MDSA Families,

This month sees the 40th anniversary of the signing of the AYSO charter that created Region 223, Mt. Diablo Soccer. The current environment is not how any of us anticipated celebrating this milestone! But in preparing for this Fall, we have continued to keep the AYSO Vision Statement at the forefront: to provide world class youth soccer programs that enrich children’s lives.

The evolving situation has had the MDSA Board planning for every eventuality for our Fall House Program during the past five months. Getting children back out on the fields in a safe, fun environment for players, families, and volunteers is something we consider essential to helping our children’s physical and mental health during these unsettling times.

Following the success of our summer camps programs and the phased return-to-play adopted by our Elite teams since July, we have developed a 10-week program partnering with Prestige Soccer Academy to offer academy-style training sessions run by professional coaches. Each player will be placed on a team of 12 based on their age division to align with current Contra Costa Health guidelines for extracurricular activities, and will be allocated two x 1 hour training sessions with the Prestige Coaches each week (1 session/week for 6U). With the schedule for these sessions, we retain the ability to add intra-team scrimmages to the schedule if further progression through the phased return to play is permitted.

The training sessions will start after Labor Day and run through early November. Players currently registered for Fall 2020 will receive their team placement and training session schedule in the upcoming weeks. Waitlist registration remains open with no late registration fee penalty; players will be placed into team cohorts where space is available. Volunteers will still be required for each team cohort to coordinate the team schedule, run check-in for each session where safety protocols are followed, and to assist with scrimmages if they become an option during the program.

In addition to the MDSA COVID-19 Return to Play Guidelines, Prestige Soccer Academy has developed rigorous safety protocols to help ensure the health and well-being of our kids, families and volunteers, from registration temperature monitoring through daily equipment sanitation. Additional details will be provided to each team cohort before sessions commence.

We appreciate that not every family is in a position to return to play at this time; full refunds will be provided for any player who withdraws from the Fall Program before August 31. After this date, refunds will be issued based on the return of any distributed equipment. To request a refund, please complete the online Player Withdrawal Form.

More detailed information on the training sessions will be distributed by Prestige’s Director, David Adams, before our season begins; for any immediate questions, please contact me at commish@mdsoccer.org.

Thank you,

Kate Laverick
Regional Commissioner
Mt. Diablo Soccer Association, AYSO Region 223