CYSC Coaches Manual
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Most CYSC teams play in the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL – wyslsoccer.org). Generally, there is a 10 game season during the fall and a 10 game season during the spring. In some cases teams only play 9 games during a season based on the number of teams in a specific division. The WYSL coach’s handbook is available on the WYSL website.
2. U10 and U11 teams will typically have between 12 and 14 players and the U12 and older teams will typically have between 15 and 18 players. Team sizes will be determined by the board. The U9 and U10 teams play 7 v 7 (including goalies), the U11 and U12 teams 9 v 9 and the U13 and older teams play 11 v 11. The number of CYSC teams in an age group may therefore diminish as players get older.
3. At U10 and older the teams will be chosen based on ability. The A team will likely play in a higher division than the B team and the B team will likely play in a higher division than the C team.
4. Teams at the U9-U11 levels should emphasize player development. The success of these teams will not be measured by the number of wins but instead whether the player’s soccer skills have improved and their passion for soccer has grown.
5. A player must reside in either the Town of New Castle or be eligible to attend schools in the Chappaqua Central School District to be eligible to play for a team in the CYSC.
6. Each age group has a CYSC age group coordinator. Any issues that coaches or parents have should be brought to the immediate attention of the age group coordinator. The age group coordinators can be found on the CYSC website.
7. The age group coordinator (or another board member) will also assist in administering the tryout process and the team registration process.
COACH SELECTION PROCESS
8. Anyone who wants to coach needs to submit a coaching application to CYSC.
9. Coaches are not chosen until AFTER the teams are selected.
10. Toward the end of the fall and the spring season the players will be asked to evaluate the coaches and the trainers on a confidential basis. These evaluations will be taken into account when the CYSC coaching committee determines who will coach the following season and the general feedback from these evaluations will be shared, if necessary, with the coaches on an individual basis.
11. There is no assurance that if you coach one year you will again be appointed as the coach the following year. The committee will take into account the evaluations, the soccer knowledge and experience of the coach, how many players from the team decided not to continue playing in the program, the team’s WYSL sportsmanship ratings for the prior year and any other factors that the committee determines are relevant.
TRYOUTS AND ORGANIZATION OF TEAMS
12. During May of each year the CYSC will conduct open tryouts to select teams for the following school year (the fall season and the spring season). Players that are currently playing on a CYSC team are required to attend the tryouts and are not guaranteed a spot on any team.
13. A player needs to be age appropriate to attend a tryout.
14. At the tryouts for U10 and older, a player can specifically try out for goalie. If the player makes the team as a goalie at the U10 and U11 levels the player is required to play 50% of the game in goal and at the U12 and higher levels is required to play the entire game in goal. Each coach will have the discretion to play a goalie in goal for a shorter period of time, or not at all.
15. A player that is selected to a team is required to play during both the fall and spring seasons, and is financially obligated for the entire year's dues.
16. Before the end of the fall and spring seasons, coaches and trainers are required to rank all their players in order of ability. Coaches cannot rank their own children. These rankings will be sent to one CYSC board member and will be kept confidential. These ranking will be used to assist in the tryout and team selection process. They should also be used by coaches to track player development.
17. Each team will have 1 head coach who is the trainer assigned to the team for game days. In addition, each team will have 1 parent coach who serves as an assistant coach. Only the head coach and 1 assistant coach are permitted on the sidelines during a game. Each coach is required to register on Got Sport and complete the required background checks, training certifications and periodic recertifications where required.
18. The head coach will be responsible for running the practices, creating the weekly line ups and the final coaching decisions during the games. All assistant coaches will be responsible for assisting during the practices and during the games to help the head coach with all issues that arise in connection with the players, parents and game officials.
GAMES AND SCHEDULES
19. After each season teams may be moved between divisions based on their performance during the season. New teams will be seeded by CYSC.
20. The final schedule will be received approximately 2 weeks prior to the start of the season. The schedule will be posted on the WYSL website and this site. Field addresses are linked within the schedule.
21. Once the WYSL game schedule is posted, check to see if your team has any TBS (to be scheduled) games. Contact the CYSC registrar to obtain a field and two possible dates. Then contact the opposing coach. Once the date is agreed to, you need to submit a make-up form to WYSL. The form is located under "forms" on the left hand side of the WYSL website. TBS games must be scheduled by the 3rd game of the season. They can be played at anytime and do not need to be played on Sundays.
22. Teams can also participate in the State Cup run through ENYYSA (enysoccer.com), which is a season long tournament.
23. There are tournaments that teams are encouraged to participate in on Labor Day, Columbus Day and Memorial Day. A list of tournaments can be found on the WYSL website. You need to inform your teams well in advance to make sure you will have enough players. You can have a tournament roster that includes players from another CYSC team as long as age-appropriate. Separately, most tournaments permit you to bring 3 guest players (players outside of CYSC).
24. Approved WYSL match cards with player photos need to be printed out weekly and brought to each game. The referee will check the roster before each game. By Thursday of each week a coach should contact the coach of the opposing team to confirm the game time, field location and color of jerseys to be worn. Always tell your teams to bring both jerseys to each game. The coaches should wear their CYSC coaching shirts at EVERY game and tournament.
25. Coaches and players should arrive at least 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of a game. Prior to the game the coaches should make sure the players are stretched out and should run organized drills.
26. Substitutions during a game can be made at any stoppage of play. Players may only enter from the center line and must wait for the player that he or she is replacing to be off the field.
27. The ref may require each team to provide a linesperson for a game who is responsible to indicate when a ball is out of play.
28. The home team is required to provide two game balls.
29. If no referee shows up for a game the game may be refereed by an assistant coach. Each team should provide a referee for a half unless they agree to have the same person referee the entire game.
1. Most CYSC teams play in the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL – wyslsoccer.org). Generally, there is a 10 game season during the fall and a 10 game season during the spring. In some cases teams only play 9 games during a season based on the number of teams in a specific division. The WYSL coach’s handbook is available on the WYSL website.
2. U10 and U11 teams will typically have between 12 and 14 players and the U12 and older teams will typically have between 15 and 18 players. Team sizes will be determined by the board. The U9 and U10 teams play 7 v 7 (including goalies), the U11 and U12 teams 9 v 9 and the U13 and older teams play 11 v 11. The number of CYSC teams in an age group may therefore diminish as players get older.
3. At U10 and older the teams will be chosen based on ability. The A team will likely play in a higher division than the B team and the B team will likely play in a higher division than the C team.
4. Teams at the U9-U11 levels should emphasize player development. The success of these teams will not be measured by the number of wins but instead whether the player’s soccer skills have improved and their passion for soccer has grown.
5. A player must reside in either the Town of New Castle or be eligible to attend schools in the Chappaqua Central School District to be eligible to play for a team in the CYSC.
6. Each age group has a CYSC age group coordinator. Any issues that coaches or parents have should be brought to the immediate attention of the age group coordinator. The age group coordinators can be found on the CYSC website.
7. The age group coordinator (or another board member) will also assist in administering the tryout process and the team registration process.
COACH SELECTION PROCESS
8. Anyone who wants to coach needs to submit a coaching application to CYSC.
9. Coaches are not chosen until AFTER the teams are selected.
10. Toward the end of the fall and the spring season the players will be asked to evaluate the coaches and the trainers on a confidential basis. These evaluations will be taken into account when the CYSC coaching committee determines who will coach the following season and the general feedback from these evaluations will be shared, if necessary, with the coaches on an individual basis.
11. There is no assurance that if you coach one year you will again be appointed as the coach the following year. The committee will take into account the evaluations, the soccer knowledge and experience of the coach, how many players from the team decided not to continue playing in the program, the team’s WYSL sportsmanship ratings for the prior year and any other factors that the committee determines are relevant.
TRYOUTS AND ORGANIZATION OF TEAMS
12. During May of each year the CYSC will conduct open tryouts to select teams for the following school year (the fall season and the spring season). Players that are currently playing on a CYSC team are required to attend the tryouts and are not guaranteed a spot on any team.
13. A player needs to be age appropriate to attend a tryout.
14. At the tryouts for U10 and older, a player can specifically try out for goalie. If the player makes the team as a goalie at the U10 and U11 levels the player is required to play 50% of the game in goal and at the U12 and higher levels is required to play the entire game in goal. Each coach will have the discretion to play a goalie in goal for a shorter period of time, or not at all.
15. A player that is selected to a team is required to play during both the fall and spring seasons, and is financially obligated for the entire year's dues.
16. Before the end of the fall and spring seasons, coaches and trainers are required to rank all their players in order of ability. Coaches cannot rank their own children. These rankings will be sent to one CYSC board member and will be kept confidential. These ranking will be used to assist in the tryout and team selection process. They should also be used by coaches to track player development.
17. Each team will have 1 head coach who is the trainer assigned to the team for game days. In addition, each team will have 1 parent coach who serves as an assistant coach. Only the head coach and 1 assistant coach are permitted on the sidelines during a game. Each coach is required to register on Got Sport and complete the required background checks, training certifications and periodic recertifications where required.
18. The head coach will be responsible for running the practices, creating the weekly line ups and the final coaching decisions during the games. All assistant coaches will be responsible for assisting during the practices and during the games to help the head coach with all issues that arise in connection with the players, parents and game officials.
GAMES AND SCHEDULES
19. After each season teams may be moved between divisions based on their performance during the season. New teams will be seeded by CYSC.
20. The final schedule will be received approximately 2 weeks prior to the start of the season. The schedule will be posted on the WYSL website and this site. Field addresses are linked within the schedule.
21. Once the WYSL game schedule is posted, check to see if your team has any TBS (to be scheduled) games. Contact the CYSC registrar to obtain a field and two possible dates. Then contact the opposing coach. Once the date is agreed to, you need to submit a make-up form to WYSL. The form is located under "forms" on the left hand side of the WYSL website. TBS games must be scheduled by the 3rd game of the season. They can be played at anytime and do not need to be played on Sundays.
22. Teams can also participate in the State Cup run through ENYYSA (enysoccer.com), which is a season long tournament.
23. There are tournaments that teams are encouraged to participate in on Labor Day, Columbus Day and Memorial Day. A list of tournaments can be found on the WYSL website. You need to inform your teams well in advance to make sure you will have enough players. You can have a tournament roster that includes players from another CYSC team as long as age-appropriate. Separately, most tournaments permit you to bring 3 guest players (players outside of CYSC).
24. Approved WYSL match cards with player photos need to be printed out weekly and brought to each game. The referee will check the roster before each game. By Thursday of each week a coach should contact the coach of the opposing team to confirm the game time, field location and color of jerseys to be worn. Always tell your teams to bring both jerseys to each game. The coaches should wear their CYSC coaching shirts at EVERY game and tournament.
25. Coaches and players should arrive at least 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of a game. Prior to the game the coaches should make sure the players are stretched out and should run organized drills.
26. Substitutions during a game can be made at any stoppage of play. Players may only enter from the center line and must wait for the player that he or she is replacing to be off the field.
27. The ref may require each team to provide a linesperson for a game who is responsible to indicate when a ball is out of play.
28. The home team is required to provide two game balls.
29. If no referee shows up for a game the game may be refereed by an assistant coach. Each team should provide a referee for a half unless they agree to have the same person referee the entire game.