Drop Off vs. Hand Off

At AYSO, we believe that no child should be left unsupervised before or after a game or practice, which is why parents must not “drop” players off at the soccer fields without contact with the coach. Instead, AYSO encourages a “hand off” to occur between the parent and the coach so that the child is always under the supervision of an adult.

Contact with the coach is defined as face-to-face contact, verbal contact. This does not include dropping off a child and letting the coach know via media, i.e. by email, text or phone.

In the event that parents are unable to pick up their child or need to leave a game early, they should complete the Player General Release Form and give it to the coach in advance. If in the case of an emergency or a last minute situation, parents should write an email or text message to inform the coach that they are releasing their child to another parent on the team or another family member.

The parent should also write an email to the person responsible for their child’s wellbeing after they leave the field. Before leaving the field, the parent needs to have a written confirmation from both the coach and the adult they are releasing their child to.

We encourage our AYSO parents to use common sense on this matter.

For more information, please review our Safe Haven resources, particularly on Supervision Protocols.

Keeping Players Physically and Emotionally Safe

In AYSO, we do a good job of keeping our players physically safe because our coaches, parents and referees are very good at identifying possible injuries and immediately taking appropriate action. However, keeping players emotionally safe is not as easy to spot, yet is it also a major responsibility of the coaches, parents and especially the referees.

To read more, click here.