Los Angeles Soccer Association

My son is in his second quarter at LASA and he is in the Diamonds League on Sundays (which is for all skill levels.) My son is doing very well. He is almost 5 years old and he started last fall playing soccer in AYSO which was a little too intense for him. The difference is, in AYSO, there are parent volunteers as coaches and they are great and have a great heart for volunteering but some of the soccer dads are a little intense when it comes to the little ones just starting out. My son lost his enthusiasm for the game and became shy and stopped trying. He ended the season saying «Everyone else is better than me» and «No one passes me the ball.»
In the entire LASA program, there are professional coaches who are trained to work specifically with children and the atmosphere is completely encouraging and positive. By the end of the first quarter, my son was excited to play soccer again, and not afraid to run up and kick the ball away from other players and at the beginning of this quarter he made his first goal during a game. AYSO is another great program, and I will continue again this fall, but it is a completely different experience than the Diamonds League. The coaches have a ton of energy and create games out of the practice drills and they learn to really have FUN with the game at the Sunday sessions… and at 5 years old — I think the game SHOULD focus on being fun!