Kids team booted from playoffs because coach 'uncertified'

• by Soccer America , Dec 21, 2007

It's getting harder and harder to coach youth soccer these days.

A 12-year-old boys team in Phelan, Calif., was kicked out of the local AYSO playoffs because its coach was only licensed to coach players up to 10 years old.

Bill Shaw, the Soccer Mafia coach, needed two more AYSO courses to earn certification. Without them, Soccer Mafia, first in its division in the regular division, will not enjoy a postseason run.

Soccer Mafia parents were upset that Shaw wasn't told of the problem early enough so it could be rectified.

"Rules are rules," Charlie Johnson, who is AYSO's director for the High Desert region, told the San Bernardino Sun. "They apply to everybody. ... I support 11 regions -- 600 to 700 teams. I can't possibly keep track of each coach's certification. Unfortunately, sometimes adults mess up and, in this case, it was a bad one."