Thanks for visiting North Tahoe AYSO! We hope you enjoy our new web site. Or really, we should say your new web site. This site, like AYSO in general, is created by and for the residents of the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The league is an opportunity for our kids to have fun playing an exciting, action packed game, and an opportunity for us as parents to enjoy this experience with them. There is nothing quite like spending a sunny fall day watching your kids having a blast running up and down the field. To keep this experience positive, all of us should make sure that we are acting in the best possible manner at all times during a game, modeling the type of behavior we expect out of our kids. This includes (but is not limited to) cheering on and congratulating the opposing team, being supportive of all the players on the field and parents on the sideline (including teams from other regions), and refraining from yelling at your child with instructions on how to play the game while they are playing it. Each team has a volunteer coach who has prepared the kids to play the game, and who has a game plan he or she is hoping to implement. It is difficult to get all the kids on the same page when they have multiple parents (whose advice, of course, they always listen to!) yelling at them to "do this" or "do that". The kids love to hear cheering and support, but it's best to leave it at that and let the coaches do the coaching. If you just can't control yourself and feel you have to yell more than encouragement, that is a clear indication that you need to volunteer to coach next year! Please read Ann Lindemann's article originally written for the Tahoe Quarterly and currently posted in our News section to learn more about how our behaviors as parents affect our kids. You can also read the AYSO Parent Pledge just below Ann's article.

In the spirit of sportsmanship, we have created a 5 goal differential guideline that we like to follow. When one team is up by five goals (which is a lot in soccer) we ask that they tone down their play and try to score less often for the rest of the game to try and avoid final scores of 10 to 1, etc. When this situation arises, the coach will talk with his players and ask them to change the way they are playing the game in order to keep the score from getting out of hand. He may do this by asking the players to pass more before they try to score or shoot only with their off foot. He might tell his players that only players who have not scored are allowed to score, or he might move stronger players to defense to take them out of scoring position. All of these strategies are designed to keep his players in the game and allow them to continue having fun without demoralizing the other team. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the 5 goal differential guideline is just that; it's a guideline - not a firm and fast rule. It may happen that the leading team may score another goal or two despite the coach's best efforts to keep that from happening. Keep in mind that the kids are still playing the game! If Johnny has the opportunity to score a goal, and that is the only opportunity he has had to score all year, it would be a shame for him to pass up that chance.

We are all very lucky to live in this community. The beauty of this area is not just in the mountains and lakes, but in the people as well. We have very few "soccer problems" compared to larger urban areas. Let's keep it that way. Play on! Please send us an e-mail to info@northtahoesoccer.org or call us at 583-PLAY if you have any questions.