VIP Program

Join Us for the VIP Soccerfest!

The 8th Annual VIP Soccerfest has been scheduled for the weekend of Oct 16-17,2010.  All AYSO VIP players and VIP teams are invited to a day of soccer fun and celebration!  See the downloads page for more information.


VIP Philosophy

The VIP program welcomes "any player who cannot participate successfully on a mainstream team." Our players have a wide range of developmental challenges (from strong ADHD through mild retardation to profound autism) and physical disabilities (from cerebral palsy to paraplegia).

We ask visiting mainstream teams to "play down" when they find that a VIP team or player is moving slowly, such as walking instead of running, playing with the 'off' foot, and so forth--even passing the ball directly to a VIP player who is severely challenged. (This is why we invite slightly older opponents, such as U12 teams to play U08 and U10 VIP teams; we find that slightly older, larger kids are more sensitive to the needs of the VIP players than they would be with opponents their own size.) Visitors get a five-minute briefing before the game and a chance to ask any questions they have. Within the first few minutes on the field, visiting players quickly realize how to "tune" their game--which VIP players they can challenge a bit and which ones they should give some room to.

All VIP games are modified and customized to the age and skill of the players involved. Games are short-sided, shorter in time, and played on smaller fields, so that even very slow players can be part of the action and nobody is pushed past their stamina. Offside calls are not usually made (though our teenagers might start using this at some point during the season). We don't usually switch ends at the half, and so on. Playing against our younger teams is not tiring for the visitors; our oldest girls' and boy's teams are physically more capable, but because games are short the visitors are rarely taxed.

Visiting coaches and referees should check in with the VIP coach prior to the game to find out what skill level the VIP team is at and how their game is modified. You can also call me with any questions at all about the game, the players, or the program. We welcome refs coming with the visitors (not all VIP teams have a ref parent). Referees keep time, signal balls out of play, and manage the standard pre- and post-game activities, but rarely need to call fouls.

Our kids are very enthusiastic; even those who can't communicate are still very glad to be on a soccer team. Know that they are all grateful for the chance to play--thank you!

More information on the VIP program can be found on the Concord AYSO VIP page.

02/7/11