Spring Soccer

Region 86 is pleased to offer players the opportunity for post season play after the Fall season has concluded. The Spring season runs from February thru May with optional tournaments in May/June/July. The Spring season is open to U8-U19 teams only. For a clear understanding of the Spring season, please read the answers to the following three questions.

How are teams formed and who can coach? Teams are formed by coaches that wish to coach a Spring team. Coaches must be Safe Haven trained and certified at the proper age level. To coach a Spring team coaches must submit a team application and payment within the Schedule deadline and be accepted by the AYSO Region 86 Board of Directors. Selection of coaches is highly influenced by current and past service to AYSO in Laguna Beach. Coaches are not allowed to form teams until the regular Fall season has concluded (typically after the Thanksgiving weekend). Each Spring team must be represented by three volunteer referees in order to be accepted into the Spring gaming circuit (U10-U19) or two for U8 per the team application guidelines (from parents of players on the team). All coaches and referees must also have a current volunteer application filed with AYSO (this can be done through www.eAYSO.org).

Who can play on a Spring team? Due to limited resources (mainly coaches, referees, and field space), participation in Spring is Coach driven and thus, by invitation only. To be eligible for selection on a Spring team, players must have participated in the Fall season and played a minimum of 50% of their scheduled games. Execptions to this guideline must be approved by the Board. Interested players may send Email to spring@ayso86.org and their requests will be forwarded to potential Spring coaches for consideration. Player placement on a team is also highly influenced by past and present volunteer service to AYSO. A sure way to ensure your child plays is to volunteer to coach and/or referee in the Fall. Players that did not play in the Fall may be considered only after the coach has exhausted all other resources with Board approval. U8 players should be at least 7 years old and entering the U10 program in the upcoming Fall season.

What is the format? Spring teams are seeded 1, 2, or 3 by the Regional Commissioner as a "best guess." In the first half of the season games are played between like-seeded teams. After the conclusion of the first half of the season, teams are re-seeded by the Area staff and grouped into flights of teams with similar skill levels to hopefully produce more competitive games in alignment with AYSO's philosophy of "balanced team." There are no playoffs. Standings are kept on the Area 11L web site. Medals are issued by the Area to the top few teams in each bracket in the second half of the seaon. An optional tournament is also held in May by our Area 11L staff for all Spring teams. The official Spring rules and regulations are posted on the Area 11L web site (www.ayso11L.org). Regional rules and regulations pertaining to Spring play are in addition to any posted by the Area.