Claremont Students Get Active and Have Fun with U-19 AYSO

Promoting friendship, learning, and fun, the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) appeals to many CHS students. AYSO is a national soccer program all throughout the U.S., Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago. It started in 1964 when a group of soccer enthusiasts created nine teams because they wanted American children to understand the game. AYSO currently consists of 50,000 teams and 500,000 players.

“I love how it’s so flexible and it focuses on the fun in sports, and the enjoyment of being on a team with friends and not winning, just having a good time. A lot of my friends are on my team and I’ve met a lot of new great people through AYSO,” sophomore Maissoun Hussein said. “My friends convinced me to join because I wasn’t doing swim this season so they said it would be a good idea to join something that was just for fun.”

The program is broken up into five different categories; AYSO Playground, AYSO Jamboree, the Core of AYSO, Extra™, and VIP. AYSO Playground is open to kids who are three to five years old, while AYSO Jamboree allows children four and up to play and teaches kids the basics of soccer. The Core of AYSO varies from the U-6 to U-19 age divisions. Extra™ offers a more serious level of soccer for players who have the abilities to perform at a higher level. Finally, VIP offers a quality soccer experience for people who have disabilities.

“I think that AYSO is fun and is a great way to meet new people and play soccer at the same time and the reason I play AYSO is because it’s my brothers last year he is able to play and I thought it’d be fun to play with him,” freshman and AYSO player Justin Tinajero said.

AYSO is a soccer program open to all children who want to have a fun and safe experience and is not like any other soccer club or high school team. All players get an equal amount of time to play instead of one or two getting left out on the bench.

“I find it a rare opportunity for the youth of Claremont to have a fun social activity that advocates exercise and sportsmanship. AYSO provides a fun, relaxing environment for soccer players that play at a more competitive level to the beginning players that are learning the sport,” AYSO U-19 Coach, Jim Wills said. “I continue to volunteer to this day because I enjoy watching team camaraderie and a good game of soccer. Most of all, I like seeing the happy faces that AYSO brings to the players.”

Students can sign up in the fall of 2015 for the next season of U-19 AYSO which will last from August to late November. AYSO is a fun way to meet new people and get in shape.