Dear AYSO Community,

After a full year hiatus, AYSO Evanston is back for Spring 2021!  Our season will last seven weeks: starting on April 11, 2021 (weather permitting) and continuing through May 23, 2021. 

More to come, but here are the initial details for how this modified spring season will look:

• An amended pod-system
• Weekly Sunday games
• Up to two practices per week (08U and older)
• Everyone in attendance at practices or games (players, coaches, parents, etc.) must wear a mask for all practices and games (if you forget your mask, one will be provided)
• Player temperatures will be checked and logged prior to each practice and game
• Hand sanitizer will be available for parents, coaches & players
• If you travel out of state, we ask that you follow the CDC guidelines for after you travel, staying mindful of other families:
  • Get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after travel AND stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel
  • Even if you test negative, stay home and self-quarantine for the full 7 days
  • If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected
  • If you don't get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel
• Contact Tracing is mandated and should be reported to [email protected] and Tim Schmitt, Safety Director at [email protected]
• If your child is not feeling well or has any COVID symptoms, please let your coach know immediately and have them stay home until you are sure they are safe to return to play (inclusive of siblings)
• There will be no EXTRA program or inter-regional play this spring

As a reminder, all players are currently waitlisted. This allowed us to get a sense of how many coaches we need while not requiring any payment until we knew there would be a season.  Enrollment is also open for additional players, but we are in need of additional coaches for all age levels—especially 08U Boys, 06U, and 12U Girls.  Please join our team and help our children grow and develop through soccer by volunteering to coach! No experience is necessary. We have training and certifications available for all coaches, and our coach administrators are ready to support you to plan your training and game sessions.

Help our 100% volunteer organization provide this athletic and social experience for every child that wants to play. If your child would love to play on a team with a friend, you can make this happen by signing up to coach and indicating your co-coach preference.

As no payment was collected at the time of registration, you will receive an email requesting payment as your child is activated and assigned to a team. Please pay promptly so that we can procure needed safety and play equipment for the season. 

We reduced the fees from our standard rate to reflect that you will be paying for only Spring 2021 as Fall 2020 did not occur.  Those of you who opted for a credit from the canceled Spring 2020 season can now apply the credit toward registration.

In lieu of uniforms this year, and to help keep the cost down for our families, each child will receive two AYSO t-shirts—one orange and one blue.  The two shirts will provide the capacity to create teams in practices and games.  Each child will also receive a soccer ball, size-specific to division. 

We are excited to get back on the pitch, and please expect additional emails with details on your child’s team and coach.  The coach will schedule practices, and AYSO will provide the game schedule.

Finally, a note about our commissioner Murray Harris, who succeeded Peter Kaplan at the end of the 2019/20 season. Murray has thoughtfully determined that he needs to step away from the role due to professional commitments, as he works in the healthcare industry and must give all his spare time to COVID related matters.  Murray worked hard to keep our organization on track during these unprecedented times, and we wish Murray nothing but thanks and appreciation for both his time at the helm of Evanston AYSO and for the important work he is doing professionally.

I would like to introduce myself, John Martin, as I will be assuming the role of Interim Regional Commissioner.  For the past two years I have served as AYSO Registrar, and as a parent and coach of two AYSO athletes, I am excited to assume the responsibilities of serving you and your children in this new capacity to create the best possible AYSO environment.  This pandemic has been hard for all of us, and we believe the best step forward is to pull together (responsibly and socially distanced of course), get outside, and try to move back towards a sense of normalcy.

Coaches:  we are tentatively planning a Coach Kick-off for Sunday March 28, 2021 to distribute coach’s bags with all the supplies needed for the season.  Details to follow.

-John

John Martin

Commissioner | Evanston AYSO Region 735