As an all-volunteer organization, AYSO depends entirely on parent volunteers to act as coaches and referees.  We are always looking for people who are interested in coaching their kids in soccer!

Many of our first-year coaches in the younger divisions (6U – 8U and even 10U) have never coached or necessarily even played soccer before but yet have a very successful year. For those of you who are considering coaching your child but do not feel comfortable with your knowledge of the game, we offer plenty of Training Clinics and support to make your experience a success.

The Coaches section of our website outlines the process you must follow to become a fully qualified AYSO coach and provides some background information specific to coaches about how we prepare for and run our Fall soccer program.

A quick guide to the certification process is outlined in the following document:
Hillsborough Coach & Referee Certification Guide

Hillsborough AYSO assigns a parent-volunteer “Division Director” to manage each age/gender division, starting shortly after the spring registration process through the end of the Fall season.  Your Division Director will begin to contact coach volunteers after the spring registration events and will be your primary point of contact with the AYSO organization.  In addition, for questions relating specifically to your coaching credentials and certifications, please contact our Coach Administrator at [email protected].

You may have attended one of our walk-in registration events and put your name down as a coach volunteer.  That means we know you want to coach in a particular age division, but it doesn’t count as formal registration.  You still need to formally register as a volunteer through our website.  Formal registration is critical because that process will put you into the national AYSO system, allowing AYSO to complete mandatory background checks and other requirements to ensure our kids are protected.  Once that process is complete, we will know how to find you and will include you in all coach-related communications as we prepare for the Fall season.

If you did not sign up as a coach at our walk-in registration event, please complete the formal registration process and then email [email protected] indicating the age and gender division you want to coach. Be sure you are signing up for the correct age division for your child here.  If you are volunteering to be a Head Coach and you want to request a specific person as your assistant coach, please see the Registration FAQ question on how to do this.

Once you have registered as a volunteer coach, the Hillsborough AYSO Division Director for your age group will be in touch with you via email with regular updates as we move through team formation, assignments of coaches to teams, coach certifications/training and other preparations for the season.

To be an AYSO coach, you need to do the following:

1. Register as an AYSO volunteer by clicking on the “Register Now” link on this website's home page.  Returning coaches must renew their registration because registration expires at the end of each year.
2. Sign up for an age division and be sure you are signing up for the correct age division for your child here.
3.  Take the AYSO Safe Haven, concussion awareness training, and other certifications and training. A checklist is provided in your AYSO account and the guide is here: Hillsborough Coach & Referee Certification Guide
   

Practice slots are allocated to teams in age divisions 8U and above at the Mandatory Coaches meeting in June.  Generally, fields are assigned based on the division (i.e., 8U at Crocker, 10U at District, 12U at West School and 14U at North School).

If inclement weather is present or in the forecast or we have had recent rain, please check the Field page for field closure details and our general policy. Please honor any signs of field closure even if it means losing a practice. Sometimes, the fields are closed suddenly before we are notified and we need you to honor that closure.

At all locations, please avoid worn areas to limit damage to the turf, and use good judgment. If the players are getting muddy, it may be time to shift the practice to a less exposed area of the field. Note that many of our fields show bare areas after repeated use, particularly in front of the goals, which are easily torn up by cleats. Please practice away from these areas, and DO NOT USE THE GOAL AREAS FOR PRACTICES. Use cones to mark off practice areas which avoid the worn spots.