HOUSE TEAMS POST SEASON 2008 - This year LYSL has been invited to participate in the recreation-plus playing program with Mustang Soccer Club and San Ramon Soccer Club. (added 5/13/08)

OVERVIEW:   The recreation plus program is a recreation playing program that involves enhanced team training and match play against other recreation plus teams from the Tri-Valley Area.  Home games will be played in Livermore and away games will be played on the opposing team?s home field.  An additional fee is collected to pay for thirteen training sessions conducted by a professional trainer on a once per week basis staring in August and concluding in November. For additional information please read completely though the 2008 LYSL Recreational Plus Soccer Program guidelines.  You can also email questions to the program Director at house@lysl.org

TEAMS:         Up to a total of 10 team may be formed as follows: (2) U10 Girls, (2) U10 Boys, (2) U12 Girls, (2) U12 Boys, (2) U14 Girls and (2) U14 Boys. Teams will be formed by the Director of House in conformance with the 2008 LYSL Recreational Plus Soccer Program guidelines.  Please refer to the guidelines document for a more thorough explanation of this program.

FEE:                $125.00 per player in addition to the standard league registration fee. Financial aid is not available for the recreation plus program fee. The player must also be properly registered with the league for the current year.

HOW TO SIGN UP:             Send an e-mail to the Director of House at house@lysl.org indicating:

                                                player's full name
                             player's birthdate
                             years of playing experience
                             name of school attending in the fall of 2008
                             contact phone number
                             contact email address

Please include "LYSL Rec-Plus" in the email subject line.  You should receive a confirmation of application within 5 days.
If you do not receive a confirmation of application please resend with a cc: to president@lysl.org

NOTE:  Sign ups are first come first served. Everyone who signs up will be placed on a list in order of receipt of email.  Your final obligation to participate in this program will be established when the team is formed and you are contacted for payment.  If you opt out, then the players name will be removed from the sign-up list and the next listed player will advance to that roster spot.  We ask that only those truly interested sign up.

There will be no special requests granted for placement with a certain team or coach. There will be no requests granted to play up in an older age group. Teams will be formed based on order of receipt of application and as much as possible a balance of geographic location and years of playing experience. 

SENDING IN PUBLICITY - Get that news in the local papers. click here to send in scores and publicity.

SENDING IN SCORES - House standings are kept for U9-U14 Division by the league Traveling House (U16-U19 Division 4) are handled through the District AC Playing League. Send email to scores@lysl.org.

Include:

 - Age Group and Gender

 - Home team name and/or team number

 - Home team score

 - Away/Visitor team name and/or team number

 - Away/Visitor team score

 

Document	Link	Description
Coach House Application 2008	(.doc) (.pdf)	Fill it out and send it in the High Comp Coach Application form if you are interested in a position for Head Coach or Assistant Coach. (posted 11.25.07)

About the House

The Livermore Youth Soccer League offers two programs of youth soccer for Livermore players.  The "House" program is the recreational arm of the league. The first priority is to provide a fun soccer experience for the majority of youth soccer players in the league.  The focus of this program is on teaching soccer skills and game tactics, physical fitness and team work.  For those players that wish to play on a more competitive level, LYSL offers the "High Comp" program (CYSA Divisions 1 and 3, also known as Al Caffodio). For more details on that, please check the High Comp area of the website.

In the House program, boys and girls play on separate teams and are placed on teams based on their age group. Boy teams play other all boy teams, and girls play other all-girl teams. House program players can expect to get 50% playing time during every game regardless of skill level. House Informational sheet distributed at this year's registration event.

• Age Pure - The youngest age groups U5 - U10 are formed "age pure". This means that the 4 years old play with other 4 year olds, 5 with 5, etc.

• Small Sided Games - US Youth Soccer began encouraging small sided games in the '80s. There are many benefits to this format, a few which are listed below. We have adopted that format in several of our age groups.

  • Each player gets more 1on1 time "touches" on the ball. Skills in ball handling and the tactics of the game can only be improved with more time directly with the ball for the player. Consider this survey from one league:

    • 11 v 11 friendly game, 22 touches in 60 minutes, (0.37 touches on the ball per minute). 4 v 4 games (205 touches in 48 minutes, (projected 60 minutes = 256) (4.3 touches on the ball per minute). The player in the 4v4 game touched the ball 12.31 more times in the same time period against the same opposition as the 11v 11 game. Click here for article.

  • More chances for the player to make decisions and learn.

  • 11v11 is an adult game. Small-sided takes youth into account.

  • More time with the coach's attention.

  • Increased consistency and level of work rate.

  • From AYSO's website regarding small-sided games:

    Young soccer players need special consideration.

    -         They are children playing a child's game.

    -         They must be regarded as young children, not mini adults.

    -         They are essentially self-oriented and relate naturally to one or two others, not to large groups.

    -         Fun and activity factors must be a central part of a child-centered program.

    Educators agree early learning experiences are the most important and produce the most retention.

    -         Most children cannot sustain prolonged activity.

    -         They function best in suitable starts and stops (rest periods).

    -         Concentration span is limited, so frequent changes of pace and activity are essential.

    Children love to learn.

    -         They learn a great deal more when the ratio of teacher (coach) to student (player) is reduced.

    -         With small numbers and the simple nature of the game, the best teacher is the game itself.

    -         With fewer players on the field, each player gets more touches of the ball and has greater opportunity to change location in a fast-flowing, fluid game.

    -         Playing short-sided allows players to make simpler decisions and develop an earlier, better understanding of organization of play.

    -         Smaller fields mean more players are directly involved in play, creating increased levels of both concentration and interest.

    -         The reduced field size encourages more shots on goal by all players, therefore more goals scored.

    Residual benefits.

    -         Parents are introduced to the game in smaller, more understandable doses.

    -         Short-sided soccer is a great place to train new referees.

    -         The rest of the world is playing short-sided, and we are part of the soccer world

Below are just a few of the many resources that can be found online about Small-sided soccer games through any search engine query. Most of it is based on http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/ recommendations and first hand experience.

• Small-Sided Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)

• US Youth Soccer Presentation

• Small-sided Discussion

• US Youth Soccer Official Handbook

The small number of players on the field are accommodated with the smaller field. Those dimensions might change from year to year, depending on the available field space.

• No Nets (U5-6) - Cones or flags will be used to indicate the "goal" target for the players. Goal bars and nets will not be used as it is the intention that U5 and U6 players concentrate on ball handling and game mechanics, not the act of scoring a goal. Keeping score or standings in U5-8 is not done for this same reason.

Modified Rules for the House (U5-U10) exist to help accommodate the youngest of our players to play that game scaled for their skills and stature.

Some interesting House statistics for 2006 season (as of 8/06):

• There were 2,811 players in the league (in all programs) at the time this data was reviewed.

• The House is comprised of 49% girl and 51% boy players. Typically, the Boy/Girl split is 50/50 each year.

• While there are slightly more girls than boys in the House program, there are more girl teams. This is because there are more girls in the older age groups (happens every year) than boys and those teams are fewer with more players per team.

• House teams make up 86% of the teams in the league.

• Over half of the House teams are in U5-U8. These age groups are all house players. This indicates that the league's core is made up of young players, parents, and coaches that are in their early stages of learning the game.

 

 

When Things Happen

This is a general timeline of when things happen in the House program each year. Some years the timing of events may change a bit, but basically, this is what to expect.

February - Player registration.

April-June - Formation of teams (U9-U19 teams are formed after High Comp teams are formed). Identification and assignment of coaches.

late May/early June - Coaches given team packets at the Annual Coach Meeting. Coach calls players to inform them of team assignment. Coach/Parents Meeting is set up by the coach at his convenience for everyone to meet for the first time and go over any information, parental help needed, expectations and practice schedule (set by the coach).

In late June, the Annual Coach meeting is held where things important information is handed out.

July-early August - Most teams begin practicing. Practice day/times/locations are set by the coach of the team.

early August - Annual Team Parent meeting is held where important information such as photo information is handed out. Season schedules are usually released.

late August-early September - House Regular Season begins.

October - U12-U14 House City Tournaments, usually two short games on a Saturday, a playoff on Sunday (no regular U12-U14 season games during these weekends).

early November - Regular Season Ends. Trophies/Awards given out to coaches after final standings have been verified.

Subject to change! Check the League Calendar frequently for updated information throughout the season.