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# AYSO kicks off season
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/ayso-kicks-off-season/
- Published: 2007-09-29T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T03:03:27.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

CITYWIDE They take to the field, 26 knee-high sock wearing kids at a time, chasing after one big white padded ball.

The Santa Monica American Youth Soccer Organization will kick off its season today, many teams playing their first official game on fields across the city after spending the past few weekends smoothing loose ends in scrimmages.

The nearly 1,800 kids — split into130 teams — who play with the Santa Monica AYSO are pumped up, to say the least.

“I’m excited,” said 11-year-old Shay Denison. “So far, I like playing with my team. I feel confident.”

The Santa Monica branch of the largest youth soccer organization in the United States was founded 35 years ago and is the biggest sports program in the city. The organization is open to new and experienced soccer players from ages 4 to 19.

The vast majority of the players come from Santa Monica, some from nearby L.A. neighborhoods such as Venice and Mar Vista.

This will be the first season that the soccer teams will be able to use the new artificial turf field at Airport Park, now the home of the under 14-age group boys soccer team.

“I think it really adds a whole atmosphere of professional playing,” said Sharon Kornfield, the commissioner for the under- 14 age group. “They feel like the big shots in town because we have a big new park.”

The team used to play the majority of its games at Clover Park, which Kornfield said was in bad shape, the turf usually muddy or just dry.

“This is great,” she said. “More than we could have ever expected.”

The AYSO season generally runs from eight to 10 games, not including the play-offs. The Santa Monica AYSO has been successful in the past, sending teams that won the Fujisan International Cup in Japan twice in the past few years alone.

The teams are mixed by age and by ability so the games are even. AYSO rules require that every player be on the field for at least three-quarters of the game.

Apart from providing regular exercise for children, AYSO is considered to be a child development program, soccer is just the tool.

“It’s involved in getting kids involved and learning good sportsmanship,” said Maryanne LaGuardia, the regional commissioner for AYSO. “It’s all about a team sport and learning lessons on the playing field.”

One of the teams taking the field today will be the under-12 girls team coached by Santa Monica resident Steve Eyler who has been involved with AYSO for 13 years.

The girls in the team range in age from 11-12 years old and have adopted the team moniker “The Doodlebops,” so-named after the popular Disney Channel television show.

Denison, a goalie and forward, has played with AYSO since kindergarten, one of her many activities besides volleyball and cheerleading.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 29, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/092907.pdf?ref=smdp.com)