Parents, welcome to AZ Youth Sports! We are excited to have you join us this season. This manual was created to ensure you are well-informed and ready to jump into our exciting sports program!
OVERVIEW
We are a private league whose focus is on sportsmanship and fun. You’ll notice that the kids have a lot of fun in this league because we provide a low-pressure and family-friendly experience. If they’re not smiling, we’re failing!
LOCATIONS
Our league is organized by city/town, serving Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Chandler. Even if you are not a resident, you can register and play at ANY of our locations.
CALENDAR
In general, a season follows this format and exact dates will be posted on the season page:
- Registration Opens (generally 10-12 weeks prior to rosters)
- Practices Begin (generally 2 weeks of practices before games start)
- Games Begin
- Seasons are generally 6 weeks with a 7th week for tournament teams in the championships
REGISTRATION
Registration rages between $69 to $135/child. Registration jumps up per division and then again for Late Registration. Pricing is dependent on sport, division and time of registration. You can register at:
TEAM GROUPINGS
We group teams by location to reduce travel time to practices and so you can get to know other families in your general area. During registration, you are asked for the nearest elementary school to your home. This is so that we can try to put you on a team with kids that live close to you. If you are a late registrant or if you live far from most of our teams, your travel distance to practices and games may be greater than normal.
TEAM COACHES
As with most rec leagues across the world, teams are coached by parent volunteers. Some coaches will be first-timers and others will have vast experience coaching. The coach you get will depend on a variety of factors (your home address, if you requested a specific coach, availability of coaches, etc.) Coaches will attend a coaches’ meeting where plenty of information will be provided to them on how to successfully coach your team.
Many teams will not have coaches and parents will need to decide on a head coach after rosters are released.
PRACTICES
Practices are generally 1-2 times per week for about an hour each. Your head coach determines the practice days, times and locations. The league does not provide practice facilities. Most teams practice at city parks, community parks, retention basins or reserve an elementary school for their practices.
If your coach holds more than one practice each week, you are only required to attend one of them. It is highly recommended that you attend all practices, though, so your child gets as much experience and instruction as possible.
TEAM JERSEYS/UNIFORM
Each child will be given a game shirt/jersey. For most sports, these are unisex 100% cotton tee shirts with a unique player number on the back. Jerseys are usually handed out to your coaches about a week before the season’s games start. It is REQUIRED for your child to wear their assigned team jersey in order to play their game. If you have misplaced or lost yours, replacement jerseys are available for you to purchase. You may exchange your shirt for a different size, but the shirt being exchanged cannot be worn or washed. In the case that your child has switched teams after already wearing their previous team’s jersey, they will need to purchase a jersey for their new team if not the same color. Any shirt related items need to be taken to the office and our receptionist there will help you. We will not be doing shirt exchanges and/or pickups at the game locations.
EQUIPMENT PROVIDED BY PARENTS
Here is what you as a parent need to provide for your child this season:
- Baseball/softball – batting helmet, bat, glove, baseball pants (color chosen by head coach), socks, cleats (non-metal)
- Basketball – solid black shorts, socks, basketball shoes, practice basketball
- Flag football – solid black pocketless shorts, socks, cleats, mouthguard, practice football
- Soccer – solid black shorts, shin guards, socks, cleats, practice soccer ball
- Volleyball – solid black shorts, knee pads, socks, shoes, practice volleyball
GAME PLAY FORMATS
Our sport divisions are played in two different formats – rec and tournament.
All of our divisions are parent-coached and, in some cases, coach-officiated, too. There are no wins and losses recorded in our rec division and score keeping is optional. Rec divisions include baseball (Teeball, Intro to Coach Pitch and Coach Pitch), most of soccer, softball coach pitch and the two youngest divisions of basketball. There are no tournaments for these divisions.
Our tournament divisions have referees provided, the score is kept and wins and losses matter. The playoffs are seeded by win-loss records and there is a single-elimination tournament at the end of the season.
GAMES
All games are played on Saturdays (generally between 8am and 6pm). It is your responsibility to check the posted game schedule weekly to know when you play and at which location.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your game start time. In order to keep the games on time, warm-up should occur off the game court/field.
Game time lengths are as follows:
- Tee ball & Coach Pitch Baseball/softball – 50 minutes
- Kid pitch baseball & softball – 60-80 minutes
- Basketball
- Pre-K & Kinder – 10-minute halves + 1-minute halftime
- 1st & 2nd Grade – 12-minute halves + 1-minute halftime
- 3rd – 8th Grade- 14-minute halves + 1-minute halftime
- 5v5 Flag football – 20-minute halves with 5-minute halftime
- Soccer – 20-minute halves with 5-minute halftime
- Volleyball – first team to win 2 sets
PLAYING TIME
Playing time should be even and fair. The only acceptable causes for shortened playing time are a child’s lack of desire to play, exhaustion, disobedience or the missing of multiple practices.
Player opportunities should be fair. For instance, in flag football, every child must get at least one ball carry or pass thrown to him/her in each game. In soccer, each player must be given the opportunity to play different positions that allow them to learn to score and play defense. This league is to allow the kids to grow in their respective sports.
TRAVEL GAMES
Many teams will play a couple of away games during the regular season. Away games are typically within 15 minutes of home game locations.
TEAM MEDALS
All players will receive a medal at the end of the season. Medals are issued to coaches after the last game of the season for distribution to their team. Replacement medals are only available for 30 days after the last game of the season.
WEBSITES
You can find the following information on any of our websites:
-Game rules
-Game Schedule
-Resources for coaches (ex. Practice outlines)
-Game maps
SPORTSMANSHIP
At Arizona Youth Sports, our mission is to build character, inspire relentless effort, and spark a genuine connection through the power of sport. We lead with integrity, innovate boldly, and serve our communities with price and purpose – unifying families and athletes across the nation in a shared pursuit of excellence and lifelong impact.
Parents and Coaches are expected to be positive role models and support their child’s team, demonstrating respect for AZYS officials, staff and players from both teams. This includes refraining from negative comments, criticism, or disruptive behavior. We appreciate your support!
