AYSO Alliance

What is the AYSO Alliance Program?

The AYSO Alliance program is an opportunity for high performance AYSO teams to play club soccer. The teams register in both AYSO and a local club league, and play against other Alliance, United, and/or club teams. Travel is required.

Alliance was developed primarily for two main environments:

1. An AYSO region that did not have enough neighboring competition, so they could register teams with a local club circuit.
2. A particular EXTRA or Tournament team had outperformed its competition, and wants to graduate to a higher level of club play.

Player Eligibility

Players are selected through tryouts, typically held in February or December, depending on the age group. Club league rules dictate when tryouts can occur. All players must be nine years old by December 31st of the upcoming season to be eligible to participate in the Alliance program.  

How is Alliance different than EXTRA?

EXTRA is a gaming circuit that consists of only AYSO teams. The teams play against each other, but stay internal to a particular AYSO Section or group of Sections (like SCEDSL).

Alliance is designed to plug competitive AYSO teams into an external club gaming circuit. They may only play outside club teams for the duration of their season but can enter AYSO Open Invitational tournaments.

How is Alliance different than United?

United is a structured club program, with paid coaches and directors. The program has several age groups within each United hub, and there is a strong club cohesiveness. There is a significant upfront registration and gear cost for United.

Alliance teams are high-performing Core or EXTRA teams with dedicated volunteer coaches. Teams that have been together for several years, players that can't afford club expenses, and/or coaches that want to retain their team identity are common traits of Alliance teams. The price of Alliance is a fraction of the cost of typical club soccer. Teams are still required to volunteer in their home AYSO Regions, through board membership or refereeing Core matches. Additional registration, uniform and administrative costs are required when compared the Core program.

Regional, Area, and Section Logistics

Alliance combines the best of AYSO and the best of club soccer, but there are some managerial hurdles to set up.

1. 

   A CalSouth player card
   Players and Coaches must be registered AYSO Affinity platform and in the respective state registration association, such as CalSouth.
2. Coaches must be registered and certified within AYSO, via AYSOU (powered by etrainu)
3. Coaches must be registered and certified with US Soccer and hold age-appropriate coaching licenses.
4. Players will need both AYSO and state-certified ID Cards.
5. Regions, Areas, or the Section will need to create an Alliance Club, with the intention of registering teams to a local club league or circuit.
6. Coaches will need to register their individual teams to that Alliance Club.
7. Regions will need to provide the minimum number of teams (usually 5 or 6) to construct a "club" for league registration, but that can be supplemented with Area and/or Sectional management.
8. Scheduling matches can be tricky. Club Referees will want several consecutive home games to avoid excessive traveling.
9. Team application must be completed by May for the following Fall season, and submitted to the Section Alliance President.

Starting-up and Maintaining an Alliance Program

It is highly recommended that Alliance is run at the Section level to ensure continuity and excellence. The AYSO Alliance Program Section Director Checklist is the place to start for all Sections or Areas looking to formalize existing Alliance programs or to form new ones. This document also exists in PPT presentation form. This checklist takes Section Directors step-by-step through the large amount of work it takes to set up and run Alliance programs successfully. As each club league has different requirements, this document should be modified as needed. Alliance Directors can use the State Association Contacts as a starting place to identify possible leagues in which Alliance teams could play.

Other Forms

Sections are encouraged to thoroughly vet all prospective Alliance coaches to ensure they are not only exceptional coaches, but that they are committed to following the Six Philosophies. A Coach Review application form can be adapted to the Section's needs.

The Alliance Coach Verification Form allows Alliance program administrators to verify that Alliance coaches are aware of their responsibilities.

The Regional Commissioner Verification Form ensures Regional Commissioners understand and agree with what they are required to host Alliance programs.