When is fall registration?
A. Registration for fall occurs in the spring, typically from late April into June. We now use online registration, so keep on checking our website for more information.

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I missed the registration date, can I still play?
A. It depends upon if there is room. If there is still room and it is after the deadline there is a $25 late fee. Email the registrar prior to registering online. We are sorry, but no registrations will be accepted after the Jamboree in August for fall play.

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When is the fall season?
A. The fall season starts the first weekend after Labor Day. The season then runs until mid-November, with the older groups playing longer than the little ones.

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How can I get my two children to play together?
If the children are within one age group, it is possible for the younger child to play up 1 year. It is NOT recommended to move up any more. It is the RARE case that this is appropriate. It is also the RARE case that a child can play down, but there are circumstances where it is acceptable.

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Can my daughter and son play on the same team?
Policy in our league is that any girl can play on a boys team, but boys cannot play on a girls team. As a parent, you must be the judge before requesting this situation. It works out well for some girls, other girls do not. If you know your child well, and they regularly are out there roughing it up with the neighborhood clan, than they may do reasonably well playing on a boys team. 

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How do I register?
Registration is done online at our new online registration site. If you cannot use the online registration, you can register by mail. After you have received a form, just fill it out and mail it in. You can get a form by requesting one (leave a complete message at 503-866-3525). Sometimes it takes awhile. You can also try email to leigh_bauman@earthlink.net. 

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How do I get to my child to play with a particular friend?
During the registration process there is a place to put special requests. The earlier you register, the more likely we will be able to satisfy your request.

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How do I get to have my child play on a particular coach's team?
During the registration process, there is a place to put special requests. The earlier you register, the more likely we will be able to satisfy your request. Some coaches teams fill up very quickly, so sometimes it is not possible to get you on a particular team.

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How do I get to have my child not play on a particular coach's team?
During the registration process there is a place to put special requests. The earlier you register, the more likely we will be able to satisfy your request. In that we usually have multiple coaches for each age group, this is usually possible to accommodate.

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Do you have a summer program?
Yes, Follow the links to Aloha's Development Program. 

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Do you have a winter program?
Yes, Follow the links to Aloha's Development Program. There are plenty of indoor opportunities as well. See the indoor soccer question.

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Do you have a spring program?
Aloha has a spring program for both Recreational and Development Soccer. 

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What about indoor soccer?
Aloha Soccer does not do indoor soccer. This is because it is not approved by our association, so our insurance doesn't cover it. You may find that your particular team is interested. If so, as a team, you can represent yourself and have a fun time. There are two types of indoor soccer in the area. There is a program done by the YMCA in the spring. It is played in school gyms and is done with a Nerf™ ball. The teams are formed by the YMCA. The other type is done in indoor soccer facitilies. These include TV Indoor, Indoor Goals, SoccerPlex and others. Each has their particular pluses and minuses. 

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What age can they start?
Recreational soccer starts in the Aloha program for kids that are entering kindergarten. This is typically 5 years old. We are on an August 1st to July 31st calendar. So, the child's age as of August 1st is the determining factor. In very rare cases, a younger child can be considered, but usually only for children whose parent is coaching.

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What are all the U-xx about?
We play by age groups, which roughly follow the child's grade in school. The designation U-xx mean under age xx as of August 1st of that playing year. So, our micros are u-7, since as of August 1st, they are all either 5 or 6. Please note there are exceptions to this. A child can play up, and in rare circumstances, can play down. Playing down is very rare and only done for very special situations.

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What size ball do they play with?
The kids play with balls appropriate to their foot size. A child playing with a ball too large can have difficulties that they wouldn't have if they have the correct size.

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Does my child really need soccer shoes? Can't they play with their baseball cleats?
Soccer shoes are designed to give support to the foot for the type of action that soccer demands. It avoids cleats in places that would cause distress for the foot. Softball and baseball cleats are designed for the needs of those sports. So, NO, you can't use the baseball/softball cleats. You must use soccer shoes. Note that it is ok to use soccer shoes in baseball/softball. Also, remember that during these ages, your child's feet will be growing. It does you no good to speed lots of money on the shoes, since they will barely last a season before they outgrow them. Find a pair that does the job for the season! 

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What equipment do they need? Where can I get equipment?
Your soccer player will need soccer shoes, a soccer ball, shin guards, a water bottle and something to haul all of this stuff around. You can go to one of the local soccer shops or to sports stores or stores like Fred Meyer, K-Mart, or Dick's Sporting Goods. Many times in late July, these stores have special packages to get all that you need. The club tries to have soccer shops at special events, like the microjam and jamboree. They usually offer good package deals on all of your needs. Please note that a reasonable ball will last several years, as will a pair of shin guards. So your only new cost will be shoes. 

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How do I become a coach?
Recreational Coaches are all volunteers. Aloha will help educate you in the game of soccer. Besides our coaching staff providing clinics, we also support our coaches by providing coaching books and reimbursement for attending soccer coaching classes. The easiest way to become a coach is to sign up when you are registering your child. We will get a hold of you to talk about coaching. You can also email us about your desire or leave us a voice mail message.

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Does my child need playing experience?
We accept children of all playing abilities. As this is a recreational league, emphasis is placed on fun and learning soccer. When a child reaches the U-11 age, there are opportunities to play competitive soccer. This requires a much larger commitment of both the player and parents, both in terms of time and money.

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I haven't heard from my coach and it is mid-August, what should I do?
Well, we like to have all of our coaches call their teams by early August, so something may have gone wrong. If you can not use email to tell us of your problem, please leave a detailed voice message and someone will get back to you. Please remember that the summer is a busy vacation time, and sometimes the coach is just on vacation and has not returned. Sometimes, things get misplaced, so please, let us know if you did sign up and how you signed up.

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When are practices (fall season)?
Practices start in August. We have the fields starting August 1st, so your coach is free to start practices then. Before August 1st, it is possible to practice, but only as you can find space. Practices are usually in the evening, after school and work. Each coach sets the time and place that is convenient for them (one of the reasons to coach!). Typically, the younger kids practice between 1 and 1.5 hours, 1 or 2 times a week. The older kids may practice upto 2 hours, twice a week. When school starts, you will find the number of practices going down per week (typically). And when daylight savings time ends, it is not unusual to not have any practices, since it gets dark before anyone can make a practice.

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What is Rose City Exchange? What is Chevy Exchange?
This event used to be called the Rose City Exchange, but is now called the Chevy Exchange. It is a city-wide program, where teams from all parts of the city play each other. Unlike a tournament, there are no placings. What happens is that several teams are assigned to a particular field, and they play each other. It is a way to find out about other players in the City. 

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What is competitive soccer? What is classic soccer?
Competitive soccer is played by those players whose skills and desire to compete are more advanced than the typical recreational player. They play in a more competitive environment, tend to play together all year long, and play tournaments. For those players and parents that want to commit the time and money, competitive soccer can be a fun experience. The first age in this state that kids play competitive is at the U-11 age group. Tryouts for fall teams are in May. AYSC has started the Aloha United program to fill this need with high quality coaching and reasonable cost. Watch this web site for information about tryouts. 

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What is ODP? What is State Select?
ODP is the Olympic Development Program. It is a tryout process for the best players. The object is to give the best players in the state and country a chance to compete at a higher level.

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What is micro soccer?
Micro soccer is what we call our U-7 program. One of the reasons to call it micro is because we are playing mini games, rather than 11v11. We play two games of 3v3 at a time. This is done to increase the odds that the child gets to touch the ball. The only way the child is going to learn the game is to play the ball, so small sided is done to increase the number of times the they get to be involved and make a difference!

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What is the oldest age a child can be?
Currently, 8th grade, or U14 is the oldest grade we support. This is mainly because high school plays at the same time as we do (fall), and we have not tried to compete with the high school program. Recently, a program has started for those kids that do not make a high school team or that do not want to play high school soccer. It is called high school rec. It is a separate program, and if you need more information, get a hold of us and we will give you a contact. 

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What is the cost?
Please check our registration pages for the cost. Having this information in too many places allows things to get out of date and tends to cause confusion. 

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What does the cost cover?
The cost covers all sorts of things. It includes the cost of the player's uniform, which they keep; the cost of association with the local and national federation; education and equipment for the coaches; mailings and other items. We are always looking for ways to reduce our costs and/or increase our revenue stream without additional cost to the players. If you have some great ideas, please feel free to come to a board meeting and present your thoughts!

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What if the fee is too much?
Please, get a hold of us. There are things we can do to help reduce the cost.

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My child just got their ears pierced, why do they have to take out their earrings?
Because this is recreational soccer, we must be concerned about safety. The wide variety of skill levels represented, especially at the younger ages, really dictates that we must protect the kids from accidents as much as possible. Many things can happen to an exposed earring, including getting caught and ripping the ear lob, getting pushed into the side of the head, and even just getting lost (which sometimes seems to be more tramatic than getting injured). Please plan your ear piercings to not occur during soccer season! 

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How come no one answers my phone calls?
As a volunteer organization, we are using volunteers to do everything. Sometimes people get behind and can't keep up with the load. One way to help solve the problem is to volunteer. That way the load is spread across a greater number of people, so no one person has too big of a load. If you have e-mail, please try emailing. It takes less time to deal with e-mail. Many times, our return calls are left on machines, or left with someone taking a message, and we never receive a call back. Other times, we cannot understand the message you attempted to leave, especially the phone number. So, make sure your message is clear. Make sure you leave us a phone number we can understand. Make your question something that can be answered when we get your machine. Consider using e-mail instead. The club cell phone isn't on all the time but our registrar tries really hard to get back to you as soon as possible. The best time to reach the club is between 9am and 12pm Monday through Friday. 

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How can I help my kid get to be a better soccer player?
The best way for your child to become a better soccer player is to play soccer. Soccer is a game about learning and trying. There are not a lot of set plays as there are in other sports. There is much more individual creativity and group understanding. To help with this, encourage your child to play neighborhood pickup soccer, and play in the backyard. They can practice moves and ball control, that they can then use in game situations. Also, for the young ones, playing with mom and dad is also fun, especially when they start learning tricks. AYSC sponsors a number of UK International soccer camps throughout the year which are a good place to learn new ideas and be in a soccer environment (check our web site for details). They give the kids lots of good activities that use a ball and help them become better. 

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What is juggling?
Juggling is the activity of keeping a soccer ball in the air using parts of the body (expect hands). It is very important for kids to learn how to touch a ball to make it do what they want. Juggling is a good way to learn this. As they get better, they can also juggle in pairs and in small groups. 

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Why aren't there any referees at my kid's game?
There are not a lot of referees available to do the job. Why? Well the biggest reason is sideline abuse. Too much yelling at them telling them they are not doing a good job. How would you like it if they came to your work and yelled at you? Also, please note that many of the referees are of high school age. These kids on some weekends have to do things like take SAT tests, which is a big hit on the number of referees available.

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Ok, I am crazy, how do I get to be a referee?
Please, go see the information at http://www.thjsl.org/. To become a referee, you need to attend a referee class. Around here, this means a 4 day class (about 3 hours a day), pass the test, and you become a grade 8 USSF referee. To find out more, go to the OYSA website, http://www.oregonyouthsoccer.org/test/index.shtml, and after you enter the site, go down to the referee pages for more information. It's a great job for teenagers to earn some cash. A referee earns around $10 an hour or more depending on the age of the players playing or if you do lines or center refereeing.

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