What you need

• Team pictures start this week. See ayso13.org/pictures for the schedule.
• 4U and 5U families have photos either before or after class this Saturday. Check the schedule.
• Sunday Skills Clinic is for all ages from 3:30 – 5pm at McKinley. Goalkeeper Academy, small-sided pickup games, and skill-building drills with friends.
• NEXT is for enthusiastic players in 10U – 14U to play challenging scrimmages with friends. Sign up at ayso13.org/next.
• Players & Coaches can apply for All-Stars and tournament teams at ayso13.org/all-stars.
• Check ayso13.org for the latest weather updates.

If you miss your team picture, come anytime during the scheduled picture days for an individual make-up. Have your team number, coach name, and coach email ready on a piece of paper they can photograph.

Nominate the next Region Commissioner

Terry Takahashi's 2-year term as Commissioner of Region 13 ends on February 28, 2025, at which time the Region 13 Board of Directors will elect a new commissioner for a two-year term. If you would like to nominate someone for the position, please email Taj Chiu at taj@ayso13.org before Nov 15. She will present viable candidates for a vote at the December 2024 Region 13 Board of Directors meeting. 

For further information on the role itself, click here.

Volunteers are also needed to purchase and organize trophies, if you want trophies. Reply if interested.

Usual reminders

• Teams playing at 8 am or 8:30 am at Victory Park send 2 parents at 7 am to help set up. Sign up here.
• Teams playing the first game at other fields, send an advance squad to set up. Sign up here.
• Dogs stay home.
• No earrings allowed, not even covered. Wait until after the soccer season to get your ears pierced.
• 👉 Join the Region 13 Slack
  

Volunteer of the month

Kellie Pruett has been scheduling the practice fields for the last 3 seasons, which is like playing Tetris, but with a smaller board. Kellie says, "My first year with Region 13 was 2011, when my son played with the EPIC team. Both my son and daughter have loved AYSO. When I'm not working in Ad Sales for NBCUniversal, I have volunteered as Assistant Coach for the amazing Flaming Hot Cheetos of '17 (perhaps you've heard of them), and as Team Manager for multiple great teams, including the champion Blue Scorpions of '22 (yes, THOSE Blue Scorpions - legendary), as well as Practice Field Scheduler for 3 seasons. When you're a parent, watching your kid play, AYSO13 is all fun and friendships. Once you start to volunteer, you begin to realize just how many dedicated people, and how much work it takes, before all that fun can happen. You have a new level of appreciation for this organization, and a new level of commitment to the sport you share with your kids. And other people's kids. So many great kids! I want to say two things. 1) Please consider volunteering - work to get us a new field to play on, help order trophies and uniforms, coach, ref, manage a team. 2) To all those parents who wanted their kids to only play on teams with their friends: these are their friends they just hadn't met yet. My daughter made new best friends every. single. season. A few Scorpions are still blowing up her phone. Soccer and social skills - both require stretching!"

What to expect this week

Week 4 is when cockiness starts to set in, and Positive Coaching takes more, ahem, patience.

• Draw attention to the children who are paying attention, with something like "Sierra is going wide to get open. When she does that, let's reward her and send her the ball."
• When you need to stall for time, you can always reach for 2-v-1 keepaway.

It's also the week when some kids get start to get frustrated with teammates. AYSO is about life skills, as well as soccer. Now that your players have some ball skills (scissors, sole rolls, etc.), make sure to focus on another equally important skills like empathy, persistence, and goal setting! Remind the kids of what it means to be a team: we build each other up. The teams that do the best in the playoffs are the teams who experience the most growth. Catch phrases include, "practice makes better," and "keep trying until it works."

How can the most vocal athletes want to also be the most encouraging?

• Do you praise kids for being helpful and supportive?
• Does the team have traditions and secret code words?
• Do you practice talking to each other the way you want to during games? 

Week 4 is also around when spectators start to heavily invested. Have you ever heard someone on the sidelines yell, "Talk to each other!" Did it work? Communicating on the field is something that all teams work up to, and it starts with practicing communication during training. Just as it takes several weeks to feel confident using a new ball control skill in an actual game, it takes a while to feel confident enough to use a new communication skill. Children also need to know that they won't be interrupted, or contradicted, by parents shouting directions from the sidelines. Help all the players, from both teams, by letting the team coach's be the only voice providing directions from the sidelines, and trust the athletes to make and learn from decisions.

Similarly, the Referee is responsible for supervising everything and everyone on the pitch. It's a lot to keep track of. Even when your child is kicked, pushed, or falls down, and even if you're cranky because it's hot, stay off the field unless the Referee calls you on.

"Yeah, I know I missed the goal." The ride home is not a teachable moment.

Coaches, please record the team name in your spreadsheet's Summary tab, and it will show up in the standings or on your trophies. The teams with the best* name will be recognized at the end of the season. Some team names already in play include: The Green Cookie Marsupials, Mermaids Drinking Boba in Pajamas, Radioactive Banana Fries, Kicking Green Watermelons, Fuchsia Dragons, Sparkling Pink Piñatas, The Flaming Hot Cheetahs, Blue Steel Sapphire Smurfs, The Twisters. Some of those are 14U teams. It's ok to be creative!

The only restriction is that team names not reference weapons. Ninjas, sharks, dragons, snakes, and mythical monsters are all fine.
* "best" is arbitrary and capricious.

Photo of the week

This was our first week playing on the Marshall school field. Thanks for the picture, Sinan! Reply with your action shots for next week's newsletter.

Upcoming

See more by subscribing to the Region 13 calendar. The board meeting is usually the first Thursday of each month.

Help Wanted

Open board positions: Region Commissioner, Auditor, Secretary, Practice field coordinator, Uniform coordinator, trophies & awards. Reply if interested!

The RCs job is to manage the region and all of it’s volunteers. The RC is responsible for all aspects of running the region and has the final responsibility for all volunteers, players and parents in all aspects of our year-round programs. The RC is also responsible for participating in the board of the local Area – Area 1/C and with AYSO National when needed. The RC is also responsible for running and chairing a monthly Regional board meeting. More about the Region Commissioner.

You are receiving this message because of your involvement with AYSO Region 13, 711 W. Woodbury Rd., Unit E, Altadena, CA 91001, USA

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