Half Moon Bay AYSO is launching a new opportunity for Coastside soccer stars.
For the first time this spring, from March 11 to May 18, kids ages 4 to 14 are invited to sign up for 10 weeks of soccer practice led by skilled and committed coaches.
The new spring season will replace AYSO’s traditional summer season with fall soccer remaining as the main soccer season. The nine-game spring season will be played at the Cunha School soccer complex.
“Based on an informal poll of our fall families, it seemed that a spring season would better serve more of our families and players, so we decided to make the change,” said Carol Hunter, Half Moon Bay’s AYSO registrar.
There were several other factors why AYSO organizers decided to do a spring session, said Hunter.
“Our summer season has always been fun, but problematic. So many families travel in the summer that often practices and games were not well attended. Coaches had to severely restrict their summer vacation plans to work around their volunteer commitment,” she said.
Having the two seasons so close together also made it very difficult for the board logistically. And the new, all weather Cunha fields made a spring season feasible.
“We are brainstorming about some kind of very casual drop in scrimmages for the summer and winter to allow kids to continue to play off season,” said Hunter. “Now that we have an all-weather field in Half Moon Bay, our long term goal is to offer some kind of year-round opportunities for soccer, but much of that depends on the amount of volunteer support we can get to run these programs.”
AYSO organizers know that some players will have conflicts with the spring season, with Little League, softball, and basketball
“We do not expect to get the same turnout for spring as for our primary fall season, but are excited to offer this as an additional option for families who would like to play more soccer and for new families who were not able to join us in the fall," said Hunter. "We are preparing the spring season to be a fun, family friendly recreational season for all.”
Half Moon Bay AYSO has also undergone some additional changes such as implementing a new application, which will greatly improve their registration process, communication, and administration of the region. For the spring season, parents will be able to log in and register their children directly from the website, www.hmbayso.com, and even pay online with PayPal. With this login, families will also be able to see their child's team information and schedules, get in touch with their coach, and volunteer to help out the region.
They are also launching a U5 program for 4 year olds, which will provide a very gentle, age appropriate introduction to soccer for kids not yet ready for U6.
Still, it comes downs to the volunteers to make it all happen.
“We have had a number of really talented and dedicated people step up and fill crucial board positions," said Hunter. "As an all-volunteer organization, our region is really only as good as our volunteers, and their efforts and enthusiasm made our fall season very successful.”
Spring Fling Soccer
Cost: $100 regular registration, $125 late registration for U6-U14+
On-line registration will begin in the new year. Stay tuned.
E-mail questions to communications@hmbayso.com or check hmbayso.com for details.
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