AYSC Week of Silence for House League

Players, Parents, Coaches and Referees

Thank you for your overwhelming support of the "week of silence" for House League at AYSC. And thank you as well for your support with the surprising amount of media coverage that this initiative generated.  We are proud of the way our players and parents were great ambassadors for our club.

With over 100 games running through the week, it was a definite success.

We ran this for one week only, to provide the players with a chance to play soccer without constant instruction and noise from the sidelines.  It was a way to further develop our players to think for themselves on the field, and promote communication between players.  And to remind parents and coaches that there is no place for negativity on the sidelines.

Positive encouragement though is an important part of the game, and we look forward to hearing the cheers back on the sidelines next week.

Watch for more initiatives like this as AYSC continues with our "Just Let Them Play" campaign to promote a positive atmosphere at all of our games.

Enjoy the August Break and good luck with the last few weeks of the season.  We look forward to an exciting Stinger Cup to end the summer soccer season.

Thanks,

David Hilgendorff
VP of House League
AYSC

 

Feature Articles:

 

Audio Clips:

Download Name Play Length
download 680News with Charlene Close #1
0:41 min
download 680News with Charlene Close #2
0:41 min
download 680News with Charlene Close #3
0:41 min
download Charles Adler Radio Show
6:00 min
download am640 withTina Trigiani
7:45 min

 

GLOBAL Toronto: News Hour July 27th


...or CLICK HERE to view at Global Toronto

 

GLOBAL Toronto: News Hour Final July 26th


...or CLICK HERE to view at Global Toronto

 

no-talking-sign

Parents/Coaches/Convenors
mark your calendars
The week of July 25 -29 is
“The week of Silence for House League at AYSC”

 

What does this mean?

The core idea of "the week of silence" is to remind everyone involved with the game why we are there... to let the kids have fun. We want to encourage everyone to simply watch soccer games and let the kids enjoy the game. Reports from other associations that have tried this idea have been very positive. The kids overwhelmingly said the game was more fun; they liked playing and not being yelled at. Parents admitted to having a difficult time initially remembering the silent part, but also reported being pleased with the results, particularly the happy kids.

 

Our goals are simple:

  1. Develop our players' thinking and creative ability to make decisions on the field without constant sideline intervention.
  2. Improve the players' ability to communicate with each other on the field by reducing the outside noise level.
  3. Support all of our referees by eliminating all sideline dissension and intervention.

 

We ask that all age groups U7 and above participate in SILENT SOCCER during all games during this week by following these guidelines:

 

  1. Spectators are to be quiet, talking only in normal tones to the people around them. Comments that can be heard by players, referees, or opponents should be avoided. Cheering should be limited to clapping.
  2. Coaches are to be quiet and "let them play," giving only normal coaching instruction before the game, at the half, after the game, and to players on the sideline before or after substitutions.
  3. Coaches should address the referee only to request player substitutions
  4. When the games are over, ask your kids if they liked SILENT SOCCER,and explain to them the positive aspects that such an event can have.

icon AYSC Week of Silence

Last Updated on Friday, 29 July 2011 12:11