Hello Marlboro Youth Soccer Families,

I hope this update finds you well. In light of the current situation with COVID-19, and keeping the safety of all participants in mind, our Board of Directors voted last week to cancel all Spring travel and in-Town programs. We feel strongly that this is the right decision for our community, and will not wait for BAYS and MA Youth Soccer to take similar action. Beginning immediately, we will process refunds for all families that have registered for the Spring season. We ask for your patience, as this process may take some time.

Our Board is still making plans for a condensed Spring soccer program, in the event that our local, State, and Federal governing bodies deem conditions safe for youth sports. Please stay tuned for announcements about this sometime later this Spring. In the meantime, our Player Development team has assembled a list of fun soccer activities, for your children to practice at-home (and with proper social distancing!). You can find this list athttps://www.leagueathletics.com/Page.asp?n=118605&org=marlboroyouthsoccer.org.

We are an organization that is run entirely by volunteers, and we have all dealt with COVID-19 in some fashion in our personal and professional lives. Our last few seasons have brought unforeseen challenges (remember EEE?), but I am confident that our organization and our entire community will be stronger as a result. Our Board has already started preparations for the Fall 2020 season and we’re all looking forward to getting back out on the field just as soon as it’s safe to do so!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me, or any member of our Board of Directors, with questions or concerns. Be safe!

Henry Garcia, President

Marlboro Youth Soccer

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Thank you to the outgoing members, from all of us!  

Adam, Heidi, Ralph, and Ken have done a steadfast and thankless job of keeping Marlboro Youth Soccer alive and running, 2 seasons a year, for 20+ years and we are grateful for all they have done.  

That means there has been a pretty big changeover in roles within the Marlboro Youth Soccer community, as well as some vacant positions.  We can use people in many facets; as board members, coaches, team parents, referees and other positions.  In case people are interested in getting involved, you can see more in the volunteer post...

During the Spring 2020 season, we will be implementing a couple of initiatives designed to help protect and nurture our referees.  Quite a few of our refs are MYS players themselves, or came up in the MYS program.  Check back to this space for more details on the following efforts.

• New Field Signs. 
• Zero Tolerance Policy.
• Lollipop / Sucker Program

Updated 2020-02-15 9:30 PM

Simple rules of thumb:

1. The City can close the fields or leave it to the MYS discretion. 
2. If left to MYS:

• Weekdays - Status is updated on the website by 3pm.
• Weekends - Early Games - Status is updated by 7am for all games before 12:00 noon.
• Weekends - Afternoon Games - Status is updated by 11am for all games at or after 12:00 noon. 

3. Coaches and Referees may also cancel events if:
    - the weather turns bad
    - there are puddles / standing water in multiple areas on your field
    - otherwise unsafe conditions.
   
   Click here for the full Field Status Process

Volunteer Registration Requirements

As volunteers, board members, coaches, referees, and assistants - all of us must comply with certain registration steps in order to work with and around children.  Please make sure that you follow all of the steps outlined.  

• For detailed information about our volunteer registration policies click here.
• For any questions or concerns, feel free to contact our Compliance Coordinator, Brian DuPont at  .

If you coached with us in the Fall 2019 season... Please do NOT create a new account on the Youth Soccer Connect / MA Youth Soccer Registration website (http://marlboro.mayouthsoccerconnect.org/). Instead, start with page 3 of our step-by-step Registration Guide, and log in with the credentials you established last Fall. If you don't remember the password to your account, there is an option on the page to reset it.    

If you're new to coaching this Spring (or didn't coach last Fall)... Welcome! As a new coach, you'll need to complete our Volunteer Registration Process. Requirements are detailed on our Volunteer Registration website and I'm happy to answer any questions you have along the way. 

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Volunteer Opportunities

There are several openings on the board, and plenty of areas where volunteers can help out the soccer community.  If you are interested in becoming more involved, let us know!

We are looking for help in the following areas:  

• Officer - Secretary
• Referee Assignor / Assitant Referee Assignor
• Registrar / Assistant Registrar
• Coaches
• Team Parents
• Referees
• Pre-K / Kindergarten Help

Quick list of items you need as a coach:

• MYS - Coaches Home
• MYS - Seasonal Checklist
• Registration - Coach Registration Requirements
• Request - Practice Slot/Field
• Request - Equipment
• Request - Game Reschedules

Resources:

• Coaches Meeting Presentation​
• MYS - Field Status
• Bays.Org Home
• Mass Youth Soccer Home
• BAYS Rule Changes

• Click here for the 2019 Coach Award Catalog.
• Click here for the Coaches Seasonal Checklist page.

• Click here for the Coaches Seasonal Checklist page.

This Spring, we will be instituting a couple minor tweaks for the Spring Season, but for the most part we are going to be busy taking over the reigns.  You can see some of our specific Spring efforts below.

• We will be really focusing on 0 tolerance and protecting our Marlboro referees.  There is a nationwide issue in all youth and High School Sports where we are drastically short on referees.  Be part of the solution and find out more in the Protect Our Refs section. 
• We will be making small tweaks on the development front.  Mostly about documenting expectations, giving coaches more resources, and solidifying our offering.  We sent out surveys over the winter and have been pouring over your feedback!
• We will be working to refresh and update the website, tweak the mobile site, update our presence on social media, and provide more transparency to our community.