duration of the game. At no time during the game shall a parent/spectator approach a referee or coach. Please let the players, coaches, and referees focus on playing. Hold any questions or concerns for the coaches and referees until after the game.
Coaches also assume responsibility to maintain good sportsmanship among the players, parents, and spectators accompanying their team.
In the event a team is short of players the game may continue based on the minimum number of players in AYSO policies. It is recommended and considered good coaching and sportsmanship that both teams play with equal numbers.
Referees
All referees must:
1. be a currently registered AYSO Volunteer (with an AYSO ID number) and be
fully background checked per AYSO and their state guidelines, including finger
printing if volunteering in California
2. have taken and passed Safe Sport, Safe Haven, CDC Concussion Training, and Sudden Cardiac Arrest training
3. have taken and passed the Referee Course for the level they are refereeing
All referees:
1. may NOT act as a coach during the game
2. must shorten halves (equally) as necessary to keep game/field time on schedule
3. may terminate or abandon a game at their discretion and shall report to the Area Directors immediately if they do so.
The authority of the game referee starts when he or she arrives at the field and ends when he or she leaves the area.
The Diagonal System of Control (one center referee and two assistant referees) shall be used for all games.
A dual referee system shall not be used. In the absence of two certified assistant referees, club linesmen (spectators) are to be used.
Home teams are responsible for providing a certified referee. All teams must have a certified referee in addition to the head coach (who may also be a certified referee). '
Home regions unable to provide referees shall contact the visiting team's region/coach as soon as possible to request help.
Home teams not providing a certified referee shall forfeit.
NO GAMES WILL BE PLAYED WITHOUT A CERTIFIED REFEREE
Area policy is to discourage coaches from officiating their own team games. However, there may be times when one or more coaches need to stand in a s referee(s) at their own games because no other certified referee is available. In these cases, the coach-referee shall not coach during the period he or she is acting as referee. Whenever a coach has to stand in as the center referee on her/his own team's game, the coach/referee must be a certified referee and report this event to the Area 2F Referee Administrator (ARA) [email protected]. This allows the ARA an opportunity to assess that the game was fairly (and happily) officiated
NO GAMES WILL BE PLAYED WITHOUT A CERTIFIED REFEREE.
Behavior Problems and Discipline
Soccer is an exciting game, and it is easy to get swept up in the passion of a game and forget to act in a wholly responsible manner. This is especially true when playing opponents outside of one's home region. Interregional play demands that all participants exhibit their best behavior. Players, coaches, referees, and spectators are representatives of their home regions. Poor behavior reflects badly not only upon the individual, but also upon the individual's home community.
AYSO policy, at every level, is that players come first. Everything that all AYSO participants do on and around soccer games should exemplify sportsmanship, courtesy and shall honor the game. Sometimes, on and off the field, an individual may forget these precepts. In interregional play, the expectations for sportsmanship and the sanctions for a lack of it are discussed below.
Players
The Laws of the Game specifies occasions for which disciplinary actions are appropriate and, in some cases, required. The Laws shall be the basis for all disciplinary actions. In addition to the Laws of the Game, the following procedures and sanctions shall be followed and used. Only players are shown actual cards, so the preferred terms are "cautions" (yellow cards) and "send offs" (red cards).
Cautions (yellow cards) - Cautioned players are not required to leave the field. However, coaches should take the opportunity to substitute the cautioned player for an Area recommended cool off period. This is the coach's responsibility and NOT the referees, the referee may assist the coach with player management by suggesting a substitution, in case the coach has forgotten that the opportunity to substitute is available.
Send Off (red cards) - The offending player shall leave the field / field area. The player (may NOT be replaced) for the remainder of the game. A sent off player will be suspended for at least 1 additional game (the next scheduled game). The Area Directors may suspend the player for more than one game depending on the gravity of the incident. Sent off players may attend their team's games while under suspension but must sit quietly with their team, behave in an exemplary fashion. The coach is responsible for proper and appropriate adult supervision of any players sent off.
Send-offs require immediate communication with both Regional Referee Administrators and the Area Director. A written report is also required within 24 hours.
The general procedure for sendoffs is:
- Make sure you know and document the name, number, and team of the player sent off
- Within 24 hours, submit a brief report summarizing the game and the disciplinary actions taken. The report should explicitly reference behaviors that violated the Laws of the Game or league guidelines. The description of these behaviors should also cite the Laws or league regulations that were violated. Game reports can be found at www.aysohelp.org or at the U.S. Soccer web site.
League Rules - Specific Sendoff Offenses
- Foul or Abusive Language: 1 game minimum suspension
- Serious Foul Play, Violent Conduct, Spitting: 2 game minimum suspension
- Fighting: 4 game minimum suspension
Second send off during a season (and any thereafter) a player shall serve a minimum 2 game suspension and must also appear before a disciplinary board before reinstatement.
Based on the contents of the Referee game report and other factors, the length of any suspension may be increased and other disciplinary measures applied if deemed warranted (e.g. offensive, insulting or abusive language directed at a referee) decision to be made by the Area.
Suspensions shall be served in the first game/s following the sendoff. Scrimmages shall not count toward the serving of a suspension. At least one game of the suspension must be served in the program where the sendoff offense occurred (i.e.,inter-region play).
Parents - Spectators - Volunteers - Coaches
Parents/Spectators shall remain on their side of the field for the duration of the game. At no time during the game shall a parent/spectator approach a referee or coach. Please let the players, coaches, and referees focus on playing. Hold any questions or concerns for the coaches and referees until after the game. Parents, spectators, volunteers, and coaches are not allowed behind the goal line or within 3 yards of the touch line during the game (exception: coaches in the technical area).
Parents, spectators, volunteers and coaches are expected to abide by the rules of good sportsmanship and are only allowed to make positive and encouraging comments. Those who, in the opinion of the referee, fail to do this may be asked to depart from the field. The referee may suspend the game until the offender is beyond sight and sound of the field. If, in the opinion of the referee, the offender does not leave the field in a reasonable amount of time, the referee may terminate or abandon the game (and must file a report with the Area Directors immediately following this action).
Coaches shall help the referees in maintaining a positive, instructional environment for players. Referees may ask coaches to intervene with spectators for the good of the game. Coaches can be given a formal caution by the referee. When cautioned, a coach is "in the book" and is in imminent danger of being sent off from the game.
When coaches are sent off by the referee, the referee will follow the same steps outlined above for player sendoffs, including reporting the sendoff in a written report. Should a second offense occur, the offender will be suspended from all remaining games. The offender may ask for reinstatement after serving the 2-game minimum suspension by written request to the Area 2F and 2 E AD’s which includes a letter of recommendation for reinstatement from their Regional Board. Reinstatement is solely at the discretion of the Area Directors.
Based on the contents of the Referee game report and other factors, the length of any suspension may be increased and other disciplinary measures applied if deemed warranted (e.g. offensive, insulting or abusive language directed at a referee) by the Area Directors.
Parents, spectators, volunteers or coaches serving a suspension may not be present at a game (including any pre- and post-game activities) or participate during a game in any manner. Suspensions from interregional play apply at all interregional games, not just "away" games.
Substitutions
Substitution procedures shall not needlessly waste game time.
All players shall play a minimum of half the game, 3 before 4 play is preferred and recommended.
Substitution in 12U will follow AYSO standard procedures:
1. Approximately halfway through each half
2. At the half
3. On any injury
Free substitution is permitted in 14U and above only. Coaches are reminded that the quarter break is for substitution and repositioning of players only and shall not be used for coaching purposes. Substitutes must be "up and ready" prior to the opportunity - standing about a yard back from the half line, awaiting the referee's permission to enter the field. 14U players must still play at least half of each game (3 before 4 is preferred and recommended at 14U also). Coaches may verbally remind the referee of waiting substitute players in a positive, polite manner at a normal substitution stoppage if the referee does not show a substitution signal.
Uniforms
All players must have AYSO approved uniforms. Each team must have socks, shorts, and jerseys that match in color and general pattern (exc.: goalkeepers must wear contrasting jerseys). In the event teams have similar colors, or at the request of the referee, the home team shall wear a different uniform or jersey cover approved by the referee. Referees are cautioned against disqualifying uniform elements with trifling or insignificant differences.
Interregional Game Policies
Games generally follow the same format as any other AYSO game. Home teams are responsible for providing a safe field with proper markings and flags. All local facility rules and regulations must be adhered to.
Games shall start and end on time.
Area policy is to encourage coaches to be creative should game scores become lopsided.
"Running up" scores by deliberately overwhelming a weaker opponent is frowned upon and is unsporting and contrary to the Spirit of the Game. A goal differential of six (6) or more goals is considered "running up" the score and is a display of poor sportsmanship. If a 7th goal difference is achieved by a penalty kick, an own goal, or a goal kicked in intentionally by the opposing team (to increase your goals), it will not count against the team. (This is at the discretion of the referee to call intention).
Coaches should seek ideas for making lopsided games more challenging by consulting their Area Coach Administrator, [email protected] and by collaborating with their fellow coaches.
Coaches deliberately continuing running up the score will be warned by the referee and possibly discipled by the Area which may include suspension. Coaches deliberately continuing to run up scores in multiple matches, will be disqualified from Cookie’s Best (And Section Play off’s) and Kit Carson in Area F. In Area E they will be disqualified from Area Tournament and Section Play offs.
Players can only play on one regular AYSO Fall season team at a time. If a team is short players on game day, the opposing team can and is encouraged to offer some players to a team that is short players, or both teams can play down players to ensure both teams have at least one sub.
Please remind all of your coaches and parents to always display Good Sportsmanship to BOTH Teams.