Your role, as parents or guardians, has a tremendous impact on your child’s experiences as he or she participates in sports.

Parent Code of Conduct

• Do not force an unwilling child to participate in sports.
• Remember children are involved in organized sports for their enjoyment, not yours. Teach your child to always play by the rules.
• Teach your child that hard work and honest effort are often more important than a victory.
• Help your child work toward skill improvement and good sportsmanship in every game. Your child will then be a winner even in defeat.
• Do not ridicule or yell at your child for making a mistake or for losing a game. Set a good example. Children learn best by example.
• Applaud good plays by your team and by members of the opposing team.
• Do not publicly question the referee’s judgment and never their honesty.
• Recognize the value and importance of volunteer coaches, referees and officials and give them their due respect. Without them, there would be no AYSO soccer.
• Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from youth sporting activities.

Conversations before the games

Tell your child you love him/her regardless of the outcome. Tell him or her “Go for it, give it your best shot and have fun!”

During the game

Understand that kids are over-stimulated during games. The Coach may be giving instructions, opponents and teammates are talking, the crowd is cheering, and the Referee is blowing the whistle. To a youth sports participant, the atmosphere is much like that of a fighter pilot with enemy jets racing all around. Do not yell instructions to your child during the game because it only adds to the confusion.

Sometimes the best thing you can do as a parent is to be quiet. Cheer and acknowledge good plays by both teams.

After the game

• Thank the officials for doing a difficult job.
• Thank the coaches for their efforts.
• Thank your opponents for a good game.
• Congratulate your child and his or her teammates for their efforts.
• Compliment individual players on good plays they made in the game.

During the car ride home

• Point out a good play your child made during the game.
• Avoid criticizing or correcting mistakes.
• Ask open-ended questions about how the game was played rather than how many points were scored. Here are examples of open-ended questions that might apply:
  • Did you have fun?
  • Did you give it your best effort?
  • What did you learn from the game?
  • What was the best play you made and how did it feel?

Remember:
Coaches Coach.   Referees Ref.   Parents Cheer.

AYSO Kids Zone

At AYSO, we want all players, coaches, families and volunteers to have fun. That’s where AYSO Kids Zone comes in. Kids Zone is a special program that encourages fans on the sidelines, and anyone else nearby, to use positive language, show good sportsmanship in their attitude and behavior, and to create a great experience for every player. Kids Zone is a reminder that the AYSO soccer fields are a safe, friendly, happy, place for children to play.

The Kids Zone Pledge

Regions 127 participate in the Kids Zone program. You will see signs posted near the fields as helpful reminders that no matter how intense the game can be, kids need cheerful support from the sidelines. Parents and spectators are asked to sign the pledge and agree to the following guidelines:

1. Kids are No. 1
2. Fun – not winning – is everything
3. Fans only cheer, and only coaches coach
4. No yelling in anger
5. Respect the volunteer referees
6. No swearing or abusive behavior
7. No alcohol, tobacco or drugs
8. No weapons
9. Leave no trash behind
10. Set a proper example of sportsmanship