Honoring the Game... the R.O.O.T.S. of the matter.

Sportsmanship may seem like an out-of-date concept today when a few professional and amateur athletes, coaches and their fans act in ways we would not want our children to imitate. The Redding Youth Soccer League has always encouraged sportsmanship, but we have not always consistently gotten this message out to you. We intend to do more than talk about good sportsmanship. We want to go about doing this by teaching everyone in our league to "Honor the Game".

Remember that sportsmanship extends beyond the players and coaches too. Team parents are going to be encouraged to get this message out to the parents also and we should ALL be the "culture keepers" on the sidelines. Be a good role model. Honor the Game when you are on the sideline. Encourage other parents to Honor the Game. Cheer both teams. Always end games with a cheer for the opponent and the officials.Honoring the game gets to the... R.O.O.T.S. of the matter. This acronym stands for:

Rules: We don't bend the rules to win. Our coaches know the rules and teach their players to play within the spirit and letter of the rules.

Opponents: We respect our opponents. Without them we cannot play. They force us to be at our best to win. We applaud good play by either team.

Officials: Our officials, for the most part, are Redding Youth Soccer league players and are part of the RYSL team. Treat them as you would treat your own son or daughter.

Teammates: We never do anything to embarrass our team. We build them up because the better they play the better the team plays.

Self: We try to live up to our own standard regardless of what others do.

RYSL Division 3 Policy (Revised February 6, 2006)

The Redding Youth Soccer League, hereinafter referred to as "RYSL" has established a Division III Program, hereinafter referred to as "Program", for the development of its players.

Article I - Purpose

The Program offers an environment for dedicated and skilled players to develop and play. The Program is classified as a Division III youth developmental soccer program. (Recreational Teams are Division IV; Competitive Teams are Division I.)

Article II - Mission

The goal of the Program is to provide an opportunity for players and teams who have the ability and the desire to participate in a developmental level of soccer play above the Division IV level of play.

The goal of the RYSL is to build and support a strong Program that is capable of fielding two or more teams per age group of qualified players beginning at the U12 level of play. It is the profound and sincere hope of the RYSL that the Program be comprised of age pure teams and that these teams are afforded the opportunity to develop and grow into the future.

Article III - Coaches

1. All Coaches requesting participation in the Program will be required to submit an application to the Division III Coordinator. The application shall consist of the individual’s qualifications, license held, and years of experience.

2. All coaches must complete the CYSA licensing level training in accordance with the rules of District IX unless otherwise approved by District IX

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3. All coaches must be approved by the RYSL Board of Directors.
4. Any team which, through its responsible officials, officers, or representatives, attempts to induce a registered player of any team under the jurisdiction of the CYSA to leave his/her team before the end of the current seasonal year shall be deemed to have committed an offense for poaching and shall be dealt with by the Board of Directors of the RYSL.
5. When selecting players for a team it is the coach’s responsibility to ensure that no player is denied participation due to financial reasons.
6. It is the responsibility of each coach to ensure that the team adheres to Program Guidelines, rules and regulations of the (CYSA) California Youth Soccer Association, USYSA (United States Youth Soccer Association), USSF (United States Soccer Federation), and FIFA (Federation Internationals de Football Association).
7. It is strongly recommended that each player be allowed to play approximately fifty (50%) percent of each game provided there are no:
   1. Unexcused absences from practices or games.
   2. Unexcused tardiness or leaving early.
   3. Poor sportsmanship or conduct.

Article IV - Team Responsibility

1. Sportsmanship is the number one priority of the RYSL. Each team represents the RYSL and shall do so in an exemplary manner.
2. Each team is responsible for its own tournament fees and any fines assessed against the team.
3. Each team is responsible for its own uniforms. Uniforms must be in any combination of RYSL's representative colors which are red, black, and white. The RYSL logo must be displayed on all jerseys.
4. Team fund-raising is at the discretion of each individual team.
5. Teams playing as guests on any fields (home or away) are responsible for their litter and the condition in which they leave their area.
6. It is the responsibility of the coach to contact the opposing team’s coach three days prior to each scheduled game to confirm field location and game time.

Article V - Registration, Transfers and Releases

The following policies govern the use of transfers and releases of players from rostered teams, wherein they don't conflict with CYSA or USYSA rules and policies. In cases of rule conflicts, CYSA/USYSA rules shall supersede RYSL policies.

1. Once player pass cards are issued, a player transfer or release will be permitted only with RYSL Board approval. (CYSA 4:06:01)
   1. A team shall be limited to a total of three (3) transferred players per seasonal year. A transfer means the movement of a currently, or previously rostered-USYSA player onto another roster, or player who returns to the same roster within the current seasonal year. The movement of a currently rostered player off a roster shall not be a transfer. Neither this section nor any other provision of the Constitution and Bylaws, Procedures, Rules and Policy Interpretation Memoranda shall be interpreted or otherwise construed to make the movement of a currently rostered player off a team a transfer.
   2. A player may be released from a team by the coach only if the player is unable to play for one of the following reasons:
      1. The player has violated USYSA, CYSA or league rules.
      2. The player has moved beyond reasonable travel distance.
      3. The player is injured in such a manner that the player will not be able to participate for the remainder of the seasonal year.
      4. Dissolution of teams. A dissolved team can be defined as a team which has been registered and has been playing but ceases to exist before less than one-half (1/2) of their league season has been played.
   3. A player may voluntarily request to be released from a team.
   4. A player upon reaching his/her eighteenth birthday will not be required a parent/guardian approval for transfer or release.

Article VI - Player Selection Process

In order to establish an equitable and positive experience for players who choose to make the commitment and have the ability to participate in the Program, the following processes and protocol will be enforced.

1. To provide equal opportunity, tryout dates should be posted at time of registration. In addition, the division III coordinator will notify all eligible players of tryouts.
2. Only players who have registered for the playing season for which tryouts are being held may tryout during the selection process. Players must attend at least one tryout.
3. A Coach shall not allow a player to participate in the selection process unless the Coach has a signed CYSA Medical Release form. It is the responsibility of each coach to ensure that he/she has a medical release for each player participating in the selection process.
4. The final player selection shall be determined by the Coach. The Coach will be encouraged by the RYSL to use multiple evaluators during the try-out selection process. The evaluators shall be sufficiently qualified to assist the Coach with input regarding the ability of players to perform at the Division III level of play.
5. Once player selections are made the roster of selected players will be submitted to the Division III Coordinators for review.
   1. This final roster submission will be in the form of a copy of a typed team roster with copies of each player’s RYSL Registration attached.
   2. The final roster must be submitted within (7) days of the last try-out.
   3. The roster will not be announced to players or parents until it has been reviewed and approved by the Division III Coordinator.
   4. If violations to these guidelines are found then approval of the Board must be obtained prior to submission of the roster to the League Registrar.
6. As defined in Article II of this Division III policy it is the goal of the RYSL to promote and encourage age pure teams to the extent possible. Therefore, players will be required to play in their appropriate age classification when age pure teams exist. Each team will be allowed only two exceptions to this requirement. All potential exceptions must be discussed with the Division III coordinator before try-outs or as soon as practicable.
7. The following comprises a Memorandum of Understanding for establishing guidelines to achieve the intentions of Article VI.6.
   1. The RYSL will endeavor to promote an age pure goal of qualified players at the Division III level of play beginning with a younger U12 boys team and a younger U12 girls team.
   2. The RYSL will encourage the age pure goal outlined in Item A) as a basis for building the future of the Program. The RYSL will actively encourage the same age pure goal to the extent possible at all Division III levels of play to strengthen the future of the existing Program.
   3. In any given playing season, it is not commonly known if there will be a sufficient number of qualified coaches or players to field more than one team at any particular Division III level of play. The RYSL will endeavor to explore the player interest level in all age groups prior to the Fall registration in an attempt to make further decision regarding the Program.
   4. The RYSL will make every effort to ensure that there is an adequate number of qualified and dedicated coaches in place for all Division III levels of play.
   5. The Division III coaches for all age groups will be encouraged to work together and honor the intent of Article II by adhering to the age pure goal. The RYSL understands that it will not be practicable to prevent a lower division player from playing up to an upper division team. In those instances, the RYSL will encourage Division III coaches to maximize the total number of players moving up from a lower division team to an upper division team to a total of two players. Division III coaches will be encouraged to inform potential players who would be deemed to be playing up from a lower division team of the intent of the age pure goal, and to ask players to reconsider their choice before playing up.
   6. The RYSL will endeavor to further the education and knowledge amongst their general membership that the Division III program exists and what the Division III program is meant to accomplish. The RYSL will establish a Division III committee that works under the guidance of the Division III coordinator and is accountable to the RYSL board. This Division III committee will be approved by the RYSL board, but will not necessarily be comprised of RYSL board members. Under the direction of the Division III coordinator, the Division III committee will make use of the U8, U10 and U12 age group coordinators to assist with this education and information process within the RYSL general membership. As the RYSL website continues to develop, and to the extent practical, appropriate attention will be given within the RYSL website to further explain and promote the Program along with keeping the RYSL general membership informed.
   7. It is the hope of the RYSL that all Division III coaches, no matter the age group nor the gender coached will approach the Division III policy with the improvement and the advancement of the Program in mind. RYSL will ask and require that all Division III coaches work together to embrace a Program wide mindset versus an individual team mindset.

DISTRICT IX COACH LICENSING POLICY (Revised Summer 2006)

The goal for District IX is to have all of our coaches obtain the CYSA coaching license that corresponds to the division and age of the team they are coaching.

Head Coaches

Assistant Coaches

Transition Period For Coaches with Ongoing Teams

There is be a transition period for coaches who currently have a team, but do not hold the proper license under the new guidelines. All current coaches must comply with the following if they are to be issued a coaches pass.

New Coaches

A new coach must obtain a CYSA F License their first year and a CYSA E License the following year.