Serving Hamblen, Jefferson, Grainger, Greene, Cocke, and Hawkins counties

Important Region #335 Policies

U8 Division Play

Region 335 conducts play in its U8 division under slightly different rules than those outlined in National AYSO publications.  Our U8 guidelines include:

1. •Play is conducted with six field players on each team, with no goalkeeper that may use his/her hands to play the ball.  Of course, players may be positioned in any manner on the field, and a player may be stationed in goal and informally referred to as a "goalkeeper" or "goalie," but that player may not handle the ball.
   

2. •All kicks DIRECT FREE KICKS.
   

3. •The fields are marked with a goal area, corner arc and center circle (No Penalty Area).  Goal kicks may be taken from anywhere in the goal area and the opposing team must be 6 yards away from the ball until kick is taken.  The ball is in play as soon as the ball is kicked.
   

4. •Play is divided into two 20-minute halves, with a brief substitution break at roughly the midpoint of each half.  The game clock continues to run during the substitution break.
   

5. •Improper throw-ins, incorrect kick-offs, and double-touches of indirect kicks, corner kicks, and thrown-ins are not punished.  Rather, the restart should be retaken.  The focus. at this age level, should be on teaching proper methods, and not on punishing technical errors.
   

6. •Slide tackling and playing the ball while on the ground are not inherently illegal.  The referee must judge whether these actions warrant that proper misconduct call of "dangerous play."  That is, the referee is the sole judge of whether the method used to tackle play the ball endangers that player or any other player on the field.
   

7. •Play is conducted for all U8 games held at Region 335 home fields, including Frank Lorino Park in Morristown or at Ruritan Park in Dandridge, using these rules.  These rules should be communicated to any visiting teams from other regions prior to game start by the home coach and referee.
   

Goalkeepers

There is no rule, either at the National AYSO level or within Region 335, that mandates the use of more than one goalkeeper during the course of a game.  There has been an informal, unwritten "rule" in Region 335 for several years that a player could be positioned at goalkeeper for no more than three quarters of a game.  This presented conflicts when teams from other regions played at Region 335 facilities.  Beginning in the spring 2009 season, the Region 335 policy is that there will be no requirement to change goalkeepers during a game at any level of play.  However, Region 335 strongly encourages coaches to develop total soccer skills in their players by giving all players the opportunities to play outfield positions.  This is especially true for U12 and lower divisions in which we hope that specialization is not forced upon the players.

Playing Time

A core AYSO philosophy is that every player should play a minimum of half of each game.  Region 335 imposes no additional requirement.  However, the board again strongly discourages coaches from playing some children for four quarters of the game while playing other children for only two quarters.  Region 335 encourages coaches to play no child for the entire game unless all children have played three quarters.  This, of course, applies to U14 and lower divisions which employ substitution breaks at the quarters, but the same philosophy should be applied for free substitution at the U16 and U19 divisions.

Disciplinary Board

Any required disciplinary action, including review of red cards (disqualifications), and improper coach or spectator conduct, will be referred to a Region 335 disciplinary board for action.  This board will include, but is not limited to, the Regional Referee Administrator, the Regional Coach Administrator, and the Regional Commissioner.  If any of these persons are involved in the incident or have any interest in its outcome, he/she will be replaced for action related to that incident.  Additional persons (e.g., the Regional CVPA, the Regional Safety Director, or appropriate Division Coordinator(s)) may be called upon to replace an absent disciplinary board member if immediate action is required.

Please continue to watch this page for updates and policy statements.  Please let the Region 335 board know if you have any questions or concerns.  We will attempt to answer them here with clear, definitive Region 335 policy statements.  Again, our aim is to create and foster a safe, fair, and fun environment in which the children can learn and enjoy soccer.

Thank you.

Darren Rogers

Region 335 Commissioner

312 4582

darrenrogers@charter.net