Development of a coaching program for the American youth soccer organization

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) was formed in\ud 1964 in Torrance, California. The purpose of the organization\ud wast and still is, the training of young people in the\ud skill of the sport, and in the organization of. soccer teams\ud and leagues for play. The growth of this program has been phenomenal. In 1964\ud nine teams were organized for league play. During the past\ud year over 9700 teams participated in organized leagues.\ud This project was the outcome of this growth. The AYSO\ud leadership recognized that two major problems faced the\ud organization: organizational planning to manage the rapid\ud growth of teams and leagues, and the preparation and training\ud of volunteer coaches. In 1974 this writer joined the\ud AYSO to develop a coaching program.\ud The specific focus of this project was the organization of\ud coaching schools and the designing of materials needed to\ud implement teaching soccer skills to youngsters. The project.\ud represented over one thousand volunteer hours contributed\ud by this writer to AYSO. Emerging from this effort evolved\ud a Coaches Training Manual, training films, a basic skill\ud program, and coaching schools that were implemented during\ud the summers of 1976, 1977, and for this summer 1978.\ud The AYSO continues to grow at an exponential rate. The\ud need for training volunteer coaches is expected to increase\ud to 52,000 by 1981. This project will greatly assist the\ud organization to meet this goal