Why AYSO & Why Soccer?
AYSO is the way to go for young players who are just learning the game. AYSO is standardized, you know you’re signing up for a program that emphasizes teaching the basic elements of the game, sportsmanship and soccer as recreational activity that the children can stick with for years to come.
In the AYSO program, kids play on a small field with the playing area increasing some as they get bigger each year until eventually they’re ready for full field. It is also co-ed for several years. That’s important, because those early years of playing on the same team and against members of the opposite sex will help children avoid committing acts of gender stereotypes and discrimination when they get older.
Soccer is the best sport for school-age children because it is low-cost, accessible, and does not require much equipment. It’s a great cardiovascular workout and a fantastic way to combat childhood obesity. It helps kids fine tune their coordination and motor skills. And it involves strategies and tactics where problem-solving skills come into play.
As the most popular sport in the world, soccer is a social studies lesson in itself. Kids will be interested to hear how children like them from so many different countries enjoy the game. There’s the story of Pele, the Brazilian star who grew up playing in his bare feet with a ball made of used socks. He became an international superstar by the age of 17 and basically introduced the game to American youth when he came here to play professionally in the 1970s.
Introduce a young child to soccer at an early age, and they may aspire to do great things.
