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VIRGINIA YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION

JANUARY 2024

LEADERSHIP REPORT IMPORTANT DATES 2/8/24 - 2/10/24 - US SOCCER ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2/18/24 - VYSA WORKSHOPS/AGM & GALA AWARDS DINNER 2/23/24 - 2/25/24 - VYSA ODP FRIENDLIES 3/26/24 - 4/4/24 - VYSA ODP INTERNATIONAL TRIP TO PORTUGAL

WHAT’S NEW TOPSOCCER There is a new TOPSoccer program in Charlottesville led by Katie Kenny, along with the strong support from Jim Kupec and the Charlottesville Alliance Sports Club. Richmond City FC made a donation to TOPSoccer in support of starting a new TOPSOccer program in RIchmond. For more information on how to start a TOPSoccer contact John Schlenker at piedmonttopsoccer@gmail.com.

STATE REFEREE COMMITTEE Pat Delaney has resigned as the Chairman of the State Referee Committee (SRC) after serving seventeen (17) years in that role! Thank you, Pat, for your significant contributions to the game in that role with the SRC and for the many additional years of service to the soccer community in Virginia! Mort Sajadian is the new Chairman of the State Referee Committee. Welcome Mort, VYSA is excited to have you on board! To reach Mort, contact him at mortsajadian@gmail.com. Tom Frank has retired after 14 years of amazing service to the State Referee Program. Thank you Tom for your contributions to the SRC! Patrick McFall is new State Referee Registrar. Tom is one of the referee mentors and will continue to serve the program by sharing his more than 30 years of refereeing and instruction experience to help new referees.

The Virginia Youth Soccer Associations Awards Gala will take place on Sunday, February 18th, 2024, at The Fredericksburg Convention Center! Please join us in celebrating the 20222023 season Award Winners and the 2024 Hall of Fame inductees.

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The AGM will be held at the Fredericksburg Convention Center on February 18th, 2024. VIEW SCHEDULE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEXT MEETING The VYSA Board of Directors next meeting will be held on February 18, 2024 at 8 am.

GOVERNING BODY UPDATES US SOCCER UPDATES US Soccer is making significant progress on it’s Strategic Vision. View the US Soccer Strategic Pillars, Core Philosophies, and Accelerated Initiatives HERE. US Soccer has asked for and received feedback from many involved in the youth soccer community in the United States. The US Soccer senior leadership (led by President Cindy Cone and CEO JT Batson) and their staff are evaluating ideas on a reimagined youth soccer ecosystem. Over the next several months this thorough evaluation will continue and the VYSA membership should expect changes in the next 12-18 months that will improve the youth soccer environment. The next Vice President of US Soccer will be decided at the US Soccer AGM on February 10th.

NORTH CAROLINA FRIENDLIES 22 ODP teams represented VYSA at the 2024 North Carolina Friendlies event. Thank you to all of the players, clubs, and coaches who participated and helped make the event successful!

USYS UPDATES US Youth Soccer (USYS) has unveiled their Strategic Plan. Check it out by clicking HERE. Bill Phillips and Don Rawson represented VYSA at the USYS Soccer workshops in Anaheim, California on January 10-13th. The most significant action item for the 20242025 seasonal year is expected to be changes to the National Championship Series events, especially to the Regional level competition. More details to follow, as decisions are expected in the next 30 to 45 days. Dr. Pete Zopfi resigned, effective January 15th, to focus on his candidacy to become Vice President of US Soccer.

VYSA UPDATES VYSA has enlisted the services of The Collective to assist the state association in a strategic planning initiative. The process kicked off with the staff participating in offsite strategic planning sessions with The Collective on December 12th & 13th. The VYSA Board of Directors will engage with The Collective on February 17th, the VYSA membership will also participate. If you are interested in being involved in the process, please contact Don Rawson at Don@vysa.com. VYSA is actively pursuing a Beach Soccer initiative that is being promoted by the US Soccer Athletes Council and supported by USYS. VYSA has agreed to be involved in a beta test and is reaching out to VYSA member clubs to gauge their support. If interested, contact Don Rawson at Don@vysa.com.

VIRGINIA FRIENDLIES The Virginia ODP Friendlies will take place in Williamsburg, VA on February 23rd 25th. Rosters will be announced the week of January 29th.

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COACHING EDUCATION Member Clubs and Leagues are encouraged to host an in-person grassroots course. If you have 13-15 student applicants then your club is the perfect candidate for hosting a course. The 2024 National C License that begins this March and the 2024 National B License that begins next September have filled. Both courses have a waiting list. If you are interested in registering for future 2025 VYSA hosted National License courses, please contact Jessica Cottet at Jessica@vysa.com. Host a Course

COACHING FOR COMMUNITY VYSA announces a new, free coaching course supporting the recreational coach! The Coach For Community (C4C) is a FREE two-hour course that is designed to help prepare entry level coaches with practical and theoretical knowledge. This course is conducted by a qualified US Soccer/VYSA Coach Educator and can be requested by VYSA member clubs at the U6, U8, U10 and/or U12 levels. The First hour is classroom presentations that consist of player characteristics, age-appropriate games, running a practice, role of the coach, and tips to survive. The second hour is field/gym demonstration. Age specific players will participate in an organized practice session. For questions contact Jessica at jessica@vysa.com today! Sign Up

IMPORTANT NOTICE GOTSPORT TRAINING AVAILABLE TO CLUB AND LEAGUE REGISTRARS GotSport is the association's official technology partner. Club and league registrars are encouraged to visit the VYSA website for resources on navigating the GotSport registration platform. Several GOTSport representatives will be in Fredericksburg on February 18th to assist registrars with both group discussions as well as 1 on 1 time with members who need additional training. See the workshop schedule HERE. Contact Kristen Osteen at Kristen@vysa.com for GotSport related questions or to set up a one-on-one inperson or zoom meeting with a GotSport representative. Registrar Resources

Onboarding Website

FREE COACHING COURSES AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED FEMALE COACHES US Soccer approved VYSA for a three-year extension of the 'Women in Coaching' Innovate to Grow Grant to further support female coaches in Virginia and the District of Columbia. This grant supports female coaches seeking to further their education with US Soccer Grassroots Coaching Courses and Licensures. The grant allows VYSA to support all women registered for any US Soccer coaching course as well as those coaches registered for all-female courses. In 2023, nearly 150 female coaches have enrolled in a US Soccer coaching course through VYSA supported by the US Soccer ITG Grant. For clubs interested in hosting coaching courses, please contact Jessica@vysa.com to get started. Learn More

USYS YOUNG FEMALE REFEREE OF THE YEAR Congratulations to Kayla Romine for winning USYS Young Female Referee of the Year! Kayla was recently honored by USYS at “The Ball” Awards Gala in Anaheim, California!

SAFESPORT COMPLIANCE All VYSA Member Clubs are REQUIRED to submit a SafeSport Compliance Form to VYSA in accordance with U.S. Soccer Federation mandates and VYSA SafeSport Policy. Contact Kristen Osteen in Member Services, at Kristen@vysa.com, for any questions regarding SafeSport.

Registration for the Spring 2024 State Cup and Presidents Cup is NOW OPEN! For the spring 2024 season we will be offering 11U's for both boys and girls at The State Cup & Presidents Cup level for the first time. With all 12U, 13U, & 14U we will be

VYSA SAFESPORT POLICY

offering a new game format of Top 16

US SOCCER SAFE SOCCER

Tournament Group Play.

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There will be a live draw on February 18th in

STATE OFFICE OPERATIONS M-F | 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

THE STATE CUP AND PRESIDENTS CUP

(540) 693-1430

4805 Lassen Lane, Fredericksburg, VA 22408 DON RAWSON Executive Director Don@vysa.com

GORDON MILLER Technical Director Vysatd@vysa.com

ROBERT CAREY Director, Finance and Administration Robert@vysa.com

THOMAS TRUSLOW Senior Manager of Finance and Administration Thomas@vysa.com

JESSICA COTTET Director, Technical Department Operations Jessica@vysa.com

RAY FORD Director, Events Ray@vysa.com

KRISTEN OSTEEN Manager of Member Services Kristen@vysa.com

DAVID COFFEY Senior Manager of Facility Operations David@vysa.com

DEVIN BEST Assistant Manager of Facilities Devin@vysa.com

CHLOE ERAZO Manager of Marketing and Communications Chloe@vysa.com

Fredericksburg, Virginia. Register online by February 12th.

The State Cup Presidents Cup

SAVE THE DATE FOR VIRGINIA-DC SOCCER HOF GOLF TOURNAMENT The VA_DC HOF Golf Tournament will take place on Thursday September 26, 2024 at the Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Chantilly, Virginia.

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