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BACK TO SCHOOL “SCORE BIG WITH LITTLE CAESARS FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN ” FOR ALL FAMILIES

Indiana Soccer Family,

We’re excited to announce a partnership between US Youth Soccer and Little Caesars Fundraising to help offset your soccer expenses and support grassroots initiatives including player and referee development.

This is a great opportunity for every player, parent, referee, and coach to raise money by selling Little Caesars Pizza and Bread Kits, Cookie Dough, and In-Store Meal Deals.

What’s in a Kit? View the Little Caesars Fundraising product lineup here.

$5 for every item you sell through the fundraiser will go directly back to you, and an additional $1 will benefit the TOPSoccer programs both in Indiana and at USYS.

When you’re ready to register and start selling:

1. Click https://bit.ly/RegisterUSYS-IN to create your account and register your fundraiser. Registration ends on Monday, October 2^nd.
2. Share your unique selling link with your friends & family across the country. Kits are shipped directly to your buyers via FedEx.
3. Your fundraiser will end 4 weeks from your date of registration and your profit check will be sent directly to you within 2-4 weeks!

This is a national competition between other State associations, and your participation will make a big difference towards putting Indiana on top!

For more information, please contact John Koluder: johnk@soccerindiana.org

Westfield, IN, August 16, 2023 – Indiana Soccer is proud to join US Youth Soccer and 24 additional state associations to launch a “Don’t Coach from the Sidelines” Campaign targeted at improving sideline etiquette from spectators and coaches. Leveraged by the membership of the 24 state associations that are involved with this initiative, more than one million players and 100,000 coaches will directly receive the messaging of the national campaign.

As part of this initiative to improve sideline behavior, a video has been created to provide education and improve awareness around this critical topic.

Indiana Soccer has seen its membership base grow to over 60,000 youth players, 8,000 active coaches, 1,500 referees and thousands of volunteers through its network and leagues and more than 140 local member clubs across the state. This growth is thanks to efforts by the state association, member leagues, member clubs and also in large part to its referee community. 

“We thank Indiana Soccer for leading this project in an effort to improve the soccer environment,” said Evan Dabby, NJYS Executive Director. “We need everyone’s help on the sideline to help the players maximize their enjoyment and development on the field.”

Ball State University recently conducted research that included parent surveys regarding their sideline experience, and their work also involved the surveying of referees who stepped down from officiating. Based on their research, the element that predominately led to a diminished experience for parents, and the key reason officials leave the game, is the negative sideline etiquette from spectators and coaches. The common themes were verbal abuse of the referees and the parents coaching from the sidelines. As a result, US Youth Soccer and participating state associations are developing a series of behavior modification videos to help improve the experience of all stakeholders.

“The recent survey conducted by Ball State University clearly revealed that only a small portion of coaches, parents and players are diminishing the experience for the vast majority of stakeholders,” said Dave Guthrie, Executive Director of Indiana Soccer. “Unfortunately, these few bad actors are ruining the game for the masses. It is our hope that through education, which is what the video was created to do, will educate the offenders and they will realize that their behavior is toxic and unwelcomed.”

The Don’t Coach from the Sidelines Campaign is an expansion of a focused initiative to improve sideline etiquette from spectators and coaches. Earlier this year, a Respect The Ref Campaign and corresponding video was launched, and the national initiative has now seen its efforts broaden to the commitment of 24 state associations.

Indiana Soccer wants to recognize and thank all member clubs that have hosted the Small Sided Referee Classes bringing the total number of candidates to 500 that have completed the course since February 21st, 2023.

This kind of success and progress would not have been possible without support from member clubs that graciously hosted the events.

Special thanks to these clubs for hosting the course, Indiana Southwest FC, Noblesville United SC, Komets FC, Washington FC, Blue River SC, FC Pride/New Palestine, Fort Wayne United, Indiana Southwest FC, Komets FC, Mudsock Youth Soccer, (2 classes) Orbit FC, Putman County YSA, The City SC, Cutters Soccer Club, Union County Youth Soccer, St. Francis SC. Vigo County Youth Soccer Association and Richmond Premier will be hosting the course on August 27th.

The course is facilitated by Steve Franklin, Director of Coaching Education and George Perry – ISL Commissioner. The Indiana Soccer’s Small Sided Referees Course program was launched by the association in 2020 to help mitigate the shortage of officials and to create a referee training environment with fewer moving parts.

Parents & coaches commended the association for launching the Small-Sided Referee Certification program, a move that is already beginning to pay dividends as the game continues to grapple with a shrinking pool of officials.

Indiana Soccer is proud to join US Youth Soccer and 15 additional state associations to launch a 2023 – 2024 Respect-The-Ref Campaign targeted at improving sideline etiquette from spectators and coaches. Watch the 90 second video below. 

FRISCO, Texas (July 20, 2023) – The US Youth Soccer (USYS) alumni connections are strong down under with 23 former USYS players competing for the United States in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The total of 23 represents the entire U.S. squad.

Additionally, six referees are set to take the fields in Australia and New Zealand to officiate World Cup matches.

The United States Women’s National Team roster features 21 players who participated in the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (ODP), with two more who also played under the US Youth Soccer banner.

The ODP alumnae are:

• Alanna Cook, New Jersey
• Savannah Demelo, Cal South
• Crystal Dunn, Eastern New York
• Julie Ertz, Arizona
• Emily Fox, Virginia
• Naomi Girma, Cal North
• Lindsey Horan, Colorado
• Sofia Huerta, Idaho
• Aubrey Kingsbury (née Bledsoe), Ohio
• Rose Lavelle, Ohio
• Kristie Mewis, Massachusetts
• Alex Morgan, Cal South
• Casey Murphy, New Jersey
• Alyssa Naeher, Connecticut
• Kelley O’Hara, Georgia
• Megan Rapinoe, Cal North
• Ashley Sanchez, Cal South
• Emily Sonnett, Georgia
• Sophia Smith, Colorado
• Andi Sullivan, New Jersey
• Alyssa Thompson, New Jersey

In addition to the successes in US Youth Soccer ODP, two members of the U.S. World Cup roster enjoyed team success while competing in USYS competitions.

• Trinity Rodman and the 13U SoCal Blues (Cal South) were runners-up at the 2015 National Championships. Moreover, Rodman squared off against USYS ODP competition while playing for a U.S. Youth National Team at the 2016 USYS ODP Interregional in Boca Raton, Fla.
• Lynn Williams competed in the Far West Regional Championships in 2011 after claiming a State Cup title with East Fresno United (Cal North).

You can view the 2023 USWNT Roster here.

USYS is also well represented with six referees officiating Women’s World Cup matches this year. They include:

1. Tori Penso – Referee | NCS Regionals, ODP
2. Katja Koroleva – Referee |National Championships, Regionals
3. Kathryn Nesbitt* – Assistant Referee | Regionals, ODP
4. Felisha Mariscal – Assistant Referee | National Championship, Regionals, ODP
5. Brooke Mayo – Assistant Referee | National Championship, Regionals for both NCS and Presidents Cup
6. Armando Villareal* – Video Assistant Referee | National Championship, Regionals

*Officiated at the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup

The U.S. Women’s National Team will open its journey at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup against Vietnam, squaring off in Group E play at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, New Zealand, on July 22 (1 p.m. NZT; July 21 at 9 p.m. ET on FOX, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock). The World Cup opener will be the first match ever between the two nations, as well as the first ever World Cup game for Vietnam.

Links to Photos of former USYS players and current USWNT Players During Their Youth Careers:

Emily Fox
Emily Sonnett
Savannah DeMelo (Golden Ball)
Savannah DeMelo (Team)
Savannah DeMelo (Action)
Trinity Rodman
Rose Lavelle
Alex Morgan (ODP)

About the United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer)
US Youth Soccer, the largest youth sport organization in the country, is on a mission to provide worldclass support, resources, and leadership, helping every member fulfill their goals on and off the field of play. US Youth Soccer registers nearly 2.5 million players annually. Through its programming, resources and leadership, US Youth Soccer is advancing the game for its 54 Member State Associations, 10,000 clubs and leagues and one million administrators, coaches, and volunteers. US Youth Soccer connects
families and communities to the power of sports and its shared love of soccer. US Youth Soccer provides a path for every player, coach and referee offering programs that provide a fun, safe and healthy environment at every level of the game.

– USYS –