The Dedication
The American Youth Soccer Organization (A.Y.S.O.) was founded in Southern California in 1964. The initial league consisted of just nine boys teams. The supremely motivated individuals who started it were dreamers. Their vision of creating a nationwide movement to make the game they loved into baseball’s rival as America’s pastime must have seemed quite distant in those days. From my perspective, it appears as though they borrowed some of their egalitarian concepts, such as “Everyone Plays” and “Balanced Teams,” from those who founded Little League baseball. Since imitation has often been called the sincerest form of flattery, it certainly made sense for them to follow a pattern that had proven to be successful.
In 1971, two residents of San Fernando Valley, CA most assuredly parents of daughters, decided to develop a companion A.Y.S.O. program for girls; today, female players make up over 40% of the total membership of the organization. The desire to become all-inclusive has continued during this decade and has led to the formation of leagues for physically-challenged players of both genders.
I’m dedicating this book to A.Y.S.O. because, as one who has played soccer before its genesis, I know that there is no way that our country could have accomplished what it has achieved in scholastic, collegiate, club, professional, international, and Special Olympics events with out these groundbreaking pioneers, from all corners of the globe, who really started it all. Today, more than 50,000 member teams and their 650,000 players are the legacy of those dreamers of the ‘60s. Thanks for making your dream a reality and introducing our country, in a big way, to the world’s most popular sport, “The Beautiful Game.”
