Providing world class youth soccer programs that enrich children's lives.

AYSO Region 418 Chicago Lakefront

6U Core Division

The 6 & Under (6U) teams meet once per week, every Saturday of the Fall and Spring seasons. The first half of each Saturday session is a practice session. Professional trainers support two volunteer coaches to help run some of the practices. Teams will play a game during the second half of each Saturday session. Games are played 3 v 3 with no goalkeepers. Rosters have a maximum of 6 players per team. Substitutions are made approximately midway through each half and at halftime. Each player must play a minimum of 1/2 of a game and all players must play at least 3/4's of a game before any player can play a full game. Ideally, all players will get equal playing time. There are separate teams for boys and girls.

Fields

The 6U playing field is a scaled down version of a full-sized soccer field, including a "penalty area." However, the only significance of the penalty area is to designate an area that defensive players cannot be in when a goal kick is taken. There are no penalty kicks in 6U games.

Equipment Needed

Soccer Ball - Size 3

Shin Guards (required)

Water Bottle (recommended)

Soccer Shoes (recommended) or Gym Shoes

Uniforms

Players each receive an AYSO Region 418 uniform consisting of shirt, shorts, and socks the first week of the season. Coaches will distribute uniforms at the first practice or game.
Questions about the uniform? Email [email protected].

Team Assignments

Each team will play at a consistent time each week. Teams will be notified of their playing time before the start of the season.

Teams are coached by parent volunteers. Volunteers who step up to coach are allowed to specify the co-coach they want to be paired with, thus guaranteeing that their children get on the same team. Note that at the 6U level, your time slot remains consistent throughout the Fall and Spring seasons. The 6U players are not expected to have a weekday practice either, so it is only a one hour per week commitment, after completing an online coach training course.

We cannot accommodate schedule change requests. If there are extremely compelling circumstances, you may contact the 6U Division Administrator, listed in our Region Contacts. Please remember that there are no guarantees that we can accommodate your request. We need to manage to a maximum player/coach ratios on each team to provide a safe and enjoyable player environment for all of our 6U participants

New Player Buddies

New to AYSO418 or have a friend who's joining for their first season?

New players can buddy-up with a returning player or another new player in the same age division. Tell us the name of the player your child would like to buddy-up with in your registration form and we'll do our best to assign them to the same team, but can't guarantee it.