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Parent Manual

Parent Manual

Parent Manual

 

Parents, welcome to AZ Youth Sports!  We are excited to have you join us this season.  This manual was created to ensure you are well-informed and ready to jump into our exciting sports program!

*Please reference our cheat sheet during the season for quick information.*

OVERVIEW

We are a private league whose focus is on sportsmanship and fun.  You’ll notice that the kids have a lot of fun in this league because we provide a low-pressure and family-friendly experience.  If they’re not smiling, we’re failing!

LOCATIONS

Our league is organized by city/town.  We are in Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Chandler.  Even if you are not a resident, you can register and play at ANY of our locations through our different websites.  For instance, if you live in Gilbert but want to play your home games at our Mesa location, you can do that! Your jersey will have your city/town name on it.

CALENDAR

In general, a season follows this format and exact dates will be posted on the season page:

  • Registration Opens (generally 1-2 months before)

  • Practices Begin (generally 2 weeks of practices before games start)

  • Games Begin 

  • Seasons are generally 6 weeks with a 7th week for tournament teams in the championships

REGISTRATION

Registration is generally $65/child.  Late registration jumps up to $75 and then to $85.  Late registration happens when a deadline has passed or when a division is almost full.  You can register at any of our city/town sites:

TEAM GROUPINGS

We group teams by location to reduce travel time to practices and so you can get to know other families in your neighborhood.  During registration, you are asked for the nearest elementary school to your home. This is so that we can put you on a team with kids that live close to you.  If you are a late registrant or if you live far from most of our teams, your travel distance to practices and games may be greater than normal.

TEAM COACHES

As with most rec leagues across the world, teams are coached by parent volunteers.  Some coaches will be first-timers and others will have vast experience coaching. The coach you get will depend on a variety of factors (your home address, if you requested a specific coach, availability of coaches, etc.)  Coaches will attend a coaches’ meeting where plenty of information will be provided to them on how to successfully coach your team.

Many teams will not have coaches and parents will need to decide on a head coach.

PRACTICES

Practices are generally 1-2 times per week for about an hour each.  Your head coach determines the practice days, times and locations. The league does not provide practice facilities for Fall, Winter and Spring seasons.  Most teams practice at city parks, community parks, retention basins or reserve a location elementary school for their practices. We can help in finding a suitable practice location for your team!

If your coach holds more than one practice each week, you are only required to attend one of them.  It is highly recommended that you attend all practices, though, so your child gets as much experience and instruction as possible.

TEAM JERSEYS/UNIFORM

Each child will be given a game shirt/jersey.  For most sports, these are 100% cotton tee shirts with your city logo on the front and player number on the back.  Your shirt may have sponsor logos on them. Jerseys are usually handed out to your coaches about a week before the season’s games start. It is REQUIRED for your child to wear their team jersey in order to play their game. If you have misplaced or lost yours, replacement jerseys are available for you to purchase. You may exchange your shirt for a different size, but the shirt being exchanged cannot be worn or washed. In the case that your child has switched teams after already wearing their previous team’s jersey, they will need to purchase a jersey for their new team if not the same color. Any shirt related items need to be taken to the office and our receptionist there will help you. We will not be doing shirt exchanges and/or pickups at the game locations. 

EQUIPMENT PROVIDED BY PARENTS

Here is what you as a parent need to provide for your child this season:

  • Baseball/softball - batting helmet, glove, baseball pants (color chosen by head coach), socks, cleats (non-metal)

  • Basketball - solid black shorts, socks, basketball shoes, practice basketball

  • Flag football - solid black shorts, socks, cleats, mouthguard, practice football

  • Soccer - solid black shorts, shin guards, socks, cleats, practice soccer ball

  • Volleyball - solid black shorts, knee pads, socks, shoes, practice volleyball

GAME PLAY FORMATS

Our sport divisions are played in two different formats - rec and tournament.  

Our rec divisions are parent-coached and, in some cases, coach-officiated, too. There are no wins and losses recorded in our rec division and score keeping is optional.  Rec divisions include all of baseball, most of soccer (U4, U6 & U8), softball and the two youngest divisions of basketball (U6 & U8). There are no tournaments for these divisions.

Our tournament divisions have referees provided, the score is kept and wins and losses matter.  The playoffs are seeded by win-loss records and there is a single-elimination tournament at the end of the season.  

GAMES

Most games are played Saturday mornings (generally between 8am and 2pm).  It is your responsibility to check the schedule to know when you play and on which field.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your game start time.  In order to keep the games on time, warm-up should occur off the game court/field.

Game time lengths are as follows:

  • Tee ball & Coach Pitch Baseball/softball - 50 minutes

  • Kid pitch baseball & softball - 60-80 minutes

  • Basketball

    • U6 - 10-minute halves + 1-minute halftime

    • U8 - 12-minute halves + 1-minute halftime

    • U10 & U12 - 14 minute halves + 1-minute halftime

  • Flag football - 20-minute halves with 5-minute halftime

  • Soccer - 20-minute halves with 5-minute halftime

  • Volleyball - first team to win 2 sets

GAME RULES

Rules can be found on the rules pages

  1. Baseball rules

  2. Basketball rules

  3. Flag Football rules

  4. Soccer rules

  5. Volleyball rules

PLAYING TIME

Playing time should be even and fair.  The only acceptable causes for shortened playing time are a child’s lack of desire to play, exhaustion, disobedience or the missing of multiple practices.

Player opportunities should be fair.  For instance, in flag football, every child must get at least one ball carry or pass thrown to him/her in each game.  In soccer, each player must be given the opportunity to play different positions that allow them to learn to score and play defense.  This league is to allow the kids to grow in their respective sports.

TRAVEL GAMES

Many teams will play 1-2 away games during the regular season.  This is generally for the older age divisions that play competitively but may also happen with younger age divisions.  Away games are typically within 15 minutes of home game locations.

WEBSITES

You can find the following information on any of our websites:

-Game rules

-Game Schedule

-Cheat Sheet

-Resources for coaches (ex. Practice outlines)

-Game maps

 

SPORTSMANSHIP

By participating in this league, you agree to have a positive and encouraging attitude with the children, coaches, opponents and referees.  There is absolutely no yelling, arguing or berating others.