ORGANIZATION AND PREPARATION
From uniforms to game times and social events to line-up rotations, the more planning you can put in beforehand, the easier and more enjoyable the tournament will be. There are a lot of moving parts, so creating a checklist could help keep you organized. Coaches wanting to take a team to a tournament for the first time should consider buddying up with or seeking advice from experienced coaches. Don’t forget to enlist the help of team parents, who can be invaluable resources!
Tournament Invitation, Rules and Application
Coaches must read all of the materials for the tournament in which they would like to participate and be mindful of tournament deadlines. This includes the invitation/overview, player eligibility, tournament rules, team application and registration form, referee application/plan, field maps, etc. Tournament teams must complete their own applications and coordinate their roster with R60's Tournament Coordinator. Coaches must contact the Tournament Coordinator to verify player and team eligibility BEFORE they contact parents.
Rosters
Developing a tournament team roster has many important aspects as tournaments are high intensity and highly competitive environments. Players should be considered for their demonstrated excellence in skills, enthusiasm and commitment to AYSO and R60's core values. Rosters must be made in coordination with R60 leadership and signed by the Regional Commissioner. It is not recommended that coaches take their entire Core Season team to highly competitive tournaments.
During or shortly after the Core Season:
There are typically end-of-season tournaments, including the Thanksgiving weekend and December weekends. Coaches that wish to take a Select tournament team must first vet their plans with the Tournament Coordinator and Regional Commissioner. It must be determined if there are other coaches also wanting to take a Select tournament team in the same division and with any of the same players. The Tournament Coordinator and Regional Commissioner will make all final decisions regarding tournament coaches, players, and teams. Coaches may not independently recruit and invite players during this period and will be disqualified from taking a team to a tournament.
During All Star, Spring Cup and EXTRA seasons:
Coaches may decide to take their entire teams to mid-season or end-of-season tournaments. When coaches take their primary team, they may not elect to omit players. If their team requires additional players, coaches must first vet their plans with the Tournament Coordinator and Regional Commissioner.
Tournament Fees
Tournament teams must coordinate their payment with our Treasurer. Most tournaments will only accept payments directly from Region 60, therefore the tournament team must first collect money from participating families and make a single payment to Region 60. If there are referee fees and refunds, tournament teams are responsible for meeting the tournament’s requirements, obtaining receipt/confirmation of all covered referee assignments, and ensuring that Region 60 is refunded before Region 60 may refund the team.
Referee Plan
Tournament teams must coordinate their referee plan with the Regional Referee Administrator. R60 strongly encourages that all teams have a referee crew when attending tournaments. The Regional Commissioner will not approve teams that consistently avoid taking a referee crew and misses referee assignments.
Uniforms
Tournament teams must coordinate their uniforms. Teams may find it easiest to choose uniform colors that most players already possess and may explore renting jerseys from Region 60. R60's Uniform Coordinator can help with the renting of uniforms. EXTRA, All Star and Spring Cup teams may choose to wear their team’s uniforms.
Schedule and Check-in
Tournament teams must monitor the release of the tournament’s schedule (usually comes out in the week prior to the tournament weekend) and ensure their team arrives with all paper-work at the required check-in time (usually a minimum of 1-hour before first game). TEAMS MAY NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY UNTIL THEY HAVE PRESENTED ALL THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS DURING CHECK-IN (e.g. Roster signed by Regional Commissioner, Medical Releases for each player, etc).
Capture the Moment
Win, lose or draw, each tournament is unique and will create memories for the entire team. Ask parents from your team to take and share photos along the way. If your team competes successfully, they may end up with medals/trophies. Make sure to take a team photo of the coaches and players showing off their stuff. We are proud to recognize 1st and 2nd place winners on our website as much as possible, so make sure to pass your team photos along to us.
COACHING
While a tournament is played to be won, Good Sportsmanship and respect should be a priority at all times. A tournament can be a valuable learning experience for both the players and the coaches. You may enter game one with a prepared plan but quickly have to adapt based on lessons learned in each game, field, weather, players, etc. Be flexible and adapt.
Make notes as the game progresses and observe both your team’s performance and the opponents. (Coaching tip: Prioritize trends as opposed to one-off incidents.) From your observations, create a 3-point half-time talk (players rarely retain much more), bookend the points with a positive observation from the first half, i.e., “We did really well playing the ball out the back,” and then energize the team with some positive encouragement for the second half, "Let's really enjoy this game experience."
Finally, and most importantly, “Let them Play!”
Player Development and Competition
It is very easy once you step into the competitive cauldron of tournament play for winning to devour development. From playing style to playing time, we must make sure we maintain our perspective and don’t get too off track from our overall objectives and philosophy. At minimum, ensure Everyone Plays and your squad gets rotated into the games to help handle the environment and the load on players as they play multiple games.
Depending on the tournament grouping, teams can vary in skill level, which can lead to imbalanced match-ups. Therefore, it’s important to see each game as a learning opportunity and again, be ready to adapt. In games where your team is outmatched, stay positive and continue to praise what the players do well (not giving up can in itself be a powerful lesson). In games where your team is more advanced than the opponent, consider some proactive and challenging (but inconspicuous) coaching conditions, i.e., set a midfield boundary restricting midfielders helping the defense. Above all, strive to be respectful to the opponents (as opposed to playing 20 passes before scoring).
Make sure you, your players, and parents be respectful to the referees at all times.
Social and Culture Building
Tournaments provide a great opportunity to develop your team philosophy and culture. From meals to sightseeing, each time your team gets together, there is an opportunity to build your team culture. This also gives the parents a chance to get to know each other and participate in the fun of being an important part of the team. Consider hosting a parent meeting at a practice prior to the tournament to discuss the weekend events, standards and expectations, i.e., sideline expectations (remember we all represent AYSO), lunch plans, sightseeing, etc.
Player Welfare!!!
Yes, tournaments are fun, but they are also extremely tiring on the players. In addition to multiple games in a short period of time, there is often team events, excitement, disrupted sleep, and nutrition (see infographic from our friends at The Coaching Manual) to contend with. All in all, tournaments can really take a toll on a young player; therefore, be very diligent when it comes to playing time, rest, recovery, and regeneration. Watch each player carefully for signs of stress and fatigue.