Requirements Needed to coach

Volunteer-- Login to your account. Choose "Volunteer" - "Find Volunteer Roles" - choose the appropriate role you would like to volunteer for- Fill out required information..
Background Check--Once you volunteer, you will receive two emails. One from [email protected] and the other from TheAdvocates@sterlingvolunteers.com. You will need to create an account and enter the appropriate information. When asked for payment information, you may choose to pay or choose the option "No" and the league can cover this cost for you.
Fingerprinting--DELAYED!! Effective July 1, 2026, Florida law will require All current and prospective AYSO volunteers involved in coaching or with direct contact with minors must complete a Livescan fingerprint background screening. Please click the link for further assistance- fieldprint. You will be added to our volunteer chat group with further instructions to complete the process.
Required Safety Courses--Once you volunteer, you will need to complete certain courses before taking the field. In your account, you will see your name under the title "My Roles & Certificates" next to that tab, choose "view", this will bring you to another screen that will show you the requirements needed. In addition to the requirements listed above, you will need to complete 4 safety courses. These include, AYSOs Safe Haven, Concussion Awareness, Sudden Cardiac Arrest, SafeSport. Please click on the tab that says "AYSOU" to bring you to the page to complete the courses. Once in AYSOU, click on the "HOME" tab - choose "Safety First" , this will bring you to the safety courses required. To access "Safe Sport" You must enter the information exactly as you entered the information on your background check. If it asks you to pay for a certain course, the information you entered was not matching and you must call Safe Sport to correct.
Coaching License--You must obtain certification in the age group you wish to coach. You can also access this through AYSOU, click on the "HOME" tab - Choose "Coaching" and locate the online course for your age division.

Let's all start off on the same page

Need some help getting information to your parents?

Once your team has been assigned, you will receive an email with you roster , that will include parent contact information. Our board team has drafted an email template to help you get detailed information out to your parents. The following email template will help guide your parents through the process. Please view it here coach email template.pdf.

Practice/Game Communication

We will be utilizing the Game Changer app for all team communications. Please download the app via your app store game changer

Returning Coaches , you will need to login using your AYSO login information. If you do not use the AYSO login information, you will not be able to access your players' team. **Please note you will need import your team, otherwise the team will not be available in the game changer system.

If you are a new coach, please create an account using your AYSO login information. If you do not use the AYSO login information, you will not be able to access your players' team.

Game schedules will be auto generated in the Game changer app. Game reminders will also be sent via email.
You as a coach, will need to manually add you practice schedules.

For assistance using the Game Changer app, game changer guidance.

Games and Practice Information

Games and Practice Information:

All games and Practices are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings:
Lake Panasoffkee Recreation Park
1589 Co Rd 459, Lake Panasoffkee, FL 33538

Practice times are to be determined by the coach. Earliest at 5:30pm, with the latest beginning at 7pm
Game times will vary by age group and are subject to change. Earliest at 6pm, with the latest beginning at 7:15pm

Field Locations:
Field 1: Playground
Field 2: U6
Field 3: U8
Field 4: N/A
Field 5: U10/U12
Field 6: U14 +

Practice Field 1: U6/U8
Practice Field 2: U10
Practice Field 3: U12
Practice Field 4: U14

Things you need to know

Region 1408 Rules by Age Division

Other Stuff

Additional help

Need some training tools? Take a quick look!
Coaches clipboard

Set the Tone for your team

Safe, Fair, Fun!

Sometimes we all need this reminder: An AYSO coach's objective is not to win. It is to develop youth soccer players and teach the game in an environment that issafe, fair, and fun. No child likes to sit out of games. No referee likes to be yelled at. There is nothing that happens on the pitch that is worth screaming about.

Coaches: you set the tone for your sidelines; keep your pride, ego, and emotions in-check. We are here to support and encourage our kids.

HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED AYSO COACH

Steps to become a Certified AYSO Coach

All Head and Assistant Coaches must:

Complete a Head or Assistant Volunteer Application for the Current membership year on AYSO1408.org
Complete the online AYSO Safe Haven course within current registration year, through AYSOU.org
Complete the online AYSO Concussion Awareness course within the current registration year, through AYSOU.org
Obtain AYSO Coach Certification in the age level you will coach by attending an in-person AYSO Coach Certification Course. (See chart below)

Obtaining Coaching Certifications

All AYSO Head and Assistant Coaches must get their Coach Certification in the age level they wish to coach. This requirement can only be certified by attending an in-person Certification Course. Register for courses through AYSO University (aysoU.org).

You can take this course through any AYSO Region you want. All Regions offering Coach Certifications class post them on aysoU.org. You can find many dates and options from which to choose.

Coaching multiple teams

When we identify coaches who are coaching multiple teams, we strive to make sure your teams never play at the same time. (Another benefit to coaching is never having to decide which child's game you will watch!) If you sign up to coach multiple teams, please send an email to your Ayso 1408 board team and let us know the names of each player you plan to coach. This allows us to identify you to our Region 1408 Schedule to avoid game conflicts.

Important Reminder: All Head and Assistant coaches must submit separate volunteer applications for each Age Group they wish to coach. (In other words, if you plan to coach 12U and 8U, then you should submit two coaching applications, 12U and 8U.)

Do I have to be certified at each age group I coach?

To be covered under the Volunteer Protection Act you must be certified with age-specific training (and also Safe Sport Certification.) Certification in an upper age group does not confer all lower age-specific certifications. For example, a coach who holds a U12 certificate and wishes to coach U10 must then get a U10 certificate.

Ensuring your own player is on your team

Some coaches sign-up using a different AYSO logins than their player. (For example, the player was registered under a spouse.) Our Region Registrar does their best to try and identify your child and place them on your team, should this be the case, please send an email to the Ayso1408 Registrar and let us know your name, plus the name of your child, once you both have signed-up.